ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Matt Newell and Justin Mumford each set Indoor Star Meet records to headline the Navy's men's track & field (1-0-1) team's 98-83 victory over Army (0-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Wesley Brown Field House. The Midshipmen claimed their seventh-consecutive indoor Star Series title, matching the program's previous best winning streak from 2002-08.
 
With the women's squad winning their meet (94-87), the Navy program won its 26th-consecutive Star win (combined men's and women's) across the indoor and outdoor seasons.
 
"This dual is designed to be close, and to win 26 in a row — that's never been done before," said Navy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jamie Cook. "It's a testament to our athletes, coaches and the culture we've built since 2019. We're proud of this group and we're going to keep getting better."
 
Newell broke a 40-year-old meet record in the 1,000 meters, winning in 2:23.44 to surpass the mark set by Army's Dan Browne (2:23.50, Feb. 13, 1986). The time also ranks as the sixth-fastest effort in program history. Mumford added a record of his own in the 3,000 meters, clocking 7:57.42 to eclipse Miguel Mathias' previous meet mark of 8:04.71 set in 2022.
 
Track Events
Navy jumpstarted the scoring by sweeping the mile, led by Dane Eike's career-best 4:04.56 for the win. Patrick Gandini followed in 4:06.52 to give the Mids an early 17-16 advantage.
 
The Midshipmen recorded another sweep in the 60-meter hurdles. Jason Keiser won in a time of 8.08, while Michael Wilkerson (8.14) bettered Austin Hernandez (8.17) for second.
 
Navy continued its momentum in the 400 meters as Simon Alexander edged Nathan Kent in a photo finish. Alexander posted a season best 47.64, the fastest time by a Mid this year, with Kent close behind in 47.65.  The results of the race extended the lead to 33-22.
 
Army answered with a sweep in the 500 meters to close the margin to 36-30.
 
Navy took a 41-36 lead after the 60-meter dash that saw Tyler Yurich (6.814) place second and Marcel Jackson finish third (6.819).
 
Ben Marks recorded a season best 1:53.28 to place second in the 800 meters, narrowly edging Army's Jack Musgrave, who ran a 1:53.30. The Black Knights claimed the event with Ammon Smith's winning time of 1:52.21.
 
Navy swept the 200 meters, as Kent won in 21.37 and Yurich followed with a season best 21.43, making the score 71-61.
 
Mumford's record-setting run in the 3,000 meters was followed by Jackson Nguyen's second-place finish of 8:08.95 to complete the sweep.
 
The Midshipmen and Black Knights split the relay events. Navy's 4x400-meter relay of Cooper Wakley, David Walker, Conor McFadden and Alexander rallied from an early deficit to win in 3:14.46, topping Army's 3:15.40. McFadden provided the decisive move on the third leg.
 
Army captured the 4x800-meter relay in a tight race, edging Navy 7:34.11 to 7:36.39.
 
Field Events
Aaron Spears led Navy in the weight throw with a career-best throw of 19.13 meters (62-9.25) to finish second, marking the top weight throw by a Mid this season.
 
William Pierce placed second in the long jump with a season-best leap of 7.31 meters (24-5.50).
 
Navy recorded its first field-event sweep in the pole vault, as Brian Schloeder won with a clearance of 5.10 meters (16-8.75), followed by Gunnar Kimball at 5.00 meters (16-4.75).
 
The Midshipmen also swept the high jump. Sheldon Ulmer won by clearing 2.06 meters (6-9) while Wyatt Shaw posted a season-best height of 2.03 meters (6-8).
 
Army closed the field events by winning the shot put and triple jump.
 
Up next, Navy will compete at two meets next weekend, traveling to Boston, Mass., for the David Hemery Valentine Invitational and to Lynchburg, Va., for the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational on Feb. 13-14.