BOSTON, Mass. – For the sixth-consecutive season, the Navy men's track & field team are Patriot League Indoor Champions, winning in commanding fashion. The Midshipmen recorded 218 team points, besting second-place Army who scored 182.5 at the Track and Tennis Center in Boston, Mass. The Mids have now won 16 indoor league titles, surpassing the Black Knights for the most in Patriot League history.
 
Navy Director of Track & Field Jamie Cook was named the Men's Patriot League Coach of the Year for the sixth-straight season. The win marked his 25th Patriot League Track & Field Championship (combined indoor and outdoor seasons) across both the men's and women's teams.
 
"You got to celebrate winning," said Cook. "I think there's some areas where we could've done a little better but it's a tough meet and we dealt with a lot of adversity this year. To get the team win in a culminative effort is really special and memorable."
 
Track Events
The 4x400-meter relay punctuated the meet with a gold-medal performance, as Ayden Henley, David Walker, Jason Keiser and Nathan Kent clocked a 3:11.47 — the sixth-best time in school history. Kent's strong anchor leg lifted Navy from second to first on the final lap, securing the program's seventh-straight indoor title in the event.
 
"(Ayden) Henley ran a good first leg," remarked Cook. "David Walker had a good day and Jason Keiser has had a really good freshman season and put Nathan [Kent] in position to help us win the event."
 
Kent also claimed his third-consecutive indoor title in the 400 meters, winning in 47.27 to become just the second athlete in Patriot League history to capture three-straight indoor 400-meter crowns, joining Bucknell's Rob Arent (2010-12). Walker added a fifth-place finish with a career-best 48.22.
 
"Nathan dealt with a lot this year," stated Cook. "It's easy to compete when you're feeling great but when you don't feel your best and still find a way to get things done is the sign of a true champion."
 
In the 60-meter dash, Jonah Johnson led a pair of Midshipmen to the podium with a runner-up finish in 6.86, edging teammate Marcel Jackson, who placed third in 6.87.
 
Dane Eike secured a silver medal in the 3,000 meters, finishing in 8:07.53 after a back-and-forth battle with Holy Cross' Joseph Mahon, who won in 8:06.74. Logan Flament narrowly missed the podium by one-hundredth of a second, placing fourth in a career-best 8:08.44, just behind Army's Maximus Haynia (8:08.43). Justin Mumford (8:10.49) and Jackson Nguyen (8:17.46) finished fifth and eighth, respectively.
 
The 60-meter hurdles final came down to a photo finish, as Michael Wilkerson earned bronze in 8.07. Boston's Micah Perry (7.98) and Army's Austin Hernandez (8.05) narrowly edged him at the line. Keiser placed fourth in 8.14, followed by Bobby Wind in fifth at 8.22.
 
In the mile final, four Midshipmen scored points, led by Eike's fourth-place finish in 4:06.40. American's Kaden Kluth claimed bronze in 4:06.02. Matt Newell placed fifth in 4:08.55, Patrick Gandini finished sixth in 4:09.14 and James Partlow took seventh in 4:10.34.
 
Kent added a fourth-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 21.35. Tyler Yurich took sixth in 21.50, while Johnson placed eighth in 21.62.
 
Aidan Eberhardt rounded out Navy's individual track efforts in the 800 meters, finishing seventh in 1:52.00.
 
The distance medley relay team of Newell, Wind, Matthew Quispe and Gandini placed fourth in 9:53.08.
 
Field Events
Sheldon Ulmer captured the high jump title with a clearance of 2.07 meters (6-09.50), improving on his runner-up finish at last year's indoor championship.
 
Wyatt Shaw placed seventh in the triple jump with a mark of 14.36 meters (47-01.50). It was the first time Shaw competed in the event in his career.
 
Multi Events
Navy dominated the heptathlon, highlighted by Nick Simmons winning his first indoor league championship with 5,144 points. He won the long jump portion of the competition with a leap of 7.07 meters (23-02.50).
 
Jordan Wolverton earned silver with 5,068 points, Jamison Scott placed fourth with 5,003 points and Cooper Wakley finished fifth with 4,832 points.
 
"Scoring 27 points in one event, that's pretty impressive," said Cook. "That pretty much put the nail in the coffin for the team title."
 
Navy will shift its focus to the outdoor season when it heads west to Long Beach, Calif., to compete in the Long Beach Opener next Friday and Saturday.
 
Final Team Scores

1. Navy — 218
2. Army — 182.5
3. Boston — 110
4. Bucknell — 61.5
5. Holy Cross — 49
6. American — 32
7. Lehigh — 28
8. Lafayette — 13
9. Colgate — 8