CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Navy track & field opened its East Coast outdoor slate with a strong performance at the Virginia Opener, piling up event wins, personal-best marks and top-10 program times across both track and field events.
 
"I like this meet because it's small, it's well run, and you can get kids into a lot of different events," Navy director of track & field Jamie Cook said. "With it being early in the season, that's what you're looking for — giving kids opportunities.
 
"With just us [Navy], Virginia and Liberty competing, we were able to feed off each other. The other teams were strong in some areas and we were strong in others, but overall it was a good experience getting down there and getting everyone acclimated to the outdoor season."
 
Track Events
The meet opened with the women's 4x100-meter relay team of Caroline Rey, Sophia Richter, Julienne Warner and Jia Anderson placing second with the fourth-fastest time in program history at 46.03.
 
The men's 4x100-meter squad of Marcel Jackson, Nathan Kent, Jonah Johnson and Tyler Yurich followed with a victory in 40.05, the ninth-fastest time in school history.
 
In the women's 1,500 meters, Julia Blake led Navy with a fourth-place finish in 4:33.78. On the men's side, Zack Poekert recorded a career-best 3:51.11 to place third.
 
Jason Keiser claimed the men's 110-meter hurdles title in 14.06, edging Virginia's Peter Djan (14.09). Rey posted a personal-best 14.36 in the women's 100-meter hurdles to finish fourth.
 
Rey added another personal best in the 100 meters, clocking 11.99 to take third. Yurich won the men's 100 meters in 10.70.
 
Kent earned a victory in the men's 400 meters with a time of 47.25. Richter recorded a career-best 55.54 to finish second in the women's race, narrowly behind Virginia's Ariel Fletcher (55.12).
 
Aidan Eberhardt posted a career-best 1:51.19 in the 800 meters to place fourth and lead the team in the event.
David Walker won the 400-meter hurdles for the second consecutive meet in 52.61. Sara McConnell finished fourth in the women's race with a personal-best 1:04.15.
 
France clocked the top time of 21.60 in the men's 200 meters. Savannah Swanda led the women with a season-best 25.06 to place fourth.
 
The 4x400-meter relays closed the meet, with both Navy teams placing second. The women (Reilly Nussbaum, Julia Blake, Lucia Castillo-Rios and ChiChi Obasi) recorded a time of 3:54.70, while the men (Walker, Jamison Scott, Nick Simmons and Jordan Wolverton) finished in 3:15.64, one second behind Virginia's winning time of 3:14.64.
 
Field Events
Zoie Tesi highlighted the field events with a victory in the high jump, clearing 1.76 meters (5-9 1/4) for the second-best mark in program history.
 
Emma Miller led Navy in the javelin with a fifth-place throw of 41.76 meters (137-0). The throwing events continued in the hammer throw, where Nalina Smith recorded a career-best 55.21 meters (181-1) to finish sixth.
 
In the long jump, Simmons placed third with a leap of 6.93 meters (22-9), followed by Wyatt Shaw in fourth at 6.90 meters (22-7 3/4). Bennett Pidro finished fourth in the women's event at 5.50 meters (18-1/2).
 
In the final jumping events, Simmons added a runner-up finish in the triple jump with a mark of 13.98 meters (45-10 1/2). Wolverton won the high jump with a season-best clearance of 2.01 meters (6-7).
 
Aaron Spears led a group of 13 Midshipmen in the hammer throw, placing second with a distance of 54.75 meters (179-7).
 
Julia Norris recorded a fifth-place finish in both the discus (44.67 meters / 146-6) and shot put (season-best 13.95 meters / 45-9 1/4).
 
On the men's side, Hunter-Robbins Mann recorded a sixth-place discus throw of 46.65 meters (153-0) and an eighth-place shot put mark of 15.55 meters (51-1/4).
 
Kyle Ashley led Navy in the javelin with a third-place throw of 60.51 meters (198-6).
 
Navy returns to action next week at a pair of meets, traveling to Raleigh, N.C., for the Raleigh Relays while also hosting the Navy Outdoor Invitational at Ingram Field in Annapolis.