ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's track & field team took second place at the 2026 Patriot League Outdoor Championship on Saturday as the two-day league championship concluded at Ingram Field in Annapolis. Navy led the meet for most of day two until Army surged with victories in the 4x400-meter relay and the discus to narrowly edge the Midshipmen, 201.58-197.33.
The Mids began the day with 41 points in third place before jumping Boston University, which finished third in the meet with 172.25 points.
"It's tough when you don't get the win, but we made up a big gap entering today and we kept it close for a while up until the last few events," Director of Track and Field
Jamie Cook said. "I'm really proud of our effort and we're going to improve, keep working and getting better."
Track Events
The 3,000-meter steeplechase kicked off the track events, featuring
Mia-Claire Kezal, who medaled in her first individual outdoor event. Kezal posted a second-place time of 10:38.21, besting Army's Abigail Ringwood, who placed third in 10:39.48.
Caroline Carter finished in eighth place, crossing the line in 10:55.01.
Sophie Compton shattered the school record in the 1,500 meters by four seconds, placing third in the race at 4:16.64. She bested her previous record of 4:20.16 set earlier this season.
Juliet Frum ran a season-best time to take eighth in 4:27.22.
Sophia Richter also set a school record, finishing second in the 400 meters with a time of 53.41. She beat the previous mark of 53.70 set by Molly Mangan in 2023.
Richter went on to win her second medal of the day in the 200-meter sprint, clocking the fifth-fastest time in school history at 24.09 to place second.
Jia Anderson finished fifth in the event with a time of 24.25.
The 4x100-meter relay provided a thrilling finish as the Navy quartet of
Caroline Rey, Richter,
Savannah Swanda and Anderson took home the gold medal with a time of 46.24. Anderson ran a strong final leg, holding off Loyola (46.31) and Boston University (46.34) for the top spot.
Anderson earned her second medal of the day, taking silver in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.77. Rey clocked in at 13.82 for fourth place, and
Bennett Pidro took seventh in 14.49.
Rey and Anderson continued to impress, as each reached the podium in the 100 meters. Rey placed second with a time of 11.87, while Anderson took third in 11.95.
Julienne Warner also ran a solid race, claiming sixth in 12.05.
Sara McConnell put up a valiant effort in the 400-meter hurdles, running a career-best time of 1:01.11 to take fourth place.
Peighton Marrero clocked an eighth-place time of 1:04.00.
Compton reached the podium again in the 5,000 meters with a second-place time of 16:51.75.
The 4x400-meter relay closed out the meet as the squad of
Samaria Williams, Swanda, ChiChi Obasi and Richter placed fifth in 3:47.84.
Field Events
Zoie Tesi won the high jump with a height of 1.70 meters (5-7) on her final attempt.
Farrah Eike finished in a three-way tie with Army's Thai Douglas and Colgate's Kiran George for second place at 1.66 meters (5-5.25).
Sarah Spahr finished fifth after she also cleared 1.66 meters but required more attempts.
Tesi jumped her way into another podium finish, claiming second in the triple jump with the second-best mark in school history at 12.39 meters (40-7.75).
"Zoie had a great performance today," Cook said. "She fought through some adversity and showed how tough she is, and that's what we ask of our athletes."
Gretchen Hurt led the Midshipmen in the shot put with a seventh-place mark of 13.85 meters (45-5.25).
Julia Norris paced the team in the discus with a fifth-place throw of 46.54 meters (152-8), and
Nalina Smith rounded out the scoring for the Mids with an eighth-place toss of 44.79 meters (146-11).
Heptathlon
McConnell led the way for the Midshipmen in the heptathlon, finishing second with 5,019 points—the fourth-highest total in school history. McConnell finished strong in the final two events of the day, placing second in both the javelin (36.08 meters / 118-4) and the 800 meters (2:17.33).
Bennett Pidro (fourth place, 4,813 points),
Brooke Magistrelli (fifth, 4,743), Obasi (sixth, 4,536) and
Morgan Blackford (seventh, 4,536) were major scoring contributors in the heptathlon.
Patriot League Outdoor Championship Day One Team Scores
1. Army (201.58 points)
2. Navy (197.33 points)
3. Boston (172.25 points)
4. Bucknell (115.25 points)
5. Lehigh (72 points)
6. Holy Cross (40 points)
7. Loyola (22 points)
8. Colgate (17.33 points)
9. Lafayette (13.25 points)
10. American (6 points)
Navy continues its postseason run May 28-30 and travels to Lexington, Kentucky, to compete in the NCAA First Round.
