The Navy Track and Field teams competed in the Dalton Ebanks Invitational on Saturday, producing an impressive performance. Navy totaled 14 IC4A/ECAC qualifying times/marks and won two events at the meet held in Fairfax, Virginia. Associate Head Coach Chris Campbell expressed his satisfaction with the athletes’ performance, especially the developmental athletes who seized the opportunity to prove themselves.
“This was an opportunity to give more of our athletes a chance to compete in a real meet with real performance marks to see what they could do. We were very pleased with the effort today. We had a lot of kids compete and we saw a lot of solid performances,” Campbell said.
Navy’s Dane Vernor won the hammer throw on Friday with an IC4A qualifying distance of 58.02m (190′ 4″). Sam Kwatkosky also registered a qualifying distance of 56.42m (185′ 1″) to place fifth.
David Huizenga led Navy in the discus and shot put by placing second in both events. He posted a qualifying mark of 51.00m (167′ 4″) in the discus and recorded a mark of 15.22m (49′ 11.25″) in the shot put.
Jordynn Hutchinson registered a pair of career-best marks in the hammer throw and shot put. She took second in the hammer throw with a distance of 49.20m (161′ 5″) and third in the shot put with a throw of 13.17m (43′ 2.5″). The sophomore also placed seventh in the discus with a mark of 42.69m (140′ 0″).
In the javelin event, Sarah Perico finished third with a mark of 36.43m (119′ 6″), while Alycia Ruiz placed fourth with a mark of 35.06m (115′ 0″). Hannah Lowenstein placed second in the high jump with an ECAC qualifying height of 1.70m (5′ 7″), falling just short of a program top-10 mark by 0.01m.
Navy’s Caden Dailey and Jay Evans excelled in the sprint events. Dailey finished second in the 100m dash with a qualifying time of 10.70, while Evans placed third overall in the 200m with a qualifying time of 21.87. Evans also finished sixth in the 400m with a time of 48.99. Mike Quispe posted Navy’s top time in the 400m to place third with a time of 48.71, the best finish of his career.
In the distance events, Tom Fodor placed first in the 3,000m steeplechase with a collegiate-best/qualifying time of 9:13.07, followed by Joe Reimann in second place with a collegiate-best/qualifying time of 9:17.48. Sean Miller finished fifth with a time of 9:24.51. Katelyn Pepin placed seventh in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase with the best time of her career at 11:28.73.
Ian Bartlett, Jack Lange, and Luke Nester all recorded qualifying times in the 1500m, with Bartlett leading the way by placing sixth with the best time of his career at 3:51.09. Lange and Nester recorded times of 3:54.08 and 3:54.55, respectively. Carson Sloat finished sixth in the 800m with the best outdoor time of his career at 1:52.41. Max Lapuh posted the fastest 110m hurdles time (15.28) of his career to place seventh. Mitchell Rome finished fourth in the 5,000m with a collegiate-best/qualifying time of 14:18.57, while Alexander Kirkland registered a collegiate-best/qualifying time at 14:23.15 to place eighth. Caroline Harding placed sixth in the women’s 5,000m with a career-best time of 17:19.06.
Navy’s performance at the meet resulted in the team retaining the number one spot in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Region rankings. The Mids earned the top spot among 32 teams for the third-consecutive week. Navy’s point total of 858.85 points is 156.9 more points than No. 2 Penn State, making it the second-highest in the nation, behind BYU’s 867.96.
The Mids have recorded 14 top-five times/marks in the region, including the best 400m time (Jonathan Simmons, 46.52) and javelin distance (Braden Presser, 73.08m / 239′ 9″).
Navy’s upcoming meet, the Virginia Grand Prix, will be held in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, with a scheduled start time of 11 a.m. The Mids will be looking to continue their winning ways and prepare for the conference championship.
The Dalton Ebanks Invitational provided a platform for Navy’s developmental athletes to showcase their abilities, with many producing their career-best marks and times. The team’s strong performance also solidified their position as the top-ranked team in the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region rankings, and with the upcoming Virginia Grand Prix, Navy’s athletes will be eager to continue their excellent form as they look to cement their place in the conference championship roster.