ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Navy men’s and women’s track and field teams wasted no time making statements in their 2025-26 indoor season opener, sweeping three events, posting two program top-10 marks, and claiming 14 individual victories Saturday at the Navy Indoor Invitational inside the Wesley A. Brown Field House.
Hosting Johns Hopkins, Loyola Maryland, Maryland, Mount St. Mary’s and William & Mary, the Midshipmen used the annual early-December meet — traditionally the only home competition before the Army-Navy Star Meet in January — to gauge fall training progress. Director of Track & Field Jamie Cook left the facility pleased with both results and attitude.
“This is a good meet to use as a reference point to see how fall training went,” Cook said. “We did some good things across the board. There are still some areas that need improvement, but the team morale is high and everyone knows what to do going into the break before we start again in January. I was pleasantly surprised with how some of the young athletes performed, and I know there’s a lot more in the tank. We have young leaders doing good things, and I’m excited to see their progress in the months to come.”
The day’s loudest performances came from sprinter Conor McFadden and jumper Zoie Tesi. McFadden, a junior from New Jersey, blasted a 6.84 in the 60m dash finals to finish second overall and tie the No. 10 mark in Navy history, matching the 2019 time of Greg Sholars. Tesi, a sophomore from Colorado, cleared 1.74m (5-8½) on her third attempt at the height to win the women’s high jump victory and move into a tie for fourth on Navy’s all-time indoor list. She followed that by winning her first career indoor triple jump title at 11.81m (38-9), nearly nailing the school-record high jump of 1.77m later in the competition.
Navy’s depth was on full display in the men’s 60m hurdles: Navy advanced all seven preliminary qualifiers to the eight-man final. Freshman Jason Keiser from Pennsylvania won in 8.17, with senior Michael Wilkerson (8.34) and sophomore Bobby Wind (8.38) rounding out an all-Mids podium. On the women’s side, team captain Jia Anderson defended her hurdles crown in 8.75, holding off Maryland’s Ogechi Uzoukwu by 0.12 seconds, while classmate Caroline Rey took third in 8.89.
Distance runners delivered drama in the 1,000m when senior Aidan Eberhardt leaned at the line to defeat Maryland’s Joe Garzio 2:25.53 to 2:25.55 — a margin of just two-hundredths of a second. Eberhardt’s kick also gave Navy its closest finish of the day and kept the home crowd roaring in the final individual events’ finale.
Navy swept the men’s long jump (William Pierce 7.24m/23-9, Wyatt Shaw 7.08m/23-2¾, Nick Simmons 7.05m/23-1¾), the men’s 500m (freshman Ayden Henley 1:05.27, Mason Wokoma 1:06.81, Ethan Mullinix 1:06.96) and the men’s high jump (Sheldon Ulmer 2.14m/7-0¼, his first time clearing seven feet indoors). The Mids also closed the meet by winning the men’s 4x400m relay in 3:16.07 with the quartet of David Walker, Simon Alexander, McFadden and Henley.
Freshmen continued to impress across the board. Ben Marks ran 4:14.46 for third in the mile, Henley doubled back from his 500m win to anchor the winning relay, Hunter-Robbins Mann threw a personal-best 15.72m (51-7) for second in the shot put in his collegiate debut, and Hayden Overgaard took third at 15.38m (50-5½). On the women’s side, Madelyn Berry posted 5:13.92 for fifth in the mile.
Sophomore Sophia Richter dominated the women’s 400m wire-to-wire in 56.57, while Julia Blake earned her first collegiate victory in the 800m (2:14.52) with classmate Reilly Nussbaum right behind in 2:15.11. Shane Conroy controlled the men’s 3,000m from the gun, winning in 8:30.26.
In the throws, junior Aaron Spears unleashed a personal-best 17.97m (58-11½) for second in the men’s weight throw, while classmate Merrick Hocking opened his career with 17.49m (57-4¾) for third. Adam Bell cleared 4.90m (16-0¾) to win the men’s pole vault, and Gracie Emerick led Navy women with 3.75m (12-3½) for third.
The Wesley A. Brown Field House, opened in 2008 and named for Navy’s first African-American graduate (Class of 1949), seats approximately 1,500 and features a 200-meter Mondo track with eight lanes on the straightaway. Saturday’s meet served as the traditional tune-up before the Midshipmen’s annual dual against Army on Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2026 — the indoor portion of the storied Army-Navy Star Series that Navy has won 11 of the last 12 years.
Navy returns to competition Jan. 10 when it hosts Princeton in the first dual meet of the season at the same venue.
Full Navy Event Winners
- Men’s 60m Hurdles: Jason Keiser – 8.17
- Women’s 60m Hurdles: Jia Anderson – 8.75
- Women’s 400m: Sophia Richter – 56.57
- Men’s 500m: Ayden Henley – 1:05.27
- Women’s 800m: Julia Blake – 2:14.52
- Men’s 1,000m: Aidan Eberhardt – 2:25.53
- Men’s 3,000m: Shane Conroy – 8:30.26
- Women’s High Jump: Zoie Tesi – 1.74m (5-8½)
- Men’s High Jump: Sheldon Ulmer – 2.14m (7-0¼)
- Men’s Pole Vault: Adam Bell – 4.90m (16-0¾)
- Men’s Long Jump: William Pierce – 7.24m (23-9)
- Women’s Triple Jump: Zoie Tesi – 11.81m (38-9)
- Men’s 4x400m Relay – 3:16.07
