Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Navy (Men's Star Meet)
Army Men Lose Star Meet To Navy
April 05, 2014 | Track
April 5, 2014
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army men’s track & field team posted six season bests, surpassed IC4A qualifying marks eight times and added to program all-time top 10 lists four times in its 124-79 loss to Navy at Shea Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Mids claimed all eight field events to claim an early lead en route to the victory.
“The men’s team was up against what I think might be the best Patriot League team in the last 10 years,” head coach Troy Engle said. “Navy would have been an extremely difficult team to beat with all cylinders firing. We had guys with season best and career best performances, but so did Navy. It was really tough.”
Despite the Mids’ success, Army had several strong performances in the field events. Pete Miller and Jacob Drozd placed second and third, respectively, in the javelin. Miller’s throw of 64.03 was the best by a Black Knight this season, qualified him for the IC4A Championship and ranked sixth on the Army all-time top 10. Drozd’s 61.55-meter heave marked the third time he broke the IC4A standard and went down as the 10th-best throw in school history.
Army also had season-best performances by Christopher Kittle in the long jump (6.77), Jordan Trompke in the hammer throw (50.82), Alex Fletcher in the discus (45.20) and Tony Holland in the high jump (1.94).
Clyde Wilson and Chris Smith claimed Army’s individual victories in the 800-meter run and 400-meter hurdles, respectively. Wilson clocked a 1:52.67, while Smith’s time of 53.58 was the third time this season he beat the IC4A qualifying standard. In addition, Stevyn Spees, Patrick Taylor, Wilson and Smith combined to take the 4x400-meter relay team with a time of 3:21.51.
The Black Knights’ 4x100-meter relay squad also found success, crossing second in a time of 41.58 which beat the IC4A standard and represented a season best.
Rookie Jose Santana continued his strong start with second-place finishes in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash. His 10.74 in the 100-meters marked the third time he beat the IC4A mark this season and ranked 10th on the Army top 10 list. His 21.59 in the 200 meters topped the IC4A mark and tied for sixth on the Army all-time ledger.
Taylor Andrews and Patrick Taylor also bested IC4A standards in the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter dash, respectively. Andrews finished second by less than .01 of a second (14.66), reaching the IC4A mark for the fourth time this season. Taylor crossed the line second with a time of 48.48. Nathan Fisher’s 1,500-meter time of 3:56.08 was a season best.
“We would have obviously like to have come out with a win, but the guys competed hard and competed well,” Engle said. “We just need to get a little bit older and gain some maturity and experience.”
The Black Knights remain at home when they host the Army 5-Way on Saturday, April. 12.
