Men’s Track Falls to Navy

Saturday, April 2

West Point, NY

11 AM

Army West Point

119

Navy

Men’s Track Falls to Navy

April 02, 2016 | Men's Track and Field

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's track and field team dropped a 119-84 to Navy in the 90th edition of the outdoor Star Meet on Saturday from Shea Stadium.

"I thought this was a fantastic meet even though we lost," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mike Smith. "We combined the meet for a reason. We created a great atmosphere, and it was a great competition. There were a couple of meet records that were broken, and the performances were outstanding. This is the kind of energy we need for a Star Meet. I'm glad we were able to have it at West Point and the weather relented. In the end, to watch the 4x400 and the number of people crowding the track to watch the finish and how close the finish was that determined the outcome of the meet was a great example of what our sport can be.

"The idea was to combine the meet because we are one team and to show that we are just as interested in the men as we are the women."

The Midshipmen now hold a 46-44 advantage in the all-time outdoor series.

The 4x100m relay team of Jose Santana, Ben Sims, Kevin Dyer and Tyler Davis sprinted to victory at 40.44, setting a new Academy record as well as breaking the meet record. The Mids finished at 40.62, also topping the previous meet record of 40.73 that was set back in 2000. That time also served as the program record for the past 16 years.

"Those guys work so hard in practice," Smith commented. "They take care of themselves really well and were able to execute today. We ran pretty well, as did Navy. It came down to the anchor leg, we got the baton ahead and Tyler ran a good, strong leg. There anchor was right behind him, though. I think we had the right order and our guys were able to execute. That's how we were able to come away with the win. If you look at the other results, they had some better performances today, but we had a better team and our guys didn't make any mistakes."

Additionally, Sims recorded Army's best mark this season in the long jump with a mark of 7.05m, good enough for a second-place finish in the event.

Sophomore Lee Bares, who holds the Academy's outdoor record for pole vault, can add the Star Meet record to the list of accolades he has acquired in his young career. His winning mark of 5.07m surpassed the previous record of 5.05m which was set in 2001 by Navy's Tom Delaney.

Co-captain Tom Girardot pushed past the field in the 3000m Steeplechase, taking the crown after crossing the finish line at 9:12.23. Junior Jacob Fong placed third for the Black Knights with a time of 9:17.40. The team's other captain, Taylor Andrews, raced to a time of 14.52 to win the 100m hurdles. Ross Puritty placed third in the event at 14.86.

Freshman Kenneth Brinson had a strong performance in his first Star Meet, taking the crown in the hammer throw at 59.00m and finishing as the runner-up in the discus with a mark of 50.25m. Both throws are season bests for the Black Knights.

Santana raced to a second-place finish in the 400 meter dash with a personal-best time of 47.68.

After the first eight events, the Black Knights held a 44-41 advantage.

Freshman Jeff Giannettino captured his first star meet title in the high jump, clearing the 2.05m bar. Alex Olson placed third in the event with a mark of 1.92m.

Trevor Touchton showcased a pair of top performances for the Cadets in the mid-distance events. His 800 time of 1:55.06 was .02 shy of the winner, Just Hyytinen. The Talahassee, Fla., native also gutted out a 3:48.38 in the 1500 meter run, passing Cory Donley on the final lap and coming within .2 seconds of catching Navy's leader, Stephen Schroeder.

Marcus Phillips competed to a second-place inifh in the 400m hurdles with a time of 54.65.

"We are not defined by what happened here today," expressed Smith. "We will go forward and get better; that goes for coaches and athletes. We're in the process of trying to be good, and we're getting closer. We may have lost, but tomorrow is a new day and we're going to get after it and keep pushing forward."

The Black Knights return to action on Saturday, April 9, as the team travels to Charlottesville, Va., to compete in Virginia's Lou Onesty Invitational.

For more information on Army West Point men's track and field, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com and follow @ArmyWP_TrackXC on Twitter.