Navy Wins Men's XC Star Meet

Saturday, October 17

Annapolis, MD

11 AM

Army West Point

Navy

Navy Wins Men's XC Star Meet

October 17, 2020 | Men's Cross Country

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Army West Point cross country team came up short at the Army-Navy Star Meet on Saturday, falling to service academy rival Navy 23-34 at the Naval Academy Golf Course.

The Black Knights produced several strong performances in the race, led by junior Marshall Beatty and senior captain Daniel Mazzei who finished second and third respectively. But the depth of the Midshipmen prevailed on this day, as Navy claimed six of the top ten positions to come out on top for the second year in a row.

Senior captain Julian Perez paced the field for Navy, winning his second consecutive race of the shortened 2020 season. Sophomore Garrett Gough (eighth) and freshman Thomas Vo (ninth) rounded out the top ten for Army.

Beatty continues to be a bright spot for the young Black Knights squad, as the former Patriot League Rookie of the Meet and two-time All-Leaguer has led the team in each of its past two meets. He placed third at the Three Team Battle in Beantown in September.

COACH'S CORNER: Head Coach Mike Smith

"It was a painful loss for the men today. We had two really strong performances up front from Marshall Beatty and Daniel Mazzei but we could not capitalize on their efforts to pull out the win. Both of those guys measured their effort and did a really nice job of moving up in the race, but we couldn't get that from our other key guys and it proved to be our downfall today. Marshall misjudged the timing of his move and came up just short of the winner. Daniel ran the best race of his life to get third. He has shown great responsibility for his training and performance in recent weeks and that has made a big difference in his race instincts. He expects more of himself and that was evident today. He is in a great place right now and it won't surprise me if he continues to raise the expectations of our entire team.

The race was conservative early and we did a nice job of staying patient, but when the break came we didn't go with it and we came up short at the end. The guys know what mistakes they made today and they didn't make excuses for how they performed. If there is a sliver lining it is that we can run much better than this if we stay committed to the plan and race with more determination. We have shown that in practice with great consistency so it is not out if reach.

We have a 3 week training block ahead of us as we prepare for Veterans Day and America's Race on "The Plain". We will be ready."

TOP FINISHERS:
2. Marshall Beatty – 24:13.81
3. Daniel Mazzei – 24:22.19
8. Garrett Gough – 24:45.43
9. Thomas Vo – 24:51.38
13. Robert Chappell – 24:58.74

FULL RESULTS: https://results.mdtimingllc.com/meets/6598/xc-events/217955/results