Black Knights Place Second At League Championships

Saturday, February 29

Bethlehem, Pa.

Army West Point

Patriot League Championships

Black Knights Place Second At League Championships

March 01, 2020 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Army men's and women's track & field teams placed second at the Patriot League Indoor Track & Field Championships on Sunday.

The Black Knights were victorious in 10 events, with each winner earning First Team All-Patriot League honors for their victories. Nine Cadets earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors for their silver medal performances in the meet.

Michael Renard set the Patriot League Championship record with a 18.70 meter throw in the men's shot put. It is the senior's third throw of 18.70 meters or more this season. He is also the second Army thrower to set the meet record this weekend after Abigail Green broke the women's weight throw record with a 19.49-meter mark on Saturday.

Emily Mikoud was equally dominant in the women's shot put, winning gold with a throw of 15.14 meters. Both Mikoud and Renard were named Patriot League Field Athletes of the Meet.

Calli McMullen closed out her Patriot League indoor career with a gold medal performance in the 200-meter dash. Teammate Kedrin Jefferson was also victorious in the 200 on the men's side with a time of 21.50.

The men's team recorded 213 overall points while the women's team recorded 133. Both fell short to Navy who won the league championship in both meets.

COACH'S CORNER: Head Coach Mike Smith
(On men's meet)
We knew going into the finals today that the outcome would come down to how we compared to Navy in a few key toss-up events. We dominated in the shot put and high jump and Navy dominated in the multi and the pole vault. Those results were expected. The toss-up events were on the oval and we just didn't get enough of the top places to close the gap. Our talent was enough to win in most cases, but our depth wasn't good enough or we just didn't race the way we needed to.

We asked people to do a lot of events and run a lot of races because that is what it takes to win. Maybe that cost us a little here and there, but It is hard to pin any one outcome on fatigue. I think the experience of fitting it out several times will pay off for us in the future.

Overall, the guys showed some real grit and determination and I was proud of their effort.
Mike Renard was named the Male Field Performer of the Meet and it was an honor well deserved He is a big meet performer and has set a very high standard for others to follow.

The way those guys performed today in the shot was outstanding. We needed to dominate the event and we did. Jamir Gibson, Geoff Kirk, and Reece Goddard are all gamers when there is pressure and they stood tall today behind Mike.

The high jump guys also did what we needed them to do. Bryce Samuel has had some ups and downs for us this year, but he has recently sharpened his focus and the results have been great. I am proud of him for the way he has handled himself. He has developed some consistency and was rewarded today with a conference title. That is the third year in a row that we have won the high jump at this meet.

Keagan Smith did a nice job of measuring his effort in the mile and kicked at the right time to win it. I was happy to see him close out his career with that win. Kedrin Jefferson was an expected winner in the 200 and he looked great doing it. We asked a lot of him this weekend in addition to the 200m and he came through in both the 60 and the 4x4.

We will be a much better outdoor track and field team than an indoor team and that starts tomorrow. The men will get a much needed off day on Monday and then we are focused forward.

(On women's meet)
"We just didn't have enough scoring opportunities today to compete with the Navy team. We had some nice wins in the 200, the shot, and the DMR and several second place showings, but not enough other places to push our team closer to the title.

The key performers for us today were our winners and our seniors. We ask a lot of Calli McMullen and she never disappoints. She won the 200 in rout today and the time that she ran on this track was a special performance. It was not a meet record because others have run faster on a banked track, but this 200m oval has a tight radius and 24.29 on this oval is impressive. I regret that we have not been able to get a conference title for her. She has had a great career and it will be difficult to replace her points and impossible to replace the person that she is. She has carried this team since she arrived.

Emily Mikoud was a dominant winner in the shot put today. She came in as the conference leader and the defending champion. She places a lot of pressure on herself to win, so I am happy for her that she was able to repeat as the champion. She had to work for it so I expect that the process of figuring out how to win will really help her as she drives to compete at the highest levels. She emerged for us a year ago and has been splitting her time trying to perfect the shot, the weight, the hammer, and the discus all at the same time. It's an large ask to take a novice and do that. Only a special kid can make that adaptation and that is what she is. She is one of our most valuable kids and will only get better with time.

Our other win today was in the distance medley I can't say we expected to win that event because we put a freshman on the anchor leg in Erika Rapp, but she was up to the task and I am glad that we kept her fresh for that race. It was a team effort and sometimes it works out when you put kids in a position to be successful and then they step up to the challenge. All four of those women did a great job.

We thought we could get to 150 points today, so to come up short of that is disappointing, but we were able to be fairly consistent in most places and it didn't cost us in the standings. It takes 200 to win the title and that is where we need to point our team. This season ends today, we will recover and then point toward the outdoor season. We are a much more complete team outside, and we look forward to that challenge."

CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS (1^stTeam All-Patriot League):
Women's 200m Dash: Calli McMullen – 24.29
Men's 200m Dash: Kedrin Jefferson – 21.50
Men's Mile: Keagan Smith – 4:17.10
Women's DMR: Morgan Chewning-Kulick, Haley Watson, Hannah Deines, Erika Rapp – 12:03.91
Women's Shot Put: Emily Mikoud – 15.14m
Men's Shot Put: Michael Renard – 18.70m (PLC Record)
Men's High Jump: Bryce Samuel – 2.05m

From Saturday
Women's Weight: Abigail Green – 19.49m (Academy and PLC Record)
Men's Weight Throw: Jamir Gibson – 19.11m
4x800m Relay: Madeline Magoto, Haley Watson, Hannah Deines, Anna Tovkach – 8:59.43

2nd Team All-Patriot League:
Women's 60m Dash: Calli McMullen – 7.53
Women's Mile: Sam Colletti – 4:59.44
Men's 5000m: Ben Petrella – 14:32.34
Men's 4x400m Relay: Calvin Wetzel, Al-Tarik Samuel, Kedrin Jefferson, Kevin Sembrat – 3:17.19
Men's Shot Put: Geoff Kirk – 18.16m
Men's Weight Throw – Michael Renard – 19.03m (Saturday)

FULL RESULTS: http://results.tfmeetpro.com/Mitchell_Timing/Patriot_League_Indoor_Track_and_Field_Championships/index.html