Men's Cross Country Wins Fourth Consecutive Patriot League Title

Friday, March 5

Bethlehem, PA

2 PM

Army West Point

Patriot League Championships

Men's Cross Country Wins Fourth Consecutive Patriot League Title

March 05, 2021 | Men's Cross Country

BETHLEHEM, PA - The Army West Point cross country teams competed in the 2021 Patriot League Championship on Friday afternoon. The men's team captured their fourth straight title led by Marshall Beatty and Daniel Mazzei who finished first and second overall.

The men's title marks the program's 11^th Patriot League title and the first time that the Black Knights have recorded four straight victories since the 1993-1996 teams. In addition to the men's fourth title, head coach Mike Smith was also named the Men's Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season.

Marshall Beatty (21:46.8) and Daniel Mazzei (21:53.2) raced their way to victory, grabbing first and second place only seven seconds apart. The two greatly surpassed their 2019 finishes of 13^th and 22^nd respectively. Depth came in handy in Army's eight-point advantage over Boston University, with two additional top 10 finishers in sophomores Garrett Gough and Matthew Porter.

Beatty's first place finish earns him Patriot League Outstanding Performer of the Meet. Beatty and Mazzei both garnered All-Patriot League First Team honors while Gough and Porter made the second-team All-League.

Head Coach Mike Smith's thoughts: "It was an exceptional performance for the men today. We have won four of these titles in a row and each of those wins was fraught with different challenges. In 2017 we were the underdog but we executed the best race plan. In 2018 we were clearly the best team but the rain and mud made the course so treacherous that it was anyone's race and we prevailed because we managed the elements better than anyone else. Last year we were once again the underdog but we were tough and disciplined. This year we have been beset by challenges almost from the start as our guys have had to manage the ups and downs of academy life amidst a pandemic. This week alone we lost our number four and five runners and as a result we went into the race with some young guys that were both inexperienced and unproven. It was far from a proven lineup. Yet it was that adversity that bonded these guys and willed them to the win today. The night before the race our team captain Daniel Mazzei told the men that he would be close to Marshall the entire race and that he expected everyone else to "have your eyes on me" if they were not in contact with him. It was the kind of speech that concerns a coach because the guys were ready to run through a wall when he was done speaking and we had well over 12 hours to go before the race. They were so amped up I don't know how they slept last night. Fast forward to the starting line and the guys were locked in. As the race developed our pack of five took command of the front pack. It was so clear that we were in control that I think it played into the strategy of the other teams. They had to know that we had the numbers and we were looking very strong. We had 5 in the top 10 and Marshall was controlling the tempo. He would surge with the wind at his back and draft during the stretch into the headwind. Marshall has reached a new level of fitness in training and was thoroughly prepared for this race. We knew he would be in contention for the win and hovering near the front.

We were dominating the race until I saw our lone plebe in the race (Mitchell Burr) start to struggle. He has been trained for the mile this winter so this race distance might have been a stretch for him but we had no choice but to count on him. when we lost our number 4-5 earlier in the week, Mitchell knew that his role had become more significant. It is the kind of pivot that we have had to make all year in dealing with the pandemic. And maybe that is what separates our kids from others out there. Our kids deal with adversity every single day. The entire institutional mission is designed to put them into pressure situations and force them to problem solve their way to solutions. There is no other alternative. Mitchell started to fade late in the race and so did our chances of winning. But he caught himself and realized that he had no choice but to hang on. Afterward He told me that he was hallucinating over the last mile. The fatigue was written all over his face. It was a struggle but he hung on just enough. I was proud of his effort. What we got from the other 4 men was remarkable. To a man, our top 4 ran the best race of their lives. Matthew porter battled injuries all fall and has only recently regained his fitness. We had no baseline for what to expect from him today. He finished in the 30s at this meet last year. Then there he was hammering at the front of the race today as if it was an expectation. I was concerned that he might be over his head until he gave me a thumbs up halfway through. He was brimming with confidence at that point And from there he battled all the way to the line. His gritty effort typified what we saw from the others. Garrett Gough struggled to regain his fitness this fall after a summer injury stalled his training. The winter break really helped him to load up again and he has been very consistent this winter. It has only been in the last couple of weeks that he really made a jump in his fitness. And today he ran to his potential. There was a point in the last 600 meters where Garrett had started to fade a little and dropped out of the top 10. Matthew had also faded a little but recognized that Garrett was dropping and surged up to him and urged him forward. Then the two of them charged forward and picked off 2-3 struggling opponents as they sprinted to the line to finish 8 and 9. It was the kind of small in-race episode that would never appear in a result but that is significant enough to relate it because it impacted the outcome in a race decided by only 8 points. The stars of the day were clearly Mazzei and Beatty.

Daniel won the rookie of the meet award as a plebe and then battled injuries in his sophomore and junior seasons. This year he has been healthy and as a result has been a force for us and our unquestioned leader. I have told the leaders of our teams that they have to learn to be both a "sayer" and a "doer". Many people talk about what they will do in competition but it is those that follow through that are the best leaders. We saw that today in Daniel Mazzei. He told the guys what he was going to do and then he did it. The guys behind him followed him. The thing about Danny's race today was the ferocity of his finish. He was in the top 10 most of the race but had dropped to 6th in the late stages. In fact when I saw him with 400 to go he was no where close the Boston guys in 2nd and 3rd. He put on a surge that was extraordinary ate up ground. We do some things in training to improve our finishing speed but his kick today was less about training and more about competitive rage. It was inspiring. Ahead of him storming to the finish line was Marshall Beatty. For much of the race he was in control at the front but because the wind was so string he was smart to stay in reserve and then at the decisive point in the race he drove hard with a vicious move that broke the Boston guys and win him the race. As good as he has been in our program this is only his second cross country win. He won the Maine dual meet as a plebe and now he is a patriot league champion joining only 4 other Army men to win this race in the 31 year history of the meet (Dan Browne, Scott Goff, will wyche, and John Anderson). The last time we had a winner was 2008 (Anderson). It was a great win for the guys today. They were winners in my mind in just making it to the starting line and then for them to perform the way they did today was just a remarkable accomplishment. I am very proud of the way they competed. Our season will continue for Marshall at the NCAA meet on March 15.

Event Finishes:

Men's
1^st: Marshall Beatty (21:46.8)
2^nd: Daniel Mazzei (21:53.2)
8^th: Garrett Gough (22:09.5)
9^th: Matthew Porter (22:11.5)
21^st: Mitchell Burr (22:46.1)
40^th: Allen Sparks (23:51.4)

Compiled Results: https://results.leonetiming.com/xc.html?mid=2150