Navy Rallies To Upend Army In Star Meet

Saturday, February 5

Annapolis, MD

2:30 PM

Army West Point

United States Naval Academy

Navy Rallies To Upend Army In Star Meet

February 05, 2022 | Women's Track and Field

MEET 6
MEET	Navy – Star Meet
RESULTS	Navy 94, Army 87
LOCATION	Wesley A. Brown Fieldhouse

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – In a thrilling meet, the Black Knights were edged by the Mids 94-87 in the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA on Saturday.

MEET SUMMARY
The Black Knights and Midshipmen battled with the lead see-sawing throughout the meet, until Navy pulled ahead in the last four events.

Despite the defeat, the Black Knights had some standout performances including freshman Emily Fink setting the meet record in the shot put and senior Anna Tovkach dominating in the 800m en route to setting the meet and facility record.

Abigail Green won the weight throw (19.02m) with teammate Kayley Ragazzini finishing in second place as the Black Knights took an 8-3 lead. Georgia Jones, who was Army's lone double winner, won the 1-Mile (4:53.97) as the Black Knights led 17-16 after three events. Navy led 29-26 after five events before Army jumped back in front after a 1-2 finish in the 500m. Shayla Bonzelet (1:14.93) won the race followed by Ever Elegon.

Jazmine Alderman won the 60m (7.68) for a 41-36 advantage. The Black Knights later increased their lead with Tovkach exceptional race in the 800m (2:07.16) for a 49-39 lead. Army led 60-50 with seven events remaining after Fink won the shot put. Navy closed the gap with wins in the 200m and sweeping the triple jump.

The Black Knights had a 73-70 lead with four events left when the Mids swept the pole vault and high jump for an 86-79 lead. Navy finished second in the 4x400m and won the 4x800 to clinch the meet.

EVENT WINNERS
Weight Throw – Abigail Green (19.02m)
Shot Put – Emily Fink (15.72m) Meet Record
1 Mile – Georgia Jones (4:53.97)
500m – Shayla Bonzelet (1:14.93)
60m – Jazmine Alderman (7.68)
800m – Anna Tovkach (2:07.16) Meet and Facility Record
3000m – Georgia Jones (9:44.04)
4x400m – Emma Taylor, Lara Westwood-Marsh, Ever Elegon, Anna Tovkach (3:49.42)

COACH'S CORNER
"Going into the meet I felt like we had a slim chance to win but would need quite a few breaks to go our way for that to happen. We did a good job of putting people in the right places to get the points we needed and as we got toward the end we were right there with a shot to win, but we just didn't have the depth we needed to come out on top. In many respects, we outperformed expectations in the events on the track. We came away with 8 wins and the people we needed to perform got the job done and, in some cases, put up record-breaking marks. Saydee Aganus was one of those record breakers. She set a new all-time Army best in the 60m hurdles. She has taken some nice steps forward in recent weeks and today was an indication of how much better she is. Emily Fink set the meet record in the shot put today in her first Star Meet. It is hard enough to win at this level and even more of a challenge for a plebe. I have talked about her often this year and once again she took care of business in a pressure-packed environment. Georgia Jones didn't set any records today but she was our only double champion. Georgia's training has been a little off since the return from the holiday break but she has recently started to show some consistency and her improvement was evident today. She had a strong finish in the mile and then ran a very measured race in the 3k and came very close to eclipsing her meet record in winning that event. She is a force in this meet and has won all 6 Star Meet races in which we have entered her. In the women's 800, Anna Tovkach set a new facility record and meet record. She led wire to wire and was not challenged. She followed that up with a ferocious kick on the anchor leg of the 4x4 and got us the win in the most exciting race of the day. I am not at all disappointed with how we competed today. We made very few mistakes and didn't give away points. In the end, we just didn't have the depth we needed to win the meet. We are a better conference team than a dual team and I expect that we will show up to the conference meet with a good chance to compete at the top of the meet. That is our next challenge." – Mike Smith

UP NEXT
The Black Knights head back to Boston to compete in the David Hemery Valentine Invite on February 11-12.

For complete coverage of Army West Point cross country and track and field, follow the Black Knights on Twitter (ArmyWP_TrackXC) and Instagram (goarmytrack) and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.