Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
David Hemery Valentine Invitational
Burr & Griner Set Academy Records at Hemery Valentine Invite
February 13, 2023 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
BOSTON, MA – Army West Point track & field had a pair of standout performances at the David Hemery Valentine Invite as part of a highly competitive field.
Mitchell Burr broke the longest standing indoor program record dating back to 1986 with a time of 2:12.15, shattering the record by over two seconds.
Less than a month after setting the 800m program record at Boston College, Luke Griner set a new mark with a time of 1:48.94, besting his previous time of 1:49.13.
On the women's side a pair of 400m times landed in the top-10 in the program record books. Holli Chapman posted the fifth-fastest time in academy history with a 55.93, while Ever Elegon's 56.82 landed her eighth in the record books. Both times were new personal bests for Chapman and Elegon.
Army Top Finishers
Men
60m: David Counts (7.45) - 61st
400m: Elijah Bellamy (48.86) - 45th
800m: Luke Griner (1:48.94) - 13th
1000m: Mitchell Burr (2:21.15) - 1st
5000m: Garrett Gough (13:50.40) - 60th
Pole Vault: David Counts (4.45m) - 6th
Women
400m: Holli Chapman (55.93) - 23rd
400m: Ever Elegon (56.82) - 46th
1-mile: Melissa Jachim (4:59.38) - 139th
3000m: Georgia Jones (9:32.52) - 73rd
5000m: Claire Lewis (17:33.8) - 98th
Triple Jump: Kalliauna Powers (11.33m) - 15th
Coach's Corner
"This meet was one of the most competitive regular season meets I have been to in a long time. There were record breaking times, top 10 NCAA marks and elite level races in every event. We came to the meet for precisely that reason and our team responded with some great performances. It helped that the building was packed with spectators. If this place held 5,000 people then there were 6,000 in it tonight. There were few empty seats. It was three deep, standing room only along the concourse right above the track. Down on the the infield there was a ring of people both inside and outside the oval. It was like a human tunnel for 200 meters. It was impossible not to feel the energy of the crowd as race after race toed the line and hammered around the track. It was sensational. We had numerous season bests, personal bests and in general some really competitive outcomes. But there were two performances that outshone all the others. Luke Griner lowered his own academy record in the 800 by running 1:48.94. It was another strong performance for him in a season of great results. He followed that up with a great leg on our 4x400m relay that ran a season best time of 3:13.25. That set the tone for the day for our guys as one after the other set personal best time in various events. Then as the energy of the meet was building toward the distance events, Mitchell Burr '24 lined up for the 1000 meters. Fresh off his win at Army Navy he was brimming with confidence and fitness that has been unmatched down at Gillis Field House. He was put into the fastest heat of the day against largely a field of professional runners that included a former NCAA champion. What followed was the kind of race that Mitchell has always been capable of but never quite put together. He positioned himself just off the leader and hung there for the first 800 meters and then unleashed a finishing kick that carried him across the line first. His winning time of 2:21.15 destroyed an Academy record (2:23.50) that had stood since 1986. It was the longest standing Army indoor record on the books. The guys that he beat walked away from the finish line wondering what happened. It was the least likely outcome for that race on this day. The college kid isn't supposed to win that race; but no one told Mitchell Burr…and it wouldn't have mattered if they had. When he is on his game he is very difficult to handle. He has lethal speed at the end of races and when he shifts gears he can strike with astonishing quickness. He did that today and some of the best guys around could not respond. His last lap was 26.42 seconds. It was the fastest lap that he ran in the race by over 1.5 seconds. It was the fastest lap run by any of the 77 men that ran the 1000 meter race today. He carried so much speed through the finish line that he needed the railing on the outside of the track, well past the finish line, to slow him down. There are other men in the country that have run faster than Mitchell did today but not many. And in the history of the Service Academies, no man has ever even come close to what we saw today. It was impressive. On a day that saw numerous records and incredible performances, we contributed to the energy of the meet and we can carry this momentum into the conference meet in 2 weeks." - Director of Track & Field Mike Smith
UP NEXT
Army will stay home for the West Point Tune-Up this Saturday (Feb. 18), ahead of the Patriot League Championships on Feb. 25-26.
Players Mentioned
