Track & Field Begins 2025 Competition with West Point Open

Saturday, January 11

West Point, NY

Army West Point

West Point Open

Track & Field Begins 2025 Competition with West Point Open

January 12, 2025 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

WEST POINT, NY - Army West Point track & field played host to the annual West Point Open to kick off the new semester from Gillis Field House. The Black Knights welcomed competitors from Manhattan, Le Moyne, Molloy, USMMA and Manhattanville among other programs to round out the field.

Beginning with the track events, plebe Faith Kibbe had a strong showing with a win in the 500m (1:18.53) while also finishing the 60m with an 8.09 mark for a third-place finish.

Ever Elegon paced the field in the 200m, comfortably claiming the top spot with a 25.76 showing. Skye Chambers then claimed the top spot in the 400m, coming in with a time of 57.83. Chambers and Elegon then teamed up with Kara Sinnott and Hannah Andrews to win the 4x400 relay, recording a time of 3:58.42.

The 60m hurdles saw the Black Knights put two on the podium as Brooke Munoz (9.35) won the event with Zoe Eggleston (9.39) tabbing third.

Kathryn Stewart helped lead the women in the field events with a pole victory (3.50m) with Zoe Whaley registering second in the high jump (1.60m). Nala Best (long jump, 5.22m) and Erin Allert (triple jump, 11.07m) also had strong showings in their season debuts with second-place finishes.

Jordan Hecht led the throwers with a victory in the shot put (14.18m) as Sara Sahadi came in right behind in second (12.50m).

Moving to the men's side, it was plebe Chad Dohl who placed second in the 60m as he logged a time of 7.02. Army was led by Damian Bebber (23.48) in the 200m and John Afari-Akins in the 500m (1:07.37).

Hunter Morris posted the top mark in the event in the 60m hurdles (8.43), with Ronald White placing third (8.67). Brian McSweeney also bested the field on pole vault (4.80m) with John Phelps (4.45m) next in line for Army. The triple jump also saw Kwame Amoo-Otoo tab second-place with a mark of 13.74m.

Robby Manse set a new personal-best in shot put, coming in second-place with a 17.52m mark. Luke Noonan also placed top-five with a 15.60m showing. Manse then tabbed an 18.54m to place second in wight throw with Jake Nwosu (17.44m) claiming fourth.

FULL RESULTS

Hear from Coach Smith:
"We had some nice opening season marks today. This meet is a good opportunity for us to evaluate our winter break training. The weather can have a significant impact on some of our people depending on where they live so the break can be a great challenge when it comes to training for indoor track. In most cases we hope to have people come back with the same fitness they had when they left. We saw a lot of good results today and even some significant improvements, so my overall evaluation is that we are in a good spot as we prepare to open up the entire team next weekend. Many of our young athletes were in uniform today for the first time and they gained some valuable experience in collegiate competition. Chad Dohl '28 had a nice opener in the men's 60m. He has some range up to the 400m so we weren't sure what we would get today in the short sprint, but he had a nice start out of the blocks and looked strong the entire way. The throws were a strong point for us today as they have been in recent years. Today the shot put was our strongest event with Jordan Hecht '27 winning on the women's side and Robby Manse earning the runner-up spot with a new lifetime best of 17.52m (57' 5.75"). That mark moves him up to #4 on the Army all-time list and in the company of some of the best throwers to ever come through the Academy. Robby has trained at a high level all fall so it was no surprise to see him perform well so early in the year. He will be a force for us throughout the year in multiple throwing events. We will put most of our team on the bus next weekend as we head to Penn State where will get a good look at our complete team in a more competitive environment."
-Director of Track & Field Mike Smith

The Black Knights will head to Penn State next Saturday, Jan. 18 to compete in the Nittany Lion Challenge as the indoor season kicks into full swing.