Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Navy
Women’s Track and Field Defeat Navy to Earn Star
April 12, 2026 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
WEST POINT, N.Y. – For the first time in 12 years, the Army West Point women's track and field team defeated Navy in the annual outdoor Star Meet at Shea Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Star Meet, which is part of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA, is a head-to-head dual between the track programs of Army and Navy. For the first time since 2014, the women's team was victorious, defeating the Midshipmen 108-95. On the men's side, Army put up a remarkable effort but came up just short, falling 103-100 in a meet that came down to the very last event.
Women's Recap
The Black Knights were in control most of the day, winning 12 of 19 events. Kiana Emerson kicked things off with a win in the hammer throw at 58.89m, nearly six meters clear of second place. In the women's javelin throw, Claire Wimer won with a mark of 45.85m. Jordan Hecht helped complete the Army sweep of the throwing events with wins in the discus (50.56m) and in the shot put (16.82m).
In the other field events, Army didn't record a win but did a good job recording second and third-place finishes to prevent Navy sweeps. The Black Knights finished second in the long jump (Olivia Reed) and triple jump (Erin Allert).
The first track event of the day was the 3000m steeplechase, which Claire Lewis dominated with a time of 10:26.26 to finish first. Her time was nearly 22 seconds clear of the next closest finisher. Alexandra Volkart finished third for the Black Knights.
Army followed the steeplechase with a strong showing in the 4x100m relay with a time of 46.45 to finish ahead of Navy to collect more crucial points.
Mikayla Cheney set a new meet record in the 1500m, finishing first with a time of 4:19.22. Charlotte Richman came in third at 4:24.13. With the win, Cheney solidified herself as the best 1500m runner in program history.
Simone Tillman and Faith Kibbe picked up more points in the 400m, finishing in second and third place. Chadon Foreman followed with a win in the 100m with a time of 12.01.
The 800m was Army's first podium sweep of the day, as Skye Chambers won the race with a time of 2:08.45. Following her was Alma Lazo-Cazares in second and Lauren Gallagher in third. The Black Knights also had a strong finish in the 200m, as Tillman won the event with a mark of 24.05 and Foreman finished in second at 24.31.
The final women's individual race of the day saw Richman win the 5000m with a time of 16:11.24, which was over 15 seconds clear of Cheney in second place.
Army capped off the day with a win in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:47.02.
Men's Recap
The men's competition came down to the 4x400m relay – the final event of the meet – which saw Army hold the lead on the final lap, but Navy pull ahead in the final 100m to win.
Army won nine events on the men side, including a sweep of the throwing events. Robby Manse kicked off the day with a win in the hammer throw with a mark of 63.53m. In the javelin, Carlos Torres won with a distance of 65.13m, which was 3.97m ahead of second place. Jacob Bowersock posted a mark of 51.69m to win the discus.
The shot put was Army's most dominant field event of the day, as the Black Knights swept the podium. Matthew Palchak won the event with a distance of 18.17m, marking a new personal best. Manse finished in second at 17.05m, while Andrew Hardwick was third at 16.38m.
In the steeplechase, Nathan Davis recorded the win with a time of 8:55.89. In the men's 4x100m, the Black Knights recorded a win with a time of 39.59.
In the 400m, Trey McGinnis and Owen Lang finished second and third to collect some key points for Army.
In the 100m, Jaxon Hammond set a new program record with a time of 10.41 to finish first.
Army dominated the 800m, claiming the top three spots. Ammon Smith posted a 1:51.42 to finish first, while Kasen Jeitz (1:51.71) and Todd Worth (1:51.94) finished second and third.
Josh Duncan finished second in the 200m with a time of 21.09, while Hammond finished just behind him at 21.17.
In the 5000m, Davis put together a thrilling win by taking the lead just before the start of the final lap to get Army within one team point of Navy.
The Midshipmen clinched the meet victory with a win in the 4x400m to wrap up the day.
Up Next
Army will send athletes to both the Virgnia Challenge and the IC4A/ECAC Championships next Friday through Sunday.
Players Mentioned
