Nathan Kent and Joshua Boamah led the way on the men’s side, while Annie Lemelin was the catalyst on the women’s side as Navy swept the Patriot League outdoor track and field championships for the sixth straight season.
Kent was named track athlete of the meet after sweeping the 200- and 400-meter dashes, while Boamah earned field performer of the meet after winning both the shot put and discus.
Kent also ran the anchor leg of the 4×400 relay that captured the Patriot League championship, while Boamah was runner-up in the hammer throw.
Navy’s men took first place in 13 of 22 events and set two meet records on the way to amassing 295 points — 80 more than runner-up Army. The Mids have won 10 straight outdoor championships on the men’s side.
Lemelin won the 400-meter hurdles and ran legs on Navy’s victorious 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Navy’s women placed first or second in 11 of 22 events and set two school records in totaling 212.33 points, 17 clear of archrival Army. The Mids have won six straight outdoor titles on the women’s side.
“It was a really good weekend for Navy track and field and probably the most gratifying victory of my tenure here,” Navy director of track and field Jamie Cook said.
Jacques Guillaume was also a member of the 4×400 relay and contributed 18 individual points by winning the 400-meter hurdles, breaking the meet record with a time of 51.21 seconds, and placing second in the 400.
Senior captain Brahmir Vick garnered gold in the 110 hurdles for the second straight spring season and was part of a 100-meter dash contingent that totaled 16 points.
Sam Keeny put forth a phenomenal performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, breaking a meet record that had stood for 21 years. The South River High graduate won with a time of 8:41.52, which was 10 seconds faster than the previous mark established in 1993 by Navy great Greg Keller.
Justin Mumford won the 10,000-meter run and placed second behind teammate Alexander Kirkland in the 5,000. The Mids swept the podium placements in the 10,000 with Murphy Smith and Kirkland placing second and third, respectively.
Navy also had five individual champions in the field events with Walker Rudisaile taking first place in the pole vault, Sebasteon Allen topping the triple jump and Braden Presser winning the javelin.
“The men were just steady across the board. Everyone just did their job and we scored well everywhere we were supposed to,” said Cook, noting that Navy overcame a dropped baton that cost expected points in the 4×400 relay. “Going one-two-three in the 10,000 to start the meet was very impressive and got us off to a great start.”
Ellie Abraham delivered the most notable performance on the women’s side, capturing the Patriot League championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the third straight season. Abraham won with a time of 10:10.03 that was both a meet record and Navy record.
Abraham also finished fifth in the 5,000 to earn valuable points and special praise from Cook. “Ellie is arguably the toughest athlete, male or female, at the Naval Academy. It was just Ellie being Ellie. She was remarkable,” he said.
Annie Taylor repeated as Patriot League champ in the heptathlon, winning three events and placing second in two others to post the fifth-best point total in Navy history. Taylor won the 100 hurdles, 200 dash and 800 run.
In addition to the grind of competing in the heptathlon, Taylor also earned points in the 100 (fifth) and 400 hurdles (eighth).
Mayu Gayton won the 100-meter dash and now owns the top two times in program history in that event.
Jia Anderson placed second in the 100-meter hurdles and ran a leg on the winning 400-meter relay. Kayla McGuire was runner-up in the 800 and ran a leg on the winning 1,600 relay.
Cook noted that Navy basically left 40 points at home because three key athletes were injured and unable to compete in the Patriot League championships.
“We really had our backs against the wall on the women’s side. The absence of three key athletes made our kids realize it was going to be close from the get-go,” Cook said. “Other athletes had to step up. Our women were unbelievable and met the challenge. We were fighting for every centimeter in the throws and jumps and leaning at every line.”