Feb. 2, 2008

Results

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's track & field team registered 17 IC4A performances to defeat Army in the indoor Star Meet, 95-86, on Saturday at Halsey Field House. The indoor N-Star victory is the seventh straight for the Mids, the longest streak in program history.

Navy opened up a 68-53 lead after 11 of the 17 events, but Army battled back to pull within single digits with three events remaining. However, the Midshipmen won two of those three events (high jump and 4x800-meter relay) to ensure the nine-point triumph.

"There was a point during the 200-meter race where we didn't let down, but Army really caught fire. However, as soon as Bill Stillman jumped in the high jump, that turned the meet in our favor," stated Navy head coach Stephen Cooksey. "Getting 17 IC4A marks was absolutely big for us. We were able to get a point here and a point there, which when added up, proved to be the difference today.

"Our 4x800-meter relay ran nice, relaxed and didn't make any mistakes. They were able to open up on them in the final half of the race. It was good for us to finish that way. We want our guys, regardless of the outcome, to compete and scrap until the meet is completely over."

In the high jump, Bill Stillman (So./Norfolk, Mass.) won the event with a career-best, IC4A height of 6'8-1/4" (2.04 meters). In the final event of the meet, the 4x800-meter relay, Navy's Andrew Grant (Jr./Athens, Ga.), Matlack Gillin (So./Oreland, Pa.), Lucas Burke (Sr./Bakersfield, Calif.) and Ben Kozy (Sr./Houston, Texas) combined for a IC4A, first-place time of 7:48.11.

Dante Marshall (Sr./Hermitage, Pa.) also came through in the jumping events to break up Army's scoring. On his last attempt in the triple jump, Marshall soared 48'2-3/4" (14.70 meters) for a season-best, IC4A mark to place second. Earlier in the day in the long jump, he landed third with an IC4A distance of 23'3-1/2" (7.10 meters).

Navy opened the meet in fine fashion, as it went 1-2 in both the weight throw and the 55-meter hurdles. Christopher Bordino (Jr./Gastonia, N.C.) won the weight throw with a career-best, IC4A distance of 58'8" (17.88 meters), while Mark Van Orden (So./Morris Plains, N.J.) placed second with a toss of 54'7-3/4" (16.65 meters). Ron Belany (Sr./Haiku, Hawai'i) won the 55-meter hurdles with a blistering IC4A 7.60-second clocking, soon followed by Matthew Hanley's (So./Rapid City, S.D.) second-place time of 7.79 seconds.

The Midshipmen also boasted the top-two heights in the pole vault. Kraegen Bramer (Sr./Auburn, Calif.) registered a career-best, IC4A height of 15'9" (4.80 meters) to win the event. Belany followed in second place with a 15'1" (4.60 meters) performance. Meanwhile, Belany also came in second in the long jump with a career-best, IC4A showing of 23'4-1/2" (7.12 meters).

Navy registered three other event victories on Saturday. Paul Harris (Sr./Fairburn, Ga.) paced the field in thee 500-meter run with a time of 1:04.17, followed by a first-place 1:54.15 clocking in the 800-meter run by Craig Meekins (Sr./Baldwin, N.Y.). Darryl Hunter (Sr./Des Moines, Iowa) surpassed the IC4A standard for the fifth-consecutive week in the weight throw, winning the event with a toss of 55'8-1/2" (16.98 meters).

Competing in his first meet of the year, sprinter Reggie Campbell (Sr./Sanford, Fla.) placed second in the 55-meter dash with a career-best 6.51-second clocking. William Ricks (Sr./Hopewell, Va.) crossed the finish line second in the 200-meter dash with a season-best time of 22.74 seconds.

Saturday's Star Meet served as the final men's indoor track & field meet in Halsey Field House, which has served as the home of the Navy indoor program since 1957. Next year, the Midshipmen will move into the 140,000-square foot, $45 million Wesley Brown Field House. The new home of the Navy indoor track & field team will feature a 200-meter hydraulic banked track, 60-meter straightaway, dual pole vault/jumping runways, dual throwing areas and a scenic view of the Severn River.

The Midshipmen will close out the indoor regular season on Feb. 15-16, when they head to Ames, Iowa, to compete at the Iowa State Classic.