Army Track Wins Patriot League Outdoor Title

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Army West Point women’s track and field team claimed its second consecutive Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday afternoon at Ingram Field.

It came down to the final two events of the day, as Army took home first place in the discus and 4x100m relay to jump ahead of Navy and win the championship with 201.58 points. The Midshipmen finished with 197.33.

This marks the first time in 28 years that the women’s team has won back-to-back championships. Charlotte Richman was dominant all weekend and was named the Patriot League Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Highest Point Scorer and Track Athlete of the Meet.

Led by Director of Track and Field Mike Smith, Army won Coaching Staff of the Year.

The women entered Day 2 of the meet with a slim lead on second place after a strong opening day of the championships.

How it Happened – Day 2
The Black Knights first podium of the day came courtesy of Jordan Hecht who posted a remarkable distance of 17.23m to win the shot put. The mark was a personal-best, program record, service academy record, facility record and meet record.

It was nearly three meters clear of second place.

Army followed with a strong showing in the 3000m steeplechase, as Claire Lewis finished first with a time of 10:23.16.

Freshman Abigail Ringwood recorded a crucial set of points, finishing third with a time of 10:39.48.

In the high jump, Thai Douglas recorded a personal-best mark of 1.66m to finish second.

In the 1500m, it was all Army as Charlotte Richman (4:16.25) and Mikayla Cheney (4:16.26) finished first and second.

Richman’s time was a personal-best and facility record. Mia Royall also recorded key points with a seventh-place result.

Erin Allert finished third in the triple jump with a mark of 12.22m.

Skye Chambers finished second in the 800m with a time of 2:04.38. Freshman Sabrina Sardar finished second in the 400m hurdles with a personal-best time of 1:00.26.

Entering the final three events of the day, Army was trailing by almost 20 points and needed to have a nearly perfect end of the day to come away with the championship.

The Black Knights completely dominated the 5000m, which Richman won with an impressive time of 16:37.69. Claire Lewis (16:57.98), Mikayla Cheney (16:59.66) and Louisa Diamond (17:03.57) finished third, fourth and fifth. Army scored 25 total points in the event and found itself nearly tied with Navy.

The Black Knights got a first-place finish in the hammer throw from Emilia Labruyere, who threw a personal-best 49.26m.

Army sealed the deal and clinched the championship with a historical performance in the 4x400m. The quartet of Faith Kibbe, Chadon Foreman, Sardar and Chambers posted a program record, service academy record, meet record and facility record with a time of 3:39.42.

While the podium finishers played a major role in the team championship, Army got a number of single-point performances that proved just as crucial down the stretch.