08-25-2024 Guidebook - Flipbook - Page 37
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EDUCATION
NAVY ATHLETICS
YEAR IN REVIEW
Mids win Star Series, claim Presidents’ Cup
By Bill Wagner
Navy athletics accomplished two of its
most important goals during the 2023-24
academic year.
Nothing matters more than beating
archrival Army and Navy continued to
do that at a high rate. The Midshipmen
once again won the annual Star Series
presented by USAA, a compilation of
varsity competitions in all sports, going
14-11-1 against the Black Knights.
Women’s lacrosse clinched the Star
Series by beating Army, 17-11, on April 13.
Navy is now 40-4-2 over the last 46 years
of the Star Series.
Navy also maintained its viselike grip
on the Presidents’ Cup, which measures
overall athletic excellence within the
Patriot League. Navy claimed its 10th
consecutive Presidents’ Cup on the
strength of a conference-best nine championships.
“Year after year, our midshipmen and
coaches remain determined to sustain a
level of Naval Academy athletic excellence that is the standard to which all
others in our league aspire,” athletic
director Chet Gladchuk said. “A decade of
dominance in the Patriot League is a bar
set by amazing individuals who wear the
Blue and Gold with a time-tested ‘Expect
to Win’ mindset.”
Navy track and field was the catalyst
for both achievements. The Midshipmen
swept the Black Knights on the men’s and
women’s side during both the indoor and
outdoor seasons. Navy track and field also
swept the Patriot League Championships
both indoors and outdoors to provide
four of the nine conference crowns.
Navy’s other Patriot League championships came in men’s cross country, men’s
and women’s swimming, women’s golf
and women’s tennis. The Midshipmen
amassed 154 ¼ points in the Presidents’
Cup competition with runner-up Boston
University totaling 146.
Football brings in the most revenue
and largely supports the entire Navy
athletic department and the program
showed signs of reversing a recent down-
Navy women’s lacrosse’s victory over Army clinched the annual Star Series for Navy.
PAUL W. GILLESPIE/STAFF
turn in 2023. First-year head coach Brian
Newberry led the Midshipmen to a 5-7
overall record and 4-4 mark within the
American Athletic Conference.
However, Navy was swept by service
academy rivals Army and Air Force for
the second straight season and the third
time since 2020. The Mids also suffered
a losing record for the fourth consecutive
campaign and the fifth time since 2018.
Following the season, Newberry fired
offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut and
replaced him with Drew Cronic, who was
previously head coach at Mercer. Cronic
is still in the process of installing what he
calls the “millennial version” of Wing-T
offense, which incorporates triple-option
and run-pass option elements.
Newberry is hopeful Cronic’s unique
attack will jump-start a struggling offense
that has been Navy’s weakness during the
current four-year slide.
Men’s basketball is another marquee
sport that had a disappointing season
overall. The Midshipmen finished 13-18
overall and 8-10 in the Patriot League.
After beating Loyola in the first round
of the Patriot League Tournament, Navy
was eliminated by Boston University in
the quarterfinals.
Navy men’s basketball has not captured
a Patriot League Tournament title since
the 1997-98 season. On a positive note,
13th-year coach Ed DeChellis reached a
major milestone by securing his 400th
career victory.
Roanin Krieger, Tanner Russell and
Vaughn Schmitz led Navy men’s rugby
to its second straight appearance in the
Division I-A national championship
game. However, Navy was unable to
repeat as national champs, falling to St.
Mary’s of California, 26-22.
Navy produced 23 All-Americans
across 11 sports during the 2023-24
school year with five athletes earning that
status directly from competitive results.
Wrestler David Key placed eighth in the
184-pound weight class at the NCAA
Championships to become an All-American. Men’s track and field athletes Joshua
Boamah (shot put, honorable mention),
Nathan Kent (400-meter run, second
team), Braden Presser (javelin, second
team) and Brahmir Vick (110-meter
hurdles, second team) also achieved
All-American recognition based on their
placements at the NCAA Championships.
Navy had five College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans,
including three from the women’s track
and field team — Annie Taylor, McKenna
Brophy and Ellie Abraham. The others
were Presser and women’s swimmer
Gabi Baldwin.
Six Midshipmen were named Patriot
League Scholar Athlete of the Year
in their respective sports — Taylor
(women’s track and field), Sam Keeny
(men’s cross country), Sasha Panyan
(men’s tennis), Tori DiCarlo (women’s
lacrosse), Stephanie Lee (women’s golf )
and Nolan Jorgenson (baseball). Taylor
was the Patriot League Overall Female
Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Track and field coach Jamie Cook had
a sensational season in terms of honors
as he was named Patriot League Coach of
the Year on the men’s and women’s side
for both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Aaron Lanzel (men’s cross country),
John Morrison (women’s swimming),
Kylee Sullivan (women’s golf ) and Keith
Puryear (men’s tennis) were also named
Patriot League Coach of the Year in their
respective sports.
Navy lost a pair of legendary former
coaches in Al Cantello and Ray Anti.
Cantello, who spent 50 years coaching
men’s cross country, died Jan. 17 at the
age of 92. Anti, who served as rifle coach
for 12 years, died this past spring at age 91.
