Annapolis, Md. – Senior Carver Morgan took his fourth consecutive Patriot League 800 title at the Patriot League Championships (May 16). The senior ran a PR, program record, meet record, and facility record of 1:46.85 to win by more than two seconds. The performance moved him up to 26th in the NCAA East Region.

Senior Kaden Kluth also earned more hardware with a silver medal in the 1500 meters, running 3:42.61. This is his second consecutive medal in the event.

• Senior Cooper Michaud started the day with an eighth-place finish in the men's steeplechase, running 9:11.20.
• The men's 4x100 of Emilio Hooper, Alex Zenit, Jason Omari-Anim, and Gregory Celariste ran a program record of 41.71 seconds to place fifth.
• In the women's 4x100, Zoe Clark, Tamara Dorval, Lara Gin, and Lilia Jones ran a second all-time mark of 47.55 seconds, placing sixth.
• Freshman Emmett Engelhardt, competing in his first Patriot League final, finished just outside of scoring position in ninth, running a PR of 3:50.21.
• In her first PL final, sophomore Lara Gin ran 57.29 seconds in the 400 meters to place sixth.
• In the men's 5k, sophomore Noah Smith led the Eagles in 18th with a time of 15:01.39. In the women's 5k, sophomore Zoe Rector ran just off her PR, placing 23rd in 17:55.79.
• The men's 4x400 squad of Gregory Celariste, Daden Grogan, Kluth, and Morgan ran a fifth all-time mark of 3:17.20 to place sixth in the event.
• In the women's 4x400, Clark, Kate Riley, Shealyn Brochu, and Gin placed ninth with a second all-time mark of 3:53.98.

View the full results here.

Coaches' Corner
"We closed out the first portion of the Championship Season well this weekend at the Patriot League Championships here at Navy," said head coach Sean Graham. "We brought a squad of 15 men and 15 women to the meet and, like we've done all year, came away with a lot of PRs, top-5 times, and even school records. On top of that, most importantly at the championships, we had points scored in events, as well as teams and individuals walking away with hardware and event wins. As with any championship event we had some challenges, some near misses, but mostly really great performances. All in all it was a very good way to close out the Patriot League portion of the season.

"Day one is a busy day, primarily of prelims. Highlights from that were many. In the men's 1500, Kaden ran a very well executed race to win his heat and advance automatically.  Freshman Emmett Engelhardt had a great effort to qualify for the final as well. A big accomplishment as a freshman with the quality of the field. Zack Zerbe had the unfortunate experience of being the first man out of the final but had a solid race, as did Ty Parker, coming away with a two-second PR in his prelim. Lara Gin then ran an excellent 400 prelim, closing hard to secure her spot in the final the next day. The start of a very busy and successful weekend for her!

"In the men's 800, Carver controlled his race well to earn his auto qualifier. Similar to Zack Zerbe, Daden Grogan had a great prelim but just missed the final in 10th overall, near his PR time. We then moved onto the 200s, where freshman Greg Celariste came away with a nice PR and fourth all-time at AU, with Zoe Clark doing just as well in her heat, lowering her PR and third all-time position at AU. 

"Closing out the day, the men's 4x800 ran an impressively aggressive and confident relay by all members of the team. All four of them raced earlier in the day, and faced some disappointment by not making their individual finals, pushed that aside and raced excellently. They were led off by Zack Zerbe in the lead to Ty Parker, to Barak Goldstein, closed off by Daden Grogan. The guys battled up front with Army and Navy the entire way, running away from the rest of the field and earning a bronze medal — three sophomores and a freshman picking up hardware and the first points on the board against some stacked Army and Navy teams. The best part of that was the rest of the team lining the far curve, going absolutely nuts cheering them on along the way. A great team effort.

"In the finals on day two we had a busy and successful day. Cooper kicked off finals day putting points on the board right away, with an eighth place finish in the steeple. He'd say the same, that we were hoping for higher, but he fought hard to make sure he scored in the championships, and it was a strong effort from him.

"Both 4x100 teams did very well. Emilio, Alex, Jason, and Greg picked up a new school record and fifth-place finish to put points on the board, followed by the women's team of Zoe, Tamara, Lara, and Lilia placing sixth for third all-time at AU and points on the board for the women's team. 

"In the 1500 we had a good day. The race went out very hard, and Kaden battling some illness let a little too much of a gap form on the third lap to reclaim his title. He was able to fight back very well the last lap, as he does, to earn the silver medal and more big points for the men's squad. Emmett ran a very good final, PRing on day two and placing ninth, closing out a great freshman season for him.

"Lara Gin then came back yet again for the final of the women's 400 and placed sixth, once again closing well the last 90 meters to put more points on the board for the women.

"In the final of the 800, Carver Morgan put an impressive final stamp on his Patriot League career by once again taking the race from the gun and closing out with a big win in 1:46.85. This was his fourth in a row, a Naval Academy facility record, a Patriot League meet record,  and breaking the 19-year-old AU school record formerly held by alum Dustin Emrani.

"We closed out the championships with two really good 4x400s. The men, Greg, Daden, Kaden, and Carver placed sixth from the second heat and fifth all-time at AU. And the women came back excellently with Zoe, Kate, Shealyn and Lara (again!) running a second all-time at AU 3:53.

"I'm very proud of how the team performed this weekend. We had some misses but a lot of great races too.  The vast majority of the team will take a nice break now, then begin the process of getting stronger and faster for next year later in the summer. 

"Kaden and Carver will continue their seasons as they prepare for the NCAA East First Round at the end of the month in Lexington, Kentucky in the 1500 and 800, respectively. More to come on that soon!"

Next Up
Seniors Kaden Kluth and Carver Morgan are both within qualifying range for the NCAA East First Round hosted by the University of Kentucky on May 27-30. The qualifying athletes will be finalized next week.

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PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP DAY 2 RESULTS

3000m Steeplechase FINAL, Men	8. Cooper Michaud, 9:11.20
4x100 Relay FINAL, Women	6. Clark, Dorval, Gin, Jones, 47.55*
1500m FINAL, Men	2. Kaden Kluth, 3:42.61 | 9. Emmett Engelhardt, 3:50.21 (PR)
400m FINAL, Women	6. Lara Gin, 57.29
800m FINAL, Men	1. Carver Morgan, 1:46.85 (PR)*
5000m FINAL, Men	18. Noah Smith, 15:01.39 | 23. Cooper Michaud, 15:07.83 | 27. Zack Zerbe, 15:14.81
5000m FINAL, Women	23. Zoe Rector, 17:55.79 | 38. Scarlett Lestina, 19:14.17
4x400 Relay FINAL, Men	6. Celariste, Grogan, Kluth, Morgan, 3:17.20*
4x400 Relay FINAL, Women	9. Clark, Riley, Brochu, Gin, 3:53.98*

*Top 10 Record Book Mark
***New School Record