Mids Head to Patriot League Championship This Weekend :: Navy finished the regular season with a perfect 7-0 record in dual-scored meets

Feb. 21, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's track & field team will head to Bucknell's Gerhard Field House this Friday through Sunday for the Patriot League Championship.

Prior to the start of this year's indoor season, Navy was picked to finish second at this year's Patriot League Championship. Only league championship host and six-time defending champion Bucknell placed ahead of the Midshipmen in the preseason poll. The Mids were the last team to outscore the Bison at the league championship, as they scored 196 points to win the 2001 title in Annapolis.

For the third-consecutive indoor season, Navy finished the regular season with a perfect record in dual-scored meets. The Midshipmen posted a 7-0 record and claimed the N-Star with a 93.5-87.5 victory over service academy foe Army in Annapolis three weeks ago. The Mids have won 23-straight indoor dual-scored meets, spanning back to the start of the 2005-06 indoor slate.

In order to win its second Patriot League crown in program history, Navy will look to its deep group of talented middle distance/distance runners to lead the way on the track. Vicki Moore (Sr./Burke, Va.) owns the Patriot's League's fastest time in the 1,000-meter run with a 2:56.4 clocking, ranks fifth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:18.14 and sixth in the mile run with a 5:06.87 showing. Amy Watson (So./Hampstead, Md.) is second in the league with a 10:09.48 clocking in the 3,000-meter run and fifth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:12.29.

The Midshipmen also come into this weekend's championship with the fastest 4x800-meter relay time this winter. The group of Abby Gesecki (So./Nanticoke, Pa.), Maureen Dooley (Jr./Durham, Conn.), Allie Moreland (Jr./Ocean City, N.J.) and Moore combined for a 9:26.56 clocking during the Star Meet against Army.

Navy could also rely on scoring from its 60-meter hurdles competitors this weekend. Sabrina Gambill (Sr./Bridgewater, Mass.) holds the Patriot League's top time in the event with a converted time of 8.57 seconds (8.0-second hand time in the 55-meter hurdles), while Angelique Martin (Jr./Lexington, Md.) ranks fourth with an 8.97-second converted clocking.

In the field events, Navy's top performances may come from its pole vaulters. Jacqui Charnigo (Sr./Medina, Ohio) has battled this winter to break the school record in the event and top the Patriot League with her height of 12'11-1/2" (3.95 meters). Her clearance provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championship, which also ranks 35th nationally. Teammate Jessica Schlaegel (So./Nashport, Ohio) surpassed the 10'11-3/4" (3.35 meters) bar against Army and ranks sixth in the league.

Following this weekend's league championship, the Midshipmen will head up to Boston for the ECAC Championship on March 8-9. In addition to surpassing the ECAC qualifying standard, each event champion in this weekend's league championship will earn an automatic entry to the ECAC Championship.