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Navy Rallies for 93.5-87.5 N-Star Victory Over Army

The Midshipmen recorded nine event titles to win their third-straight indoor N-Star

	Jacqui Charnigo won the pole vault and high jump despite being diagnosed with pneumonia and bronchitis

Feb. 2, 2008

Results

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy women's track & field competitor Jacqui Charnigo (Sr./Medina, Ohio) overcame sickness and won two events to fuel the Midshipmen to a 93.5-87.5 come-from-behind victory against Army in the annual Star Meet on Saturday in Halsey Field House. The Midshipmen have claimed the indoor N-Star in each of the last-three years and eight of the last-10 indoor seasons.

The Midshipmen improved their dual-scoring record to 7-0 on the year, while the Black Knights fell to 0-1 in their first dual-meet of the season. Navy has not lost in a dual-scored meet since the 2004-05 season, a stretch of 52-straight victories. The Mids also extended their home indoor winning streak to 68 triumphs, dating back to 2000.

"This may be one of my proudest moments in coaching," stated Navy head coach Carla Criste. "All of our team really stepped up today. We kept the fighting spirit throughout the entire meet and this was the best team support I have seen this season.

"Jacqui Charnigo overcame adversity in a big way today. Vicki Moore was awesome in both the 1,000-meter run and 4x800-meter relay. The seniors truly led the way for us and set a great example for the rest of the team to follow."

Charnigo, who was diagnosed with pneumonia and bronchitis earlier in the week, battled through the illness to win the pole vault and high jump after Navy was trailing, 63-58, after 11 events. The Navy senior cleared 12'5-1/2" (3.80 meters) in the pole vault, an ECAC mark and the 10th-best height in school history. At the same time, she soared over 5'3" (1.60 meters) bar in the high jump and defeated Army's Kim Maxwell, who also cleared the same height, but Charnigo required fewer jumps.

Navy began its comeback swing with the 3,000-meter run, as Amy Watson (So./Hampstead, Md.) paced the field with a season-best time of 10:09.48. After Army clipped Navy in the 4x400-meter relay, the Midshipmen quartet of Abby Gesecki (So./Nanticoke, Pa.), Maureen Dooley (Jr./Durham, Conn.), Allie Moreland (Jr./Ocean City, N.J.) and Vicki Moore (Sr./Burke, Va.) teamed up to win the 4x800-meter relay with a season-best 9:26.56 showing.

In addition to Charnigo's two victories, Jessica Schlaegel (So./Nashport, Ohio) placed second in the pole vault with a career-best bar of 10'11-3/4" (3.35 meters). Katie Berkey (Jr./Tempe, Ariz.) also delivered a season-best distance of 37'4" (11.38 meters) to finish second in the triple jump.

Navy also registered the top-two times in the 1,000-meter run earlier in the day. Moore qualified for the ECAC Championship with a first-place time of 2:56.4, followed by Kayla Sax's (So./Richland, Wash.) second-place 3:01.1 clocking. Sax crossed the finish line 7.0 seconds ahead of Army's top runner.

The Midshipmen kicked off the track portion of the meet in style, winning three of the first-four races and one field event. Dooley opened the track portion of the meet with a first-place 5:09.96 effort in the mile, followed by Sabrina Gambill's (Sr./Bridgewater, Mass.) impressive 8.0-second clocking in the 55-meter hurdles. Gesecki then edged out Army's Katelin Grant by 0.06-second in the 500-meter run to win with a time of 1:17.90. Gloria Hill (Sr./Mitchellville, Md.) out-distanced the competition in the long jump with a mark of 17'8" (5.38 meters).

Debbi Choi (Jr./Clarksville, Md.) recorded career-best time in the 55-meter dash (7.47 seconds) and the 200-meter dash (26.37 seconds) to place second in both races. In the shot put, Janet Von Eiff (Fr./San Diego, Calif.) recorded a toss of 44'2-3/4" (13.48 meters) and Joy Nameth (Fr./Walden, Colo.) uncorked a throw of 43'9-1/4" (13.34 meters) to each break their own personal records and finish second and third, respectively.

Saturday's action served as the final women's indoor Star 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 compete in Halsey Field House for the last time on Feb. 14, when they host Loyola (Md.) at 4 p.m. close out the indoor regular season.