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Jan. 31, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's track & field team will host its final indoor home meet of the year this Saturday when Army makes the trek down to Annapolis for the annual Star Meet. The meet gets underway at 9:30 a.m. with the weight throw at Ingram Field, with the action in Halsey Field House starting with four events at 2:10 p.m.

Saturday's Star Meet represents the final Army-Navy women's competition in Halsey Field House, which has served as the home of the Navy indoor track & field program since its inception in 1981. Next year, the Midshipmen will move into the 140,000-square-foot, $45 million Wesley Brown Field House. The new home to the Navy indoor track & field program 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.

Army may be leading the all-time series with Navy, 11-9-1, but the Midshipmen have had significant success against their service academy foe this decade. Navy has won seven of the last-nine indoor Star Meets, including a four-meet winning streak in Annapolis. Last year on the banks of the Hudson, the Midshipmen won 12 of the 17 events to post an impressive 107-73 victory over the Black Knights.

Navy enters the weekend with a perfect 6-0 record in dual-scored meets, while Army will be competing in a dual-meet for the first time this season. The Midshipmen have not lost a dual-scored meet since the 2004-05 indoor season, a streak of 51-straight victories. Navy will also look to extend its indoor home winning streak of 67 triumphs on Saturday, one that dates back to Jan. 8, 2000.

At the beginning of the indoor campaign, Navy was picked to finish second in the Patriot League, one spot ahead of third-place Army. Outside of preseason league-favorite and defending champion Bucknell, the Midshipmen were the only other team to earn first-place votes. The Mids collected six of the 16 first-place ballots in December.

Expected to be one of the strongest areas for the Midshipmen this Saturday will be the pole vault. Jacqui Charnigo (Sr./Medina, Ohio), the ECAC and Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week, provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship last Saturday at the Patriot Games with an indoor school-record height of 12'11-1/2" (3.95 meters). She then went on to try for automatic qualification for the national championship at 13'9-1/4" (4.20 meters) and nearly surpassed the mark on her second try, just clipping the bar on the way up. Jessica Schlaegel (So./Nashport, Ohio) provides quality depth in the event, as she currently ranks fourth in the Patriot League with a height of 10'8" (3.25 meters).

Charnigo will also be counted on to contribute in the high jump, alongside Katie Berkey (Jr./Tempe, Ariz.). The Navy duo both cleared 5'4-1/4" (1.63 meters) last weekend to place second in the event and rank fourth in the league.

On the track, the Midshipmen will count of the services of its middle distance/distance corps of runners to provide significant scoring. Vicki Moore (Sr./Burke, Va.) owns the team's top time in both the 800-meter (2:18.14) and 1,000-meter (2:59.47) events. Each of those performances ranks among the league's top-four runners this winter. Abby Gesecki (So./Nanticoke, Pa.) owns a 2:23.17 clocking in the 800-meter run and has seen action in the 500-meter run during her career.

Amy Watson (So./Hampstead, Md.), a First-Team All-Patriot League cross country runner, and Jenny Rubin (So./Papillion, Neb.) are among the league's top-five runners in the 3,000-meter run this winter. At the Patriot Games last Saturday, Watson crossed the finish line in 10:15.81, while Rubin followed one place behind with a 10:24.15 showing.

Following this weekend's action, Navy will host its final meet in Halsey Field House on Feb. 14, when it hosts Loyola (Md.) to close out its indoor regular season.