Eike, Frum Lead Navy Cross Country Against Loaded Field at McNichols Invitational

Eike, Frum Lead Navy Cross Country Against Loaded Field at McNichols Invitational

Navy men’s and women’s cross country received an early-season measuring stick Saturday at one of the most competitive meets on their 2026 schedules, taking on nationally ranked programs at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Junior Dane Eike delivered the strongest individual performance for the Midshipmen, placing 25th in the men’s 8K championship race, while sophomore Juliet Frum continued her strong start to the season by leading the Navy women in the 6K championship. Navy’s men finished 19th out of 34 teams, while the women placed 21st in a 28-team field at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.

The meet represented a major jump in competition for both Navy programs. The men’s field featured 14 teams ranked in the Division I top 30 along with three nationally ranked Division III programs, while the women competed against 10 Division I top-30 teams and a nationally ranked Division III program. The course also carries added significance because LaVern Gibson will host the 2026 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships later this season.

Eike leads Navy men with top-25 performance

Eike established himself at the front of Navy’s lineup with an impressive performance against the deep national field. The junior completed the 8K course in 24 minutes, 14.3 seconds, placing 25th out of 263 runners and giving Navy a strong No. 1 finisher.

Eike’s performance came one week after he finished third at Navy’s Cantello Invitational in Annapolis, where the Midshipmen placed seven runners in the top 10 and won the team championship. Head coach Aaron Lanzel indicated following McNichols that Eike’s closing ability against a field filled with high-level runners showed the junior has the potential to compete on a national level.

The Midshipmen finished 19th among 34 teams. No. 9 BYU won the meet with 71 points, followed by No. 21 Florida with 119. Washington finished third with 190, No. 27 Stanford took fourth with 205 and No. 11 Washington State rounded out the top five with 212.

Behind Eike, Navy relied on a group of runners separated by relatively small margins. Junior James Partlow was the second Midshipman across the finish line at 24:59.0, and junior Trevor Hayes followed at 25:02.4. Senior Zack Poekert recorded a 25:11.0, while sophomore Luke Bowlsby completed Navy’s five scoring positions with a time of 25:34.1.

Junior Billy Driscoll was close behind Bowlsby at 25:42.2, and sophomore Shane Conroy finished in 25:47.2. Juniors Patrick Gandini and Jonathan Skemp completed Navy’s championship-race lineup, posting times of 26:01.2 and 26:10.1, respectively.

The results provided Lanzel with another opportunity to evaluate a relatively young championship lineup. Poekert was the only senior among Navy’s nine runners in the championship race, with the remainder consisting of juniors and sophomores. Lanzel emphasized afterward that the Midshipmen competed well without taking unnecessary risks this early in the season and still have room to improve before the championship portion of the schedule.

Navy also entered three runners in the men’s open 8K. Senior team captain Logan Flament led that group with a time of 25:56.3, followed by freshman Dom Pappagallo at 26:20.6 and sophomore Will Ditre at 26:57.1. Lanzel was particularly encouraged by Flament’s performance as the captain continues working his way toward top form.

The McNichols meet was Navy’s third competition of the season. The Midshipmen opened with a second-place finish at the Salisbury Fall Classic before winning the Cantello Invitational and then stepping into a significantly stronger national field in Terre Haute.

Frum continues to pace Navy women

Frum once again set the pace for Navy’s women. The sophomore completed the 6K championship race in 21:49.5, placing 95th out of 233 competitors and recording her fastest 6K time of the young season. It marked the second consecutive race in which Frum finished as Navy’s top runner.

Navy finished 21st among 28 teams in a race loaded with nationally ranked competition. No. 8 Northern Arizona captured the team championship with 61 points, followed by No. 20 Utah with 107. No. 21 Washington State finished third with 121, No. 25 Toledo scored 124 and No. 14 Florida completed the top five with 156.

The Midshipmen received an encouraging showing from their freshman class behind Frum. Brianne Duynstee was Navy’s second finisher at 22:12.5, and fellow freshman Emily Downing followed only 2.6 seconds later at 22:15.1. Junior Paige Sheiffele crossed in 22:17.7 before senior team captain Susie Heinz completed Navy’s scoring five with a 22:29.9.

That gave Navy four runners behind Frum within approximately 40 seconds of its leader, providing the Midshipmen with a relatively compact scoring group despite competing against a much deeper field than they had seen earlier in the season.

Freshman Sam Vanderhave finished just outside Navy’s scoring five with a time of 22:32.8. Junior Madeline Palmisciano was essentially alongside her at 22:33.0, while senior Caroline Carter crossed in 22:37.6. Sophomore Catalina Simon completed Navy’s championship lineup with a time of 23:01.9.

Navy head coach Kim Lewnes viewed the meet as an important developmental race rather than a finished product. Lewnes said the Midshipmen attacked the race aggressively from the start and maintained good contact with one another, while also noting Navy remains without some runners it expects to have available later in the season. Her focus remains on having the team at its best when the schedule reaches its most important races in October and November.

The freshmen were among the encouraging aspects of the performance. Duynstee and Downing finished second and third within Navy’s lineup despite being early in their first collegiate cross country season. Lewnes also highlighted Sheiffele’s improvement from the previous week and Heinz’s ability to contribute another scoring performance as the team captain.

Navy entered three additional runners in the women’s open 6K, where freshman Lucy Myers turned in one of the team’s notable performances of the day. Myers ran 22:27.8 to lead Navy’s open competitors. Senior Susannah Henderson followed in 23:07.1, while freshman Regan Schultz recorded a time of 24:07.3.

Lewnes specifically praised Myers for attacking the open race aggressively. Her 22:27.8 would also have placed her within the cluster of Navy runners competing in the championship event, another encouraging sign of the depth developing within the program.

The women had won each of their first two meets before traveling to Terre Haute. Navy captured the Salisbury Fall Classic to begin the season and followed that performance by winning the Cantello Invitational in Annapolis with 27 points. At Cantello, Frum finished second individually in 21:58.3 as Navy placed all five scoring runners inside the top 10.

National competition provides important test

The final team standings do not tell the entire story of Navy’s weekend. Both programs intentionally stepped from smaller regional competitions into fields containing many of the best teams in the country, giving the coaching staffs a much clearer picture of where the Midshipmen stand entering the middle portion of the season.

The location made the experience particularly valuable. LaVern Gibson has hosted numerous NCAA championships since opening in 1997 and will again serve as the site of the NCAA Division I Championships in November. Navy runners therefore gained competitive experience on the same terrain they could potentially encounter at the end of the season.

For the men, Eike’s performance was the biggest takeaway. Finishing 25th in a 263-runner field featuring extensive nationally ranked competition gave Navy a front-running performance to build around, while Partlow, Hayes and Poekert formed the next group behind him.

For the women, Frum continued to establish herself at the front of the lineup while Duynstee and Downing provided additional evidence that Navy’s freshman class could become an important part of the team. The Midshipmen also showed depth beyond their scoring five, with Vanderhave, Palmisciano, Carter and Myers all finishing within roughly 48 seconds of Frum’s championship-race time.

Navy heads to Paul Short

Both Navy teams will now have nearly two weeks before returning to competition at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Oct. 2. The men’s and women’s open races begin at 9:30 and 10:15 a.m., respectively, followed by the men’s collegiate race at 11 a.m. and women’s race at 11:45.

After Paul Short, Navy’s schedule turns toward one of the biggest dates of the season. Both teams host Army in Annapolis on Oct. 17 before competing at the Patriot League Championship on Oct. 31 in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional follows Nov. 13 in Bethlehem, with the NCAA Championship scheduled for Nov. 21 back at the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute.

MSB Take

The McNichols Invitational was exactly the type of early-season test that can help Navy prepare for October and November. The team standings were not as impressive as Navy’s victories at the Cantello Invitational, but the level of competition was dramatically higher, and both programs gained experience against nationally ranked opponents on the course that will host this year’s NCAA Championship.

Eike’s 25th-place performance stands out for the men. He separated himself from Navy’s pack and showed he can run near the front against a deep national field, while Partlow, Hayes and Poekert gave the Midshipmen a solid group behind him. If Navy can reduce the gap between Eike and the rest of its scoring five as the season progresses, the Midshipmen should have a much stronger pack when the Patriot League and NCAA regional meets arrive.

For the women, Frum remains the runner setting the standard, but the performances of Duynstee and Downing may be equally important for Navy’s long-term outlook. Two freshmen occupying the second and third positions in the lineup against this caliber of competition gives Lewnes young runners capable of contributing immediately.

Neither Navy team needed to be at its best in September. The objective is to be at its best when Army, the Patriot League Championship and NCAA competition arrive. Saturday’s races in Terre Haute gave both programs a valuable indication of where they are now and, perhaps more importantly, where they still have room to improve.