Navy Women’s Cross Country Uses Pack Running to Win Cantello Invitational

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Navy women’s cross country team continued its perfect start to the 2026 season Saturday, using an outstanding pack performance to capture first place in the Cantello Invitational at the U.S. Naval Academy Cross Country Course.

Sophomore Juliet Frum led the Midshipmen with a second-place individual finish, but Navy’s depth ultimately decided the meet. Five Midshipmen scored inside the top nine eligible team positions, helping Navy finish with a meet-low 27 points. George Washington placed second with 43, followed by UMBC with 65 and Loyola Maryland with 102.

The victory gave Navy consecutive team titles to begin the season. The Midshipmen also won the Salisbury Fall Classic on Sept. 5 with just 21 points, giving head coach Kim Lewnes’ squad an impressive early-season foundation.

Frum Leads the Navy Pack

George Washington junior Hadley Mahoney won the individual 6K in 21:39.8, but Navy quickly began filling the leaderboard behind her.

Frum was Navy’s first runner across the finish line, placing second overall in 21:58.3. She averaged approximately 5:53.6 per mile and finished more than 17 seconds ahead of George Washington’s Claire Bohan, who took third in 22:10.0.

Frum’s performance was another strong showing at a meet she knows well. As a freshman in 2025, Frum won the Cantello Invitational individual championship in 22:28.8. Her 2026 performance was more than 30 seconds faster than last year, even though Mahoney prevented her from defending the individual title.

More importantly for Navy, Frum was only the beginning.

Junior Madeline Palmisciano finished fourth overall in 22:15.6. Sophomore Catalina Simon was only two seconds behind Palmisciano, taking sixth in 22:17.4.

That gave Navy three runners among the first six finishers.

Heinz and Vanderhave Complete the Scoring

Senior captain Susannah Heinz continued Navy’s strong pack performance by crossing eighth overall in 22:25.6.

Freshman Sam Vanderhave then delivered an important performance in her first Cantello Invitational, finishing ninth in 22:30.3 and completing Navy’s five-runner scoring group.

The difference between Frum and Vanderhave was only 32 seconds.

That scoring spread demonstrated exactly what Navy wanted to accomplish. Rather than having one elite runner at the front followed by large gaps, the Midshipmen kept their scoring group tightly packed.

Lewnes said Navy entered the meet focused on remaining patient through a controlled opening 4K before attacking the final 2K. The group remained especially close through approximately two miles before the course’s hill began separating runners.

Navy handled that separation extremely well.

Frum, Palmisciano, Simon, Heinz and Vanderhave all remained close enough to one another to prevent George Washington from overcoming Navy’s depth.

Navy’s Depth Goes Well Beyond Five Runners

The Midshipmen did not stop producing strong finishes once their five scoring runners crossed the line.

Junior Paige Sheiffele finished 10th overall in 22:35.4, while freshman Lucy Myers took 13th in 22:41.9. Both served as Navy’s displacement runners and further demonstrated how deep the Midshipmen were Saturday.

Navy continued putting runners across the finish line shortly afterward.

Senior Caroline Carter placed 14th in 22:42.2. Freshman Regan Schultz was 16th in 22:51.1, senior Susanna Henderson finished 17th in 22:52.1 and junior Amelie Loomis took 20th with a time of 23:04.0.

That meant Navy had nine runners finish among the top 20.

Sophomore Eleanor Whistler crossed in 23:05.1, followed later by Lorraine Goldenberg at 23:23.4, Ava Ostrowski at 23:29.8 and freshman Liesel Sellerberg at 23:34.6.

The depth gives Lewnes plenty of options as the schedule becomes more difficult.

Navy Wins Without the Individual Champion

Cross country team scoring rewards exactly what Navy accomplished Saturday.

Mahoney gave George Washington the individual victory and Bohan finished third, meaning the Colonials placed two runners among the first three scoring positions. But Navy countered with Frum second, Palmisciano fourth and Simon sixth before Heinz and Vanderhave completed the scoring group.

Official results gave Navy scoring positions of 2-4-6-7-8 for its 27 points. George Washington scored 1-3-10-14-15 for 43.

That illustrates the importance of Navy’s pack.

George Washington had two of the fastest three scoring runners in the race, but its fourth and fifth scorers could not match Navy’s depth. The Midshipmen had already put all five of their scorers across the finish line before George Washington’s fourth scoring runner finished.

UMBC had an impressive individual showing of its own. Sophomore Lilly Norcross finished fifth overall in a personal-best 22:16.5, placing directly between Palmisciano and Simon. The Retrievers finished third as a team with 65 points.

Loyola finished fourth with 102.

Young Midshipmen Make an Impact

Another encouraging part of Navy’s victory was the mixture of experience and youth contributing to the result.

Frum and Simon are sophomores. Vanderhave is a freshman. Palmisciano is a junior, while Heinz provides senior leadership as team captain.

Lewnes specifically praised Vanderhave for completing Navy’s top five as a plebe while also pointing toward the continued development of Palmisciano and Simon. She credited Heinz with helping establish the team’s connection and leadership both in competition and away from the course.

Heinz was selected as a 2026 team captain alongside men’s captain Logan Flament in July. Navy’s coaches emphasized the leadership, commitment and tradition associated with the captaincy when announcing the selections.

Saturday provided a good example of that leadership translating into competition.

Heinz was Navy’s fourth scorer, finishing only 27.3 seconds behind Frum.

Open 5K Provides More Encouraging Results

Navy also received several strong performances in the Open 5K.

Freshman Audrey Dunn led the Midshipmen with a fourth-place finish in 19:35.5. Fellow freshman Hannah O’Neill finished seventh in 19:50.2, while junior Marianna Pizem placed ninth in 19:56.5.

Freshman Kenzie Phillips gave Navy another top-10 result, placing 10th in 20:05.7.

Sophomore Caroline Montemaro rounded out Navy’s top five in the open competition with a 15th-place time of 20:46.3. Freshman Sofia Brandenburg finished in 21:00.7, and junior Stella Perazzini completed Navy’s seven-runner group in 21:54.2.

Four Navy runners therefore finished among the first 10 in the open race.

Those results matter because Navy will need depth throughout a season that eventually builds toward the Patriot League Championship, NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional and potentially the NCAA Championship.

Cantello Invitational Carries Special Meaning at Navy

Winning this particular meet also carries additional significance for the Midshipmen.

Previously known as the Navy Invitational, the event was renamed in honor of legendary Navy cross country coach Al Cantello following his death in January 2024. Cantello spent 50 years leading Navy’s men’s cross country program and became one of the defining figures in the history of Navy distance running.

The challenging Annapolis course has produced decades of Navy cross country history.

Current Navy men’s coach Aaron Lanzel, who competed under Cantello, described the course and meet as important measuring points for generations of Midshipmen trying to establish themselves as varsity runners.

For Navy’s women, Saturday added another championship to that tradition.

The Midshipmen also won the women’s competition in 2025, when Frum captured the individual championship and Navy scored only 19 points.

Navy has now defended its Cantello Invitational team championship.

Two Meets, Two Victories

Navy could hardly have asked for a better start to the 2026 season.

The Midshipmen opened Sept. 5 at the Salisbury Fall Classic, where freshmen Brianne Duynstee and Emily Downing finished first and second in their collegiate debuts. Navy placed seven runners inside the top 15 and easily won the team championship with 21 points, 26 fewer than second-place George Mason.

One week later, Navy used a different group and a different formula to win again.

At Salisbury, freshmen occupied the first two individual positions. At the Cantello Invitational, Frum led a veteran-heavy scoring pack that put all five scorers among the top nine overall finishers.

The common element has been depth.

Navy is now 2-for-2 in team competitions this season, winning both the Salisbury Fall Classic and Cantello Invitational.

Bigger Test Awaits in Terre Haute

Navy will now significantly increase the level of competition.

The Midshipmen travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, for the John McNichols Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 19. The meet will be hosted by Indiana State and will give Navy an opportunity to compete on the same course scheduled to host the NCAA Championship later this fall.

That makes the meet useful regardless of the final team result.

Navy will get an early opportunity to test itself on a national championship course while seeing how its pack-running strategy holds up against stronger competition.

Lewnes called Saturday’s victory a complete performance and said it gives the Midshipmen momentum as they prepare to increase the pace in Terre Haute.

After consecutive victories, Navy has earned that opportunity.

MSB Take

Navy women’s cross country is showing early in the season that its greatest strength may not be one runner. It may be the entire pack.

Juliet Frum was excellent. Running 21:58.3 and finishing second overall would make her the obvious headline performer, especially after she won this event as a freshman last season. But the bigger story is what happened behind her.

Palmisciano finished fourth. Simon was sixth. Heinz finished eighth. Vanderhave was ninth. Then Sheiffele crossed 10th and Myers finished 13th.

That is tremendous depth.

George Washington actually had two of the first three scoring runners, including individual champion Mahoney. Navy still won by 16 points because the Midshipmen kept sending runners across the finish line.

That is the type of performance that becomes increasingly valuable when championship season arrives.

Navy has now won its first two meets of 2026, but the John McNichols Invitational should tell us much more. Racing on the NCAA Championship course against a stronger field will give Lewnes an opportunity to see how this young team responds when the competition and pace increase.

The Midshipmen have already shown they can win.

Now they get an opportunity to find out just how good this team can become.