From the AD, the wrestling team qualified for the NCAA Championships which took place in Des Moines, Iowa. Connor Hanafee (141 pounds), Daniel Young (149), Paul Hancock (165) and Bryce Barnes (197) represented the program’s largest contingent since the 2008 season. The rifle team made its 10th straight appearance at the NCAA Championships, finishing sixth overall as a team. The squad had three National Rifle Association All-American picks, including Richard Calvin, Michael Matthews and Joseph Todaro. The women’s basketball ended its season with a loss at Fordham in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. It was the program’s first WNIT appearance and the first postseason tournament for the Black Knights since the 2006 NCCAA Tournament. The men’s basketball team finished the season with a loss at No. 1 seed Bucknell in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament, but its 16-15 record marked the program’s first winning season since 1984-85. Ella Ellis was named an NABC All-District 13 Second Team pick to become the first Army player since Kevin Houston in 1986 and 1987 to earn all-district distinction in back-to-back seasons. The gymnastics team will compete at the ECAC/EIGL Championships next week at Springfield College. The team is led by newly-minted Nissen-Emery Award finalist Garrek Hojan-Clark, given to the nation’s most outstanding senior gymnast. Garrek is ranked No. 1 in the nation on the pommel horse.
Spring sports are hitting their stride as well. The lacrosse team scored its first Patriot League win last Saturday with a decisive 15-6 decision over Lafayette. John Glesener led the team with eight points on four goals and four assists, his third straight hat trick. John was named the Army Athletic Association Athlete of the Week for his efforts. The baseball team won two out of three in its first homestand over the weekend. Chris Rowley’s 10 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings highlighted the two days. Elsewhere on the diamond, the softball team swept two non-conference doubleheaders from St. Peter’s and Rider. Morgan Lashley was named the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week after going 4-0 with a 0.67 earned run average in 21 innings during the week. The tennis teams opened play with a combined six wins against Patriot League foes. The men’s team topped Holy Cross, Lafayette and Lehigh to start conference play 3-0, while the women’s team defeated the same three teams in their Patriot League debut.
The track & field squads posted five performances that ranked among the top 10 in Army history at the Tribe Invitational by William & Mary. Mary Prakel won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:58.77, the second-fastest time in the Black Knight record book and quickest time since 2004. Ricardo Galindo posted the sixth-fastest 10,000-meter time at 29:54.90, while Kendall Ward was close behind with the ninth-best time on the Army list (30:19.99). In the 800-meter run, Katrina Donarski captured the individual title with a time of 2:14.53, the sixth-best in school history. Rounding out the all-time performances was Jacob Drozd. Competing in the javelin for the first time since last May, he won the event with the seventh-best throw in Academy history (62.42m). Hurdler Kyler Martin was the first Patriot League Track Athlete of the Week for his efforts in the first two meets. He ran the seventh-fastest 110-meter hurdle time in Academy history (14.31) two weeks ago at Coastal Carolina and followed that with a first-place finish and personal best in the 400-meter hurdles this past week (53.28).
