Women’s Cross Country Wins Third Consecutive Patriot League Championship; Men Finish Second

Friday, October 31

Bethlehem, Pa.

12 p.m.

Army West Point

Patriot League Championships

Women’s Cross Country Wins Third Consecutive Patriot League Championship; Men Finish Second

October 31, 2025 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Men's Results Women's Results

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – It was a day of celebration at the 2025 Patriot League Cross Country Championships at Lehigh, as the women's program won its third consecutive team title and the men's team finished second.

Army dominated the women's race, scoring 21 points and had four of the top five finishers. Charlotte Richman flew through the field en route to winning the women's race and being named the Patriot League Runner of the Year. Her time of 20:19.4 was 20.4 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

The Black Knights 21 points are the lowest score in the 10-team Patriot League era and the lowest score in the last 25 years.

Rounding out the top five for Army was Mikayla Cheney in third place (20:48.4), Louisa Diamond in fourth (20.53.4) and Alma Lazo Cazares in fifth (21:04.1). Those four top finishers for the Black Knights were named to the First-Team All-Patriot League. Claire Lewis finished in eighth place with a time of 21:09.9, which earned a spot on the Second-Team All-Patriot League.

Army was also named the Women's Coaching Staff of the Meet, led by director of cross country Mike Smith and assistant coach Elise Moore.

On the men's side, the Black Knights put together a strong performance to finish in second place with 58 points. Leading the way was Anthony Diaz, who finished in second with a time of 24:19.8 to earn a spot on the First-Team All-Patriot League.

Max Haynia and Adam Furman earned spots on the Second-Team All-Patriot League Team with 11^th and 12^th place finishes, respectively. Nathan Davis (16^th) and Gavin Hansen (17^th) also finished in the top 20.

Up Next
Army cross country will return to action on Friday, Nov. 14, at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships hosted by New Hampshire. The following week will see select athletes travel to the NCAA Championships hosted by Missouri on Nov. 22.

Full Results
2025 Patriot League Cross Country Women's Major Awards
Women's Outstanding Performer of the Meet: Charlotte Richman, Army West Point, Sr.
Women's Rookie of the Meet: Shealyn Brochu, American University, Fr.
Women's Coaching Staff of the Meet: Army West Point (Head Coach Mike Smith)

2025 Patriot League Cross Country Women's Championship Team Results
1. Army West Point, 21
2. Bucknell, 48
3. Navy, 99
4. Boston University, 120
5. Lehigh, 136
6. Lafayette, 193
7. American, 199
8. Holy Cross, 203
9. Colgate, 232
10. Loyola Maryland, 293

First-Team All-Patriot League (Women): 1. Charlotte Richman, Army West Point, Sr.; 2. Shaelan McNally, Bucknell, So.; 3. Mikayla Cheney, Army West Point, Jr.; 4. Louisa Diamond, Army West Point, Jr.; 5. Alma Lazo Cazares, Army West Point, So.; 6. Kailey Granger, Bucknell, Jr.; 7. Siena Brunetti, Holy Cross, Jr.

Second-Team All-Patriot League (Women): 8. Claire Lewis, Army West Point, Sr.; 9. Jane Phillips, Navy, So.; 10. Kate Moncabage, Bucknell, So.; 11. Grace Hughes, Lehigh, Jr.; 12. Lexi Ensor, Navy, Jr.; 13. Caryn Rippey, Bucknell, Sr.; 14. Shealyn Brochu, American, Fr.

2025 Patriot League Cross Country Men's Major Awards
Men's Outstanding Performer of the Meet: Justin Mumford, Navy, Sr.
Men's Rookie of the Meet: Luke Bowlsby, Navy, Fr.
Men's Coaching Staff of the Meet: Navy (Head Coach Aaron Lanzel)

2025 Patriot League Cross Country Men's Championship Team Results
1. Navy, 28
2. Army West Point, 58
3. American, 116
4. Boston University, 117
5. Bucknell, 135
6. Colgate, 148
7. Holy Cross, 158
8. Lehigh, 191
9. Lafayette, 248
10. Loyola Maryland, 296

First-Team All-Patriot League (Men): 1. Justin Mumford, Navy, Sr.; 2. Anthony Diaz, Army West Point, Sr.; 3. Joseph Mahon, Holy Cross, Jr.; 4. Dane Eike, Navy, So.; 5. Kaden Kluth, American, Sr.; 6. James Partlow, Navy, So.; 7. Parker Schneider, Boston University, Sr.

Second-Team All-Patriot League (Men): 8. Maximilian Giardet, Navy, Jr.; 9. Logan Flament, Navy, Jr.; 10. Henry Didden, Bucknell, Sr.; 11. Maximus Haynia, Army West Point, Jr.; 12. Adam Furman, Army West Point, Jr.; 13. Liam Lyons, Holy Cross, Sr.; 14. Ethan Pratt-Perez, Bucknell, So.

Coaches Corner – Director of Cross Country Mike Smith
Women's
"We hired Elise (CeCe) Moore to work with our men's and women's cross country teams back in 2020. It was the height of the pandemic when she arrived to Highland Falls and her introduction to West Point and our team was a two-week quarantine in an apartment by herself. We have done a lot of winning since adding her to our staff and many of the women that have set the records and won the meets for us, were recruited by her. That was never more evident than it was today in our women's win. Our women won their third consecutive Patriot League Cross Country Championship with the best team performance that the Army women have ever had at this meet. The 21 points scored today by our women ranks as the lowest total ever for an Army team and the lowest total ever for the 10-team Patriot League. In 1991, 1999 and 2000, when the league consisted of 6 teams, Bucknell won the meet with a score of 20, 17 and 21 points, respectively. Today's performance marks the most dominating win in the last 25 years. I was nervous going into the race because I knew we had the most talented team in the meet. But the conditions were the great equalizer, potentially bringing grit and toughness to the fore and taking talent out of the equation. The wind was steady at close to 20 miles per hour and 1.75 inches of rain dumped on the course yesterday. Parts of the course were like a sponge, and the 40 mph gusts brought the wind chill down to the 30's by the start of the race. It just wasn't easy out there. We have been on the other end of the talent scale in the past and managed to win the meet (2023) with sheer determination and race day execution. In 2024 our team was evenly matched with Boston University on talent, but we ran the better race to narrowly edge them for the win. Today, we had the best team but we also demonstrated the sheer determination and focus required to get the win. We had six women in the top seven at the mile mark and we held nearly that same advantage at the finish line. It was a complete team win. There was no one individual that brought home the title, it was combination of all of them. Charlotte Richman '26 led us today as she did at the Star Meet two weeks ago. Her win today was the fifth all-time individual win for an Army woman, and she is only the fourth Army woman to ever cross the line first at the championship meet. With today's win, she joins Catherine Gaffigan (1993 and 94), Jessica Jones (96) and Georgia Jones (2021) as Patriot League individual champions. Rare territory for sure. And it almost didn't happen. Charlotte Richman sat in my office four years ago and hardly said a word. It was the day before she was to report for Beast Barracks, and she was one of the top basketball recruits in Army's class of 2026. We knew that Charlotte was a really good high school runner. She was fourth at the Oregon state meet as a senior, she was recruited by a lot of top track and cross country schools, but she wanted to play basketball and Army had offered her. She came to West Point to play basketball. Sitting in my office that late June day she offered me little other than a very clear desire to run if it was possible. I told her we would take whatever she was willing to give. Fast forward four years and she has given us a hall of fame career. Three consecutive Star Meet team wins in cross country, back-to-back Star Meet cross country individual titles, three consecutive Patriot League team titles in cross country, numerous school records on the track, multiple Patriot League individual titles on the track, a 2025 Patriot League Outdoor team title and now the individual cross country title and the unofficial claim of the best distance runner in the conference. And for all of the tangible success, the biggest gift of all that Charlotte has given this program has been her consistency of effort. She never gives anything less than her best. NEVER. She always shows up ready to work and all of that hard work paid off today with the biggest win of her career. Here is what she said about the race today, "Just like we talked about before the race, I measured my effort early and stayed controlled through the first, almost two, miles. I noticed I created a little separation heading into the third mile and just attacked from there. Even though it was windy going up the hill in the third mile, I knew that the bad conditions would only benefit our team more, so I had confidence that my teammates were attacking behind me which pushed me to keep powering up the hill too. Then in the last 1k I was pretty confident I had separated myself enough to win this race, but I put myself in the mindset that I was at the regional meet and had to pass as many competitors as possible to help get us to nationals!"

Our number two runner today was Mikayla Cheney '27. Her third-place finish was the best of her career at this meet. Her time (20:48) in tough conditions, was the best 6k time of her career. In September, I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to get Mikayla to this meet. She came to practice in mid-September and tried to limp through an easy run finally calling it quits when she couldn't bend her leg without pain. She had suffered a knee injury in a sparring match in the combative class earlier that day. She thought the pain would go away and that she could tough it out but when that didn't happen, she had to shut down her run. Things were touch and go for about a week as we rested her and tried to cross train. She kept showing up to the combative class and managed to avoid further injury while still fighting until the class ended in early October. She missed some training time and avoided a serious injury but it was definitely a concern going into the championship season. What she did today was great and even more remarkable given the context of what she has endured to get to this point. But Mikayla is as tough as they come. She has a very high pain tolerance and is a vicious competitor. "I felt very focused during the race. I really wanted to bring home the three-peat for the Firsties and that was one of my biggest motivations today. I wish I didn't let Charlotte and the Bucknell girl get as separated from me as they did and I wish I made it a closer race at the end. I just kept going through the steps of the race plan in my head as I was running and I felt very grounded. I trusted my teammates, and I knew they placed their trust in me and that was something I had to keep and show them that I deserved that trust," Cheney said.

Louisa Diamond '27 ran side by side with Mikayla for much of the race and finished as our number three today. Louisa has been a fixture in our top five for her entire career and today's fourth-place finish helped seal the win for our team. She has been our most consistent performer all year having led our team in the first meet that she ran and never having finished outside our top three. I can't overstate how dependable she has been since arriving here three years ago. She thrives in cross country, she loves the individual challenge that it presents, and she revels in the teamwork that it takes to win championships. She was a warrior out there today. Claire Lewis '26 is our team captain and the leader of this team. She led us again today with her hard charging effort early and her strong finish. She had a breakout season as a sophomore and finished fourth in this race. Last year, slowed by injuries, she struggled to put together a strong cross country season. But this fall has been a different story. Buoyed by her Patriot League title in the 3000m steeplechase last spring, she went to work this summer and came into fall camp fit and determined to lead this team. She has done exactly that all fall. Today, she went right to the front, ran fearlessly forward throughout the early miles and closed hard to finish eighth in the race and fifth for our team. Here is what she had to say about the race, "I felt good, and I also know I have some things to work on. If I can stick on to Louisa and Mikayla through three miles, I know my last 1200m is always there. I just need to stay with them in that second/third mile. I never felt 'unlocked' and I brought it at the end to get the girl in front of me. Overall, it was a decent individual effort, but I want to get even more out of myself and improve my consistency through the middle of the race." She will get another opportunity to test herself in two weeks.

I have deliberately saved for last my thoughts about our fourth runner today. Alma Lazo Cazares '28 was recruited by coach Moore. In the recruiting process, coach Moore told me, 'Coach. She is good. I promise you.' I have come to trust coach Moore's eye for talent. We saw that come to fruition in the spring when Alma ran 2:08 for the 800 and made the Patriot League final at the outdoor meet as a plebe. At the conclusion of the spring season, Coach Moore and I debated whether or not we were going to have Alma be a part of the cross country team or have her just pursue fall track and focus on getting ready for the middle-distance events indoors. She didn't train for cross country last fall, had never run a 6k race in her life and had very little background in the endurance events. We didn't have much to go on so we decided to ask her what she wanted to do and she said very clearly that she wanted to run cross country. And now here we are. Her time today was the fastest time she has ever run for 6k. At the start of the fall, I could not have predicted what we saw today from Alma. But I should have known better. She doesn't overthink things, she just does what she is told. And while that is what we commonly expect from soldiers, it is one thing to do what you are told and an entirely different thing to run to your potential every time you are told to do it. That is Alma Lazo Cazares. She gets the most out of herself and she has a sneaky mean streak in her when it comes to competition. She flips a switch when the gun goes off and runs to vanquish. "Coach Smith made it clear that he didn't want any different colored uniforms in front of us. So that was my goal for the race. Every time I saw another color jersey in front of me, I just went with them. I felt like I was in the zone just running. I felt really good. I was locked in," she said. Alma finished fifth today in her first Patriot League Championship race. She ran the fastest time of her life and helped propel our team to a championship. The outcome was great today, but the execution was even better. I challenged them to run a patient race early and attack late in the race. We saw that from this group two weeks ago at the Star Meet where we put six women in front of the first Navy runner. Today we only managed to put five in front of their first but those five were also in the top eight of the race today. This is a special group of women, and I've run out of superlatives to describe them and their accomplishments. Since we gathered this team in July for preseason training, they have been nothing but professional. They show great enthusiasm for achieving hard things. Today they took another big step forward. Their biggest test will come in two weeks; they have passed every other test so far."

Men's
"We thought we had a chance to compete for the title today, but we just didn't put ourselves in a position to do that. Coming off the Star Meet, our men were full of confidence and our training indicated that we were ready to run at a very high level. It's not that we didn't run well today, we just didn't do enough of the things that we needed to do to get the win. To win a Patriot League title, you have to be in the race, and you have to attack within the race. We struggled to attack mid race and could not close the gap that had opened from the start. There were a few individual exceptions to that. Max Haynia '27, Adam Furman '27, and Gavin Hansen '27 all had Patriot League all-time best finishes. Those guys have been steady all year for us and today we thought that they could compete for top 10 finishes. They each challenged for the top 10 mid-race but in the end could not get there and were pushed back to (11^th, 12^th and 17^th respectively). The guys were pretty disappointed in the outcome today, but they are smart enough to know that their process was sound and that better execution will lead to the right outcome in the future. Our best individual performer today was Anthony Diaz '26. Anthony has quietly put together a fantastic season. He has put in the work and now he is seeing the results. His runner-up finish today was the best of his career. He measured his effort and attacked mid race. He found himself in second with 800 meters to go and he held that spot to the line. It was a great end to his Patriot League career. The team outcome today fell short of the goal that these guys set for themselves back in July. After the race, I challenged them to 'get off the mat' tomorrow and get back to work. Sports can be humbling. Hard work always pays off but it doesn't always equal winning. We didn't win today but we can win tomorrow if we get up and keep trying."