Navy men’s track and field sends four athletes to NCAA Championships
Navy men’s track and field will have four athletes competing at the NCAA outdoor championship meet, being held Wednesday through Saturday at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Throwers Joshua Boamah and Braden Presser, along with sprinter Nathan Kent and hurdler Brahmir Vick all qualified for nationals with strong performances at the NCAA East Preliminary meet hosted by the University of Kentucky.
Boamah advanced in both the shot put and the hammer by finishing 12th in both events. The senior from San Diego, California, recorded the second-best shot put distance in Navy history with a toss of 61 feet, 7 ½ inches.
“To qualify for the hammer in the morning then come back in the afternoon to earn a spot for the shot put is a tough task,” Navy director of track and field Jamie Cook said.
Boamah made the three best shot put throws in Navy history this spring. He set the Navy record of 62-7 ¾ in March, breaking a mark established by Michael Berkowitz in 1964.
“Joshua’s shot put was incredible because he opted to reset on his last throw of the day,” Navy throwing coach Chris Campbell said. “It’s usually very difficult to regain your rhythm to produce a good throw when you do that. When the pressure is on he finds a way to deliver. He is a true gameday competitor.”
Presser secured his third straight berth at nationals by placing eighth in the javelin with a throw of 228-10. The senior from Liberty, Missouri, earned first team All-American honors last season by placing sixth at the NCAA Championships.
“Braden is just a tremendous competitor. He has dealt with a lot of ups and downs this season, so to come out and qualify for nationals for the third time is amazing,” Cook said.
Presser had to deal with multiple lightning delays during the competition. Campbell praised the two-time Patriot League champion for posting one of his best performances of the outdoor season under pressure.
“Braden was very determined to make it back to [nationals] and didn’t let anything stand in his way, which was spectacular to see,” Campbell said.
Kent punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships by placing 10th in the 400-meter run in 45.69 seconds, second fastest in program history.
“We knew it would take a great race for Nathan to qualify and he did just that. He ran a great race and showed a lot of poise at the end,” Cook said.
Vick earned his berth at nationals by placing 10th in the 110 hurdles with a time of 13.62 seconds, just four-tenths shy of his own school record. Vick, a senior from Middletown, Delaware, now owns the top eight times in Navy history.
“So happy for Brahmir for all the hard work he has put in. Really proud of how he executed the race nearly perfectly,” Cook said. “For him to just miss the school record at a crucial time with no tailwind is tremendous.”
Boamah, Kent and Vick are all making their first appearances at the NCAA Championships.
Senior Walker Rudisaile did not qualify for nationals despite setting the Navy record for the pole vault. The Marion, Texas, native cleared 17-5 ½, breaking the previous mark (17-4 ½) established by Jiles Maness in 2015.
It was a similar story for junior Jacques Guillaume, who narrowly missed out on making nationals by 0.24 seconds. Guillaume set the program record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 50.79 seconds. That shaved 16-tenths of a second off the mark established by Clayton Thompson in 2019.