Kent, Vick advance to NCAA championship on historic day for Navy at NCAA Eastern Preliminaries

LEXINGTON, KY – Nathan Kent And Brahmir Vick joined Joshua Boamah And Braden Presseur in qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship on day three of the NCAA Eastern Preliminaries Friday at the UK Outdoor Track and Field Complex in Lexington, Kentucky.

Kent punched his ticket to the national championships in the 400m by placing 10th overall with a time of 45.69. His time ranks second in program history and missed the school record by just 0.01 seconds. Additionally, he became only the third midfielder to run the 400m in under 46 seconds.

“Nathan (Kent) had a tough draw in lane 9, but he came out and led the first 250m of the race. He was facing the indoor 400m world record holder in his heat and for him keeping that spot was huge,” the track and field/cross country director said. Jamie Cook. “We knew he would need a career race today to qualify and that's exactly what he did. He just missed our school record and I knew he was capable of achieving that record. He ran a great race and showed a lot of composure during the race.

Vick landed a trip to Eugene in the 110m hurdles. He had the second-best finish in team history with 13.62 to place 10th in the race. Vick has recorded five top 10 finishes in the 110m hurdles this season and eight times in her career.

“So happy for Brahmir (Vick) for all the hard work he put in. He was in the same heat as the #1 ranked hurdler in the country and fought hard. He ran a great first eight hurdles and finished strong to qualify by a few hundredths of a second, which we knew it would take,” Cook said. “Really proud of how he executed the race almost perfectly. For him to just miss the school record at a crucial time with no tailwind is great. He kept this team excited all week and it really paid off today not only for him, but for the whole team.”

Jacques Guillaume narrowly missed qualifying for the national championships in the 400m hurdles by just 0.24 seconds. The junior broke the program record with a time of 50.79 to place 16th. Guillaume broke the previous school record of 0.16, set by Clayton Thompson in 2019.

Guillaume also helped the Mids set a new team record in the 4x400m relay. Pete the YoungerGuillaume, Jay Evans and Kent ran the fastest 4×400 relay in school history in 3:04.59 to place 14th. deJonge, Guillaume, Evans and Kent combined to record the three fastest 4x400m relay times in program history in 3:04.59, 3:06.87 and 3:06.98, respectively.

“It's really tough for Jacques (Guillaume) considering the day he set the school record and narrowly missed the national championships in the 400m hurdles. He then came out strong and helped us beat school record in the 4x400m relay by over two seconds It's a tough pill to swallow to not qualify in those two events,” Cook added. “His leadership has allowed this group to succeed and do things that Navy athletics has never seen before. He ran a very good race today and I am extremely proud of his efforts. All four Members of the relay team held strong today and I fought hard against some very good competitors. Jay Evans in particular, he made a very good stage to allow Nathan (Kent) to close strong.

“The 4x400m group will be back next year and they are hungry. There were so many coaches who came up to our athletes today and congratulated them on the way they competed. Things like that mean a lot, but at the same time, it's difficult when you don't get as far as you'd like, however, when you break a school record by more than two seconds, it's hard to be disappointed about it.

Ben Countiss And Sam Keeny began the track events Friday in the 3,000m steeplechase. Countiss finished in 35th place with a time of 9:12.58. Keeny clocked 9:19.19 to take 40th place.

“I know today wasn't the way Sam (Keeny) wanted things to end, but he showed a lot of perseverance in this race. He never gave up and that's the kind of leader he was for the cross country and distance group,” Cook said. “Really proud of what he's done with this senior class in going undefeated against Army and in the Patriot League. He's one of the biggest reasons this group has stood out from the rest of the conference.”

Benjamin Schneider was the only Navy competitor in the field events. He placed 36th in the high jump with a mark of 2.04 m (6' 8.25″).

Mia-Claire Kezal will conclude the NCAA East preliminaries for the Mids tomorrow when she competes in the 3,000m steeplechase at 5:40 p.m. Fans can watch the race on ESPN+ with the link provided at NavySports.com(.)