Falcons On Schedule For A Great Season
4/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
April 30, 2003
School Records Smashed
The Falcons have broken three school records at the season's midpoint:
Jocelyn Dooley (Sr from Bismarck, ND) smashed her own javelin throw record with a toss of 155'10" at the Florida Relays in late-March.
At mid-April's Mt SAC Relays, Thomas Clark (Sr from Monument, CO/Lewis-Palmer HS) broke Cliff Alexander's 1992 record in the 400m Intermediate Hurdles with his 50.90 clocking. At the same meet, Anthony Park (Jr from Las Vegas, NV) broke the oldest field event record in the Falcons' book with his 24'5" leap in the long jump, eclipsing Northan Golden's 1985 mark of 24'2".
NCAA Qualifiers Abound
With the implementation of the NCAA's Regional Qualifying system for the NCAA Championships, the Falcons have quickly taken advantage of the new format to post a number of early season qualifying marks. They include:
Men
Thomas Clark 110mHH 14.27w
Thomas Clark 400mIH 50.90
Sean Temple 110mHH 14.24w
Sean Temple 400mIH 51.70
Makisi Haleck Pole Vault 16'8?"
Christian Morgan Pole Vault 16'2?"
Anthony Park Long Jump 24'5"
David Thompson Discus Throw 174'3"
Josh Cherkinsky Hammer Throw 189'0"
Jason McNeal Hammer Throw 184'6"
Tim Fritz Javelin Throw 210'0"
Women
Elissa Ballas 1500m Run 4:30.56
LaTravia Robinson Triple Jump 40'0"
Jocelyn Dooley Javelin Throw 155'10"
Dana Pounds Javelin Throw 144'2"
Lacy DeWall Javelin Throw 141'1"
Falcons head coach, Ralph Lindeman, expects this number to grow significantly in the coming weeks culminating with the MWC Outdoor Championships in Albuquerque in mid-May. The Falcons will compete in the NCAA's Midwest Regional meet at the University of Nebraska on May 30-31. The NCAA Championships are scheduled June 11-14 at Sacramento, CA.
For a complete listing of NCAA qualifers, go to: http://members.aol.com/rpodkam/events.html .
Falcon Men's Team Nationally-Ranked
The Air Force Men's outdoor track team is currently ranked 27th in the US Track Coaches Association's Team Power Rankings. (NOTE: there are 267 institutions that participate in NCAA Division I Track & Field). The rankings are based on an index of a team's overall power in scoring meets using the Nielsen tables to evaluate a team's top two performers in each of 19 events. The Falcons finished 34th in the rankings for the indoor season.
The rankings can be viewed at www.team-power.org.
Twilight Meet to Recognize Ris Westen
The Falcons' home meet on Friday, May 9 (field events begin at 3:00 p.m., track events at 4:00 p.m.) will honor the 45+ years of service by Risdon Westen as a volunteer official. Mr. Westen has served as the head referee for all the Falcons' indoor and outdoor home meets for many years. A presentation will be made just prior to the 4x100m Relay by the team captains of the Falcons' men's and women's teams.
Falcons Rewrite Relay Records
With competition completed in several of the major relay meets (Florida Relays, Mt SAC, Drake and Penn Relays), the Falcons have been rewriting several records on the USAFA All-Time Lists.
Falcon women have posted 5 school records in relays:
Sprint Medley: 4:05.60 4/26/ 03 Drake Relays
(Jill Adamek-Jami Hodge-Katy Crow-Cindy Dawson)
Distance Medley: 11:53.51 4/25/03 Drake Relays
(Kelly McPherson-Jami Hodge-Cindy Dawson-Elissa Ballas)
4x1500m Relay: 19:43.64 3/22/03 FSU Relays
(Nicole Graham-Lindsay Grose-Cindy Dawson-Jean Taylor)
4xMile Relay: 21:07.21 4/24/03 Drake Relays
(Kelly McPherson-Anne Chumlea-Jean Taylor-Elissa Ballas)
Shuttle Hurdles: 67.01 3/29/03 Florida Relays
(Rachael McIntosh-Sarah Rountree-Paula Maffey-Jen Neville)
USAFA men's teams have recorded two performances which rank #2 on the Falcons' All-Time lists:
Sprint Medley: 3:22.14 3/28/03 Florida Relays
(Nick Bromberek-Luke Marker-Thomas Clark-Bryant Bevan)
Shuttle Hurdles: 57.68 4/25/03 Penn Relays
(Sean Temple-Thomas Clark-Jim Campbell-Marc Fulson)
The men's shuttle hurdle time is the 6th fastest in the nation this year by an NCAA Division I squad, while the men's sprint medley time ranks 20th nationally.
Women's (Outdoor Season) Highlights
In spite of suffering losses in a double dual meet to Army (110-93) and Navy (113-90) at Annapolis the first weekend in April, the Falcons are enjoying one of their most successful season's ever.
Katy Crow (Sr from Colorado Springs/Doherty HS) and Jami Hodge (Jr, Sachse, TX) have run the 5th and 6th fastest times in USAFA history for 400m (57.39 and 57.63 respectively).
In the middle distances, Elissa Ballas' 1500m time (4:30.56) ranks 3rd in the Mountain West Conference and 2nd on the Falcons' All-Time List, and she has also run 2:16.09 for 800m (8th All-Time). Ballas is a Senior from Bay Village, OH. Cindy Dawson (Soph, Yreka, CA) has run 2:15.93 for 800m.
Anne Chumlea (Jr from Enon, OH) has run 17:41.61 for 5000m, #6 A-T, and Vivien Aspden (Frosh from Yucaipa, CA) ran 37:58.37 for 10k, also #6 A-T. Jean Taylor (Jr from Florissant, MO) heads the Falcons' steeplechasers at 11:11.08, a time which ranks 9th in the MWC.
Paula Maffey (Soph from Las Vegas, NV) and Jen Neville (Frosh from Cold Spring, NY) have been big surprises in the 400m hurdles, running 63.53 and 65.69 respectively, good for 5th and 8th on the A-T list.
LaTravia Robinson's 40'0" triple jump at the Florida State Relays is the Mountain West Conference leader and ranks #2 on the USAFA All-Time list.
Dominique Boivin (Soph from Shoreline, WA) leads the Falcons in three throwing events, having put the shot 40'8?", thrown the discus 147'2" and the hammer 154'2" (#4 A-T).
Without question, the Falcons' strongest event group has been assistant coach Scott Irving's javelin throwers, including no fewer than three who have qualified for the NCAA's and occupy the top 3 spots on the USAFA All-Time lists-Dooley, Dana Pounds (Frosh from Lexington, KY) and Lacy DeWall (Soph from Bismarck, ND), all with throws exceeding 140-feet. The three rank 1-4-5 in the Conference, as well, and Dooley ranks 25th on the list of NCAA qualifiers.
Men's (Outdoor Season) Highlights
With 9 individuals qualified for the NCAA's in 11 events and ranked 27th in the USTCA's Team Power Rankings, the 2003 outdoor season is shaping up as a good one.
Thomas Clark and Sean Temple (Jr from Monument, CO /Lewis-Palmer HS) lead a tremendously talented group of hurdlers which also includes Juniors Jim Campbell (Portage, MI) and Luke Marker (Manson, WA) along with Senior Marc Fulson (Teaneck, NJ). Assistant Coach (Capt) Floyd Brazier's goal is to place 4 Falcons each in both the 110m and 400m hurdle finals at the Conference Championships. Temple is the defending MWC Champion in the high's and holds down the #1 spot in current Conference rankings. Clark's time of 50.90 in the 400m Hurdles ranks 2nd in the MWC and 18th in the NCAA. He was the top collegiate finisher in the event at the Mt SAC Relays.
Coach Mark Stanforth's talented group of young distance runners is just rounding into top shape. Junior Ben Payne (Aurora, CO/Faith Christian HS) is the MWC's defending Champion in the 10,000m. Fellow juniors Chris Acs (Niles, OH) and Bryant Bevan (Langhorne, PA) are among the MWC
leaders in the 5000m and 800m respectively. Talented Freshman Mark Walter (League City, TX) leads the Falcons in
the 1500m while Jim Blech (Sr, Tempe, AZ) and Kalib Wilkinson (Fr, Huntersville, NC) can both be expected to score in the 3000m steeplechase, an event the Falcons have won 3 consecutive MWC titles in. Nick Wilson (Jacksonville, FL) set an USAFA Freshman Record in the 10,000m Run at the Mt SAC Relays.
An outstanding group of young pole vaulters has brought some early season excitement to the Falcons. Sophomores Makisi Haleck (Thousand Oaks, CA) and Christian Morgan (Las Vegas, NV) have both qualified for the NCAA's with jumps of 16'8? and 16'2?" respectively. Even with defending MWC Champion Paul Gensic (So, Fort Wayne, IN) sidelined for the outdoor season with injuries, the Falcons could post 3-4 of the scoring places in the Conference Championships, adding Senior Paul Goossen (Toledo, OH) and Sophomore Trey Fryman (Elk City, OK).
Two-time Conference Champion Anthony Park (Jr, Las Vegas, NV) and Chris Banks (Jr, Culpeper, VA) are amongst the MWC leaders in the horizontal jumps-both scored in both the long and triple jumps indoors. Park was injured in the triple jump at the Mt SAC Relays the day after long jumping 24'5" and is questionable for the MWC Championships. Tim Hughes (Jr, Royal Oak, MI) has scored in the MWC Championships 5 times (3 indoor, 2 outdoor) and is expected to do so again after jumping well the past few weeks.
David Thompson (Sr from St Louis, MO) ranks 4th in the MWC (also 6th on the All-Time List) in the discus throw with a toss of 174'3" last week and has been improving his NCAA-qualifying mark almost weekly. Senior Josh Cherkinsky (Coral Springs, FL) and Junior Jason McNeal (Woods Cross, UT) rank 4th and 7th in the MWC, and both have qualified for the NCAA's with their throws of the hammer 189'0" and 184'6" respectively. Those throws rank #3 and #6 respectively on the Falcons' A-T list.
Defending MWC Champion Tim Fritz (Sr, Perkasic, PA) leads the Conference with a seasonal best of 210'0" in the javelin throw. Junior David Hoffecker (Sevierville, TN) has been a nice surprise with his 189'0" throw earlier this month.
Junior Nick Herald (Sparks, NV)ranks 3rd in the MWC in the decathlon with his 6745 score at the Florida Relays, a mark which ranks 4th on the USAFA All-Time List.
Upcoming Schedule
Thu,, May 1 Quadrangular Meet @ Boulder, CO
(Field Events - 12:00 noon, Track Events - 3:00 p.m.)
Fri, May 9 Ris Westen/AF Twilight Invitational @ Home
(Field Events - 3:00 p.m., Track Events - 4:00 p.m.)
Wed-Thu, May 14-15, MWC Championships, Decathlon,
@ Albuquerque, NM (12:00 noon, both days)
Fri-Sat, May 16-17, Mountain West Conference Championships
@ Albuquerque, NM
(Friday: Field Events-10:00 a.m.; Track Events- 1:30 p.m.)
(Saturday: Field Events-10:30 am; Track Events-11:30 am)
Sun, May 25, USAFA T&F Awards Reception
Cadet Field House / Indoor Track, 7:00 p.m.
(Public invited, $5.00 donation,
RSVP to Jennifer.Lyons@usafa.af.mil )
