Men's Season Outlook - Q&A With Ralph Lindeman
1/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Jan. 26, 2004
Q: WHAT WILL THE STRENGTHS OF THE TEAM BE IN 2004?
A: It is especially hard this year to identify a particular "strength", because we have several of them. The distance events have been the strength of our program throughout the years and 2004 will be no exception. We've got conference championship-level athletes in every event from the 800-meter run to the 10,000-meter run. The fact that (assistant track coach and head cross country coach) Mark Stanforth's men's cross country team finished in eighth-place at the NCAA Championships certainly projects considerable success for us in these events.
We may have the best corps of hurdlers in the country. Senior Sean Temple (Monument, Colo.) is already a two-time MWC Champion. Along with Jim Campbell (senior - Portage, Mich.) and Luke Marker (senior - Manson, Wash.), those three should again be among our qualifiers for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. I'm also really excited to have junior Jonathan Myers (Davenport, Iowa) and sophomore Kory Pearson (Beavercreek, Ohio) competing in the 400-meter hurdles, as well.
If I had to pick one event as our flagship event, though, it would be the pole vault. Paul Gensic (junior - Fort Wayne, Ind.) returns full-strength after his serious injuries last February. I fully expect him to challenge for the MWC title and be among the NCAA leaders during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Gensic and fellow juniors Makisi Haleck (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Christian Morgan (Henderson, Nev.) should give us a trio of 17-foot vaulters. I doubt that there will be more than three or four schools in the NCAA that can make that claim.
Q: HOW WILL THE FALCONS FARE IN THE DISTANCE EVENTS?
A: Bryant Bevan (Langhorne, Pa.), the 2003 MWC indoor 800-meter run champion, returns for his senior season and should claim significant honors. Sophomore Mark Walter (League City, Texas) and junior Nathan Franz (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) will lead us in the 1500-meter run, while sophomore Kalib Wilkinson (Huntersville, N.C.) is our top steeplechase competitor. Ben Payne (senior - Arvada, Colo.) is a three-time MWC champion. He, along with Chris Acs (senior - Nile, Ohio), Brian Dumm (junior - Fairfax, Va.), Abe Wengel (junior - Menomonie, Wis.) and Nick Wilson (sophomore - Jacksonville, Fla.) should give us dominance in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter events at the conference championship level.
Q: WHAT ABOUT IN THE SPRINTS?
A: Senior Nick Bromberek (Lemont, Ill.) will be the mainstay of our sprint crew. He's already earned several all-conference awards for placing in the top three at the MWC Championships, both in individual races and relays. Matt Ward (sophomore - Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) could give us a huge boost if he can minimize conflicts with football, and we have two young sprinters in Troy Jensen (sophomore - Santa Ana, Calif.) and Billy Flynt (sophomore - Platte City, Mo.) that could also make an impact.
Q: HOW WILL AIR FORCE MATCH UP IN THE FIELD EVENTS?
A: Senior Tim Hughes (Royal Oak, Mich.) gives us a consistent conference scorer in the high jump - he's scored in six consecutive MWC indoor and outdoor championship meets. We should be the strongest we've ever been in the horizontal jumps, as two-time MWC champion Anthony Park (Las Vegas, Nev.) returns for his senior season and will not be distracted by conditioning for football as in previous years. Chris Banks (senior - Culpeper, Va.) is one of the most improved athletes I've ever worked with over his first three years and if he continues to improve at the same rate...he will have a banner season.
Seniors Dave Hoffecker (javelin - Sevierville, Tenn.), Steven "Buddy" Lizzol (discus - Seneca, Kan.) and Jason McNeal (hammer - Woods Creek, Utah) lead our relatively young group of throwers. Freshmen Jason Perkins (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Mark Koalenz (San Antonio, Texas) were both ranked among the top-10 high school discus throwers in the country in 2003. They both could make huge contributions for us after spring football is completed in late-March. Freshman javelin thrower Matt Schwandt (Manhattan, Kan.) is one of the best prospects we've ever brought to USAFA and he has the potential to be among America's best in that event.
Q: WILL THE FALCONS HAVE ANY ATHLETES IN THE COMBINED EVENTS?
A: Senior Nick Herald (Sparks, Nev.) will be among the conference leaders in both the heptathlon (indoors) and decathlon (outdoors). Junior Caleb Pelger (Peabody, Mass.) has made huge improvements in the combined events as well. With the NCAA making the indoor heptathlon a championship event in 2004, Jim Campbell (senior - Portage, Mich.) will not be able to defend his conference title in the pentathlon nor contest the combined event in deference to concentrating on the hurdle events.
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE THIS SEASON? A: BYU and Colorado State should be the overwhelming favorites (on paper) based on their 2003 performances, but I believe in our team's ability to challenge them for the conference team title this year. Both New Mexico and Wyoming appear to be significantly improved this year, as well.
Q: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE TEAM'S SCHEDULE?
A: We don't have as many scored meets as we've traditionally had, but I believe we have the best schedule possible to prepare our team for the MWC Championships. Highlights on our schedule include traveling to the PAC-10 Invitational in Seattle during the indoor season, and then to the Stanford Invitational, Mt SAC Relays and Drake Relays during the outdoor season.
We will have five home meets during the indoor season and two during the outdoor schedule. That's as many as we've ever had at the Academy. We're expecting a number of NCAA-qualifying performances at the Cadet Field House (indoor season) and at the Cadet Track and Field Complex (outdoor season).
