Falcons Set To Host MWC Indoor Championships
2/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 25, 2004
The Air Force track and field program hosts the 2004 Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday-Saturday (Feb. 26-28) at the Cadet Field House. The three-day event features combined teams from Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, as well as the women's teams from San Diego State and UNLV.
The fifth-annual meet begins on Thursday 11 a.m., with the heptathlon and pentathlon. Friday and Saturday's action will start at noon. Tickets for the final two days of competition will be $5 for adults and $2 for children. (There is no charge for spectators on Thursday).
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HISTORY 101
The Falcons have hosted the indoor conference championships each of the past five years...BYU has claimed all four of the previous women's titles and three of the four men's titles...Colorado State is the only other team to claim a MWC indoor title (men in 2002)...for the AFA men, Bryant Bevan won the 800-meter run, while Sean Temple won the 60-meter hurdles and Jim Campbell claimed first in the pentathlon...the Falcon men have finished third for last three years after placing fourth in 2000...the women have finished eighth three times (2000, 2000-03) and seventh in 2001...
PARK BREAKS 20-YEAR SCHOOL RECORD
Senior Anthony Park set a new all-time Academy record, en route to winning the triple jump at the Don Barrett/Air Force Open. His mark of 50'6?" bested the previous record (50'6") that Gregg Marshall had set in 1984. It is the third school record that has been set in the past two weeks.
LEADING THE WAY
Three Falcons currently lead the Mountain West Conference in their respective events. In the lanes, Sean Temple is ranked first in the 60-meter hurdles, with a season-best time of 7.88c, while Ben Payne crossed the finish line in a MWC-best time of 14:04.26. In the field events, Paul Gensic is in a three-way tie for the highest height in the pole vault at 17'4?". Luke Marker is right behind Temple in the 60-meter hurdles, ranking second with a 7.95. The distance medley and 4X400-relay teams have finished with the second fastest times in the conference at 9:45.55 and 3:14.06, respectively, while Chris Banks and Anthony Park are individually ranked second in the league. Banks recorded a 23'11?" in the long jump, while Park has a 50'6?" in the triple jump. Banks (triple jump: 49'0?"), Nick Herald (heptathlon: 4696) and Brian Dumm (300-meter run: 8:05.05) are all ranked third in the conference in their individual events.
CAUTION...FALLING RECORDS!
By the time the Pac-10 Invitational concluded on Saturday, Feb. 14, five members of the Falcon men's team had made the school record pages of the newly-printed media guides obsolete. Senior Ben Payne crossed the finish line of the 5000-meter run in an Academy-best time of 14:04.26. Payne's time set the new standard - breaking the previous mark that had been held by Eric Mack since Feb. 23, 1996 (14:04.79a at the WAC Championships). The quartet of Falcons who teamed up for the distance medley relay also left their impression on the record charts, finishing in a program-best time of 9:45.55. Mark Walter, Sean Temple, Bryant Bevan and Chris Acs displaced Paul Gomez, Marcus Alexander, Paul Graddon and Andrew Marx, who ran the event in 9:46.79m on March 1, 1996.
ON THE HORIZON
Following the conference championships, the Falcons will head back to Seattle, Wash., to take part in the Final Qualifying Meet on Friday-Saturday (March 5-6).
MEN
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
In addition to setting a new school record and winning the triple jump, Anthony Park also won the long jump with a season-best distance of 23'4?".
Luke Marker posted a NCAA Provisional Qualifying time of 7.91 to win the 60-meter hurdles. Between Marker and classmate Sean Temple who finished second in the race with a time of 7.94, a member of the Air Force hurdle team has won the hurdles event in all but one race this season.
A Falcon trio went 1-2-3 in the mile, as Richard Elmore, Jason Beck and Abe Wengel topped the field of competitors. Two others, Kyle Davidson and Brett Kelly finished first and second in the 3000-meter run, with times of 9:12.72 and 9:22.21, respectively.
Christian Morgan and Makisi Haleck tied for the best finish on the pole vault by a collegiate athlete. Both topped out at 16'7", which puts an AFA vaulter as the top collegiate finisher in six of the last seven meets.
Temple teamed up with Troy Jensen, Jim Campbell and Kory Pearson to win the 4X400-yard relay in a time of 3:19.05. The men had one more individual first-place finisher, as senior Jason McNeal won the weight throw, registering a mark of 51'3?".
THAT'S SOME "POWER"FUL STUFF
In the most recent edition of the USTCA Team Power Rankings, the Falcons are nationally ranked No. 12. The web site ranks team following a point system on the 'basis of quality of athletic performance, team depth and dual meet scoring potential'. Individually, five Falcons are ranked among the nation's top-20. Paul Gensic is ranked 12th on the pole vault, while Christian Morgan is ranked 18th. Anthony Park is listed at No. 14 in the triple jump, while Brian Dumm shares that ranking in the 3000-meter run. Sean Temple is ranked 17th in the 60-meter hurdles, while teaming up with Mark Walter, Bryant Bevan and Chris Acs for 10th in the distance medley relay.
CLOSING THE GAP
If someone was to compare Air Force with its MWC neighbors to the north in Fort Collins (a team that the Falcons have faced in every scoring meet so far this season), the men's team has been making marked progress during every meet. After trailing the Rams by 45.5 points at the Air Force Invitational, the Falcons finished just 27 points behind at the Ralph Shine Invitational. In the pair's last competition, Air Force closed the gap to just eight points.
Sean Temple NAMED MWC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Senior Sean Temple was chosen as the MWC Men's Track and Field Athlete of the Week on Feb. 10. He won the honor following a victory in the 60-meter hurdles at the Air Force Classic, as well as leading the 4X400 relay team to victory.
ALL-TIME LIST INCURSIONS
Aside from Anthony Parks' record-setting (50'6?") mark in the triple jump, four others made moves into the Academy's all-time record books. Chris Banks moved into sixth-place in the triple jump, with a career-best mark of 49'0?", while Luke Marker moved into the No. 6 spot in the 60-meter hurdles. Troy Jensen moved to eighth on the program's list in the 200-meter, while Bryan Jones solidified his 10th-place ranking in the shot put.
WOMEN
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Dominique Boivin recorded a victory in the weight throw, posting a season-best distance of 50'8". Ashley Snyder won the women's 3000-meter run, crossing the finish line in 11:11.32.
TAKING A PERSONAL DAY
Setting two personal-records at the Don Barrett/Air Force Open, Olivia Korte has already made her impact on the team's record books. Korte finished third in the weight throw on Saturday, behind a career-best distance of 49'5". That distance, which trounced her previous-high by over a foot, ranks fourth on the Academy's all-time list. Not finished, Korte recorded a career-high mark of 44'0" in the shot put, beating her previous best by another foot. That mark is the second-best shot ever by a member of the Air Force women's team. Just a freshman, Korte is already close to the school record of 45'5?" that was set by Mary Manning in 1984.
MOVING ON UP
Genelle Chapman opened the season at the Air Force All-Comers meet, finishing the 200-meter dash in just 26.02 - the fifth-best time in school history. Since that meet, the sophomore has moved her way up the all-time list. At the Air Force Invitational, she solidified her fifth-place position with a time of 25.92. Chapman moved up to the No. 3 spot (25.78) at the Air Force Classic and continued her climb last weekend at the Don Barrett/Air Force Open, sliding into the No. 2 spot. Crossing the finish line in 25.55, Chapman not only set the best time by any Falcon this season in that event, she was only just .10 off of the school record.
ALL-TIME LIST INCURSIONS
Besides Olivia Korte and Genelle Chapman's entries into the record book, two other made their debuts onto the Academy's all-time list. Jami Hodge entered the 60-meter dash list at No. 9 with a time of 7.89. Sarah Rountree moved into the top-10 of the 60-meter hurdles with a 10th-place time of 9.14.
PERSONAL RECORDS SET AT THE DON BARRETT/AIR FORCE OPEN
There were 10 Falcons that set new career records last weekend. In addition to Olivia Korte, Genelle Chapman, Sarah Rountree and Jami Hodge, six others boasted career-best marks. Along with a personal-best mark in the 60-meter hurdles, Rountree also set a career-best time in the 200-meter dash of 27.18. Morgan Stewart also crossed the finish line in a personal-best time of 27.65. Jen Neville (60.39), Cindy Dawson (60.45) and Kelly McPherson (61.40) all posted career-best times in the 400-meter dash, while Nicole Graham (5:17.75a) and Lindsay Grose (5:21.68a) ran the fastest of their careers in the mile.
