Falcons Take Second at the Collegiate Classic

March 20, 2004

IRVINE, Calif. - The Air Force track and field team opened the 2004 outdoor season with a pair of second-place finishes at the Collegiate Classic at UC-Irvine on Saturday, March 20. The Falcon men registered a team score of 202 to finish just behind UC-Irvine, who posted a score of 204.50. Cornell finished third (170 points), while Yale took fourth (83.50). On the women's side, Air Force gathered 154 points to place second behind Cornell's 224 points. UC-Irvine (148 points) and Yale (122 points) rounded out the field with respective third and fourth-place finishes.

In addition to winning the men's 4x100-meter relay, the Falcons recorded three events sweeps and claimed two of the top three spots in an additional four events.

A senior trio of Falcons took the top three places in the 110-meter hurdles. Sean Temple (Monument, Colo.) won the event in a time of 14.30, while Luke Marker (Manson, Wash.) was right on his heels with a time of 14.33 to finish second. Jim Campbell (Portage, Mich.) rounded out the sweep with a third-place time of 14.62.

The Falcon men also swept through the top positions on the pole vault. Junior Paul Gensic (Fort Wayne, Ind.) won the event with a height of 17'0?", while sophomore Jason Jones (Park City, Utah) and junior Christian Morgan (Henderson, Nev.) tied for second with matching marks of 15'11".

Air Force made an impressive debut in the women's javelin throw, taking the top three spots. Sophomore Dana Pounds (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) won the event with a distance of 156'11" - the second-best mark in Academy history. Freshman Caitlin Holliday (Kalispell, Mont.) finished second and junior Lacy DeWall (Bismarck, N.D.) took third, with respective distances of 131'6" and 130'7".

Sophomore Mark Walter (League City, Texas) won the 1500-meter run, crossing the finish line in 3:48.29, while junior Brian Dumm (Fairfax, Va.) finished second with a time of 2:58.17. Sophomore Nick Wilson (Jacksonville, Fla.) won the 3000-meter run in 8:44.34, while classmate Anthony D'Amato (Midlothian, Va.) took second with a time of 8:32.98. Temple and sophomore Kory Pearson (Beavercreek, Ohio) took second and third in 400-meter hurdles, with respective times of 53.28 and 53.35.

Freshman Olivia Korte (Seneca, Kan.) won the discus with a mark of 156'6" - the second-longest distance in Academy history - while junior Dominique Boivin (Shoreline, Wash.) took third with a mark of 143'11".

Air Force also recorded several other top-three performances.

Senior Nick Bromberek (Lemont, Ill.) finished second in the 100-meter dash (10.77) and claimed third in the 200-meter dash (21.77). Junior Kyle Davidson (Houston, Texas) finished second in the 3000-meter steeplechase, with a time of 9:32.39. Sophomore Troy Jensen (Santa Ana, Calif.) took third in the 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line in a time of 49.11, while junior Nathan Franz (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) took third in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.55. The men's 4x400-meter relay team also recorded a third-place finish with a time of 3:15.98.

On the field, senior David Hoffecker (Sevierville, Texas) made his season debut with a second-place finish in the javelin throw, recording a distance of 178'6". Senior Anthony Park (Las Vegas, Nev.) took third in the long jump (22'11"), while classmate Chris Banks (Culpeper, Va.) took third in the triple jump with a mark of 47'11". Senior Jason McNeal (Woods Cross, Utah) finished in the same position in the hammer throw (173'11).

Sophomore Genelle Chapman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 66.04. The women's 4x100-meter relay also claimed a third-place finish with a time of 49.21. From the field, Korte finished third in the shot put with a distance of 42'9?", while sophomore Kristine Muth (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) claimed the same place in the hammer throw (142'3").

The Falcons will remain in California for the next week competing in two more meets. Air Force's decathlon and heptathlon competitors will compete in the California Combined Events in Berkeley, Calif., on March 24-25, before joining the rest of the team in Stanford for the Sanford Invitational on March 26-27.