Aiming Higher and Farther
5/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 24, 2004
May of 2000 marked the beginning of USAFA field event coach Scott Irving's experience with the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Certainly, he had experienced conference championship meets before, having coached in the PAC-10, SEC, Big Ten and the ACC, but this was different.
"To be honest, when I took the coaching job at the Academy, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into," Irving admitted. "The women had only recently joined the ranks of the NCAA Division I and it didn't seem like the men's track and field team had made much noise on the national scene with the exception of an occasional individual, like Erik Mack (former All-American distance runner for the Falcons) or Marcus Nichols (former All-American decathlete and pole vaulter at USAFA). Obviously, I was accustomed to campuses with much larger student bodies and nationally preeminent track and field programs. The University of Florida and the University of Illinois had enrollments of 30-35 thousand students when I coached there, so four thousand cadets seemed to pale by comparison."
What Irving found were cadets with a serious work ethic and the potential to challenge at the highest possible levels. Irving emphasizes that, "The cadets sold me on this place (USAFA) when I interviewed and I figured if they could sell me, they could probably convince prospective student-athlete-cadets as well."
There were few highlights in his first conference meet, but he also knew it was a long road to being truly competitive in the conference and at the national level.
In May of 2000, as a freshman, Jocelyn Dooley did not make the finals in the women's javelin. By May of 2003, she became the conference runner-up and the Falcons first ever female qualifier to the NCAA Division I track and field championships.
In May of 2000, no female cadet scored a point in the discus or shot put at the MWC meet and only one scored in the javelin. By May of 2004, the mark that was good enough to score in the javelin five years earlier would not have scored in the meet. By May of 2004, not only did three Academy women score in the javelin - finishing 1-2-4 - three more women scored in the discus - finishing 5-6-8. Moreover, a cadet scored for the first time in the women's shot put, (finishing sixth), after two made the finals.
Amazingly, in the months of April and May 2004, school records were reset three times in the women's discus by two different throwers. They were set twice in the women's javelin and junior Dominique Boivin came within inches of the shot put record.
The women scored a mere three points in the throwing events at the conference meet in 2000 and accounted for 34 of the team's 50 points in 2004. It is the second year in a row that the throwers had scored over 30 points.
Dana Pounds' MWC championship in the women's javelin brought to three the number of conference winners coached by Irving. Since USAFA joined the MWC, there have been four individual conference champions by women in all sports, including Irving-coached Ana Maria Ortega (pole vault-2001 indoor), Boivin (discus-2003) and Pounds in 2004.
Not to be outdone, the men's throwing group capped a stellar year with a 3-4 finish at conference in the javelin by two newcomers, Brandon Murphy and Marcus Wells, who improved on their high school marks by twenty and twelve feet, respectively. Murphy and Wells, along with USA Today prep All-American Matt Schwandt, rewrote the men's javelin Freshman Class record a staggering seven times in the month of April.
Jason McNeal had a phenomenal MWC meet in his senior year, by scoring in two throwing events - fifth in the men's hammer with a personal best of over 192 feet and eighth in the men's shot put, with a career best of over 50 feet.
Murphy (javelin) and McNeal (hammer) are headed to the NCAA Regional Championships, along with Boivin (discus), Olivia Korte (discus), and three women javelin throwers - sophomore Pounds, freshman Caitie Holliday, and junior Lacy DeWall. The women throwers account for five out of the women's track and field team's six qualifiers to the regional meet at Texas A&M University in late May.
In 2004, Academy school records have also been set, indoors and outdoors, in the men's triple jump by two senior cadets. Indoors, Anthony Park upped the 20-year-old triple jump mark three weeks in a row to an eventual 50'9". In close pursuit, Chris Banks pushed the outdoor triple jump standard to 51'1". Two triple jumpers over 50' on any Division I team is truly exceptional, but at an Academy, it seems particularly impressive.
Park and Banks backed up those marks with a 1-2 finish in the long jump at the 2004 MWC meet and a 2-3 finish the next day in the triple jump. Both cadets have also qualified for the 2004 NCAA Regional Championships in the triple jump.
There were also two other cadets over the 50-foot mark for men. In the shot put, McNeal hit his personal record at the conference meet and freshman Bryan Jones showed that the future is indeed bright for the Falcons with the 16-pound ball, as he led the team with 51'8" outdoors after converting to the spin technique.
With very few graduating seniors and a quality recruiting class, it seems safe to say that Coach Irving got himself into a very good situation at USAFA.
"I have been blessed with tremendous support from Coach Lindeman (Head Track and Field Coach), who I believe sensed when he hired me that I could be an asset to the program," Irving noted. "We have also been fortunate to have incredible volunteer assistant coaches in the throws, such as Doug Adler and Major Brian Hill."
Even more, it is the cadets and their determination to strive for the highest possible levels that gives Irving hope.
"My goal is like the Air Force goal, to Aim High, and I constantly remind the throwers and jumpers that we are indeed at 7000 feet and aiming higher and farther," Irving said.
"While I wasn't totally certain what I was getting myself into five years ago, I am now equally convinced that we can, we have, and we will continue to compete against anyone in the country," Irving said. "I am every bit as passionate about building a program that is as dominant at the NCAA Championships as we have been in the MWC Championships. Should I be any less passionate about my goals than the cadets themselves are about throwing and jumping farther? I feel I would be doing them and The United States Air Force Academy a huge disservice if I approached my recruiting and coaching any differently."
"Five years ago I set goals for every event that I coach, just like the athletes set their training and competition goals, Irving continued. "It is amazing how close those goals have been on target throughout the years and it is hard to believe that it is already time to re-vamp them for 2005-09. We still have a ways to go in developing the program, but I finally feel that I can see light at the end of the tunnel."
If the next five years come close to Irving's goals, the Falcon throwers and jumpers can expect to make significant noise on the national scene and show their coach just exactly what he has gotten himself into at USAFA.
2004 THROWS/JUMPS HIGHLIGHTS
* A 1-2-4 finish in the women's javelin at MWC!
* Women throwers score highest total ever at MWC...34 points!
* Dana Pounds ranked 5th in the NCAA during only her second year throwing the javelin!
* First ever Olympic Trials qualifier for women's track and field!
* Two male triple jumpers over 50 feet!
* Three women score in the discus at MWC!
* Two women in the finals with outdoor personal-records in the shot put!
* Five of six women qualified for NCAA Region meet are throwers!
* Two men in shot put over 50 feet at USAFA!
* Freshman Class javelin record rewritten seven times in one month by three throwers!
* USAFA records set in women's weight indoors, women's javelin (twice), women's discus (three times), men's triple jump indoors (three times) and men's triple jump outdoors.
Players Mentioned
