Falcons Host Twilight Meet to Close Out Regular Season
5/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
COMING UP: The Air Force track and field team returns to the Academy on Friday (May 6) to host the Ris Westen-Air Force Twilight Invitational. The meet, which will be the team's final preparation for the Mountain West Conference championships, is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m., with the men's hammer throw, as well as the women's javelin throw, long jump and pole vault. The women's 4x100-meter relay will kick off the track events at 4:00 p.m. The races will continue on a rolling schedule.
DRAKE RELAY HIGHLIGHTS
The women's distance medley relay team of Kelly Robinson, Jami Hodge, Cindy Dawson and Kristin Trichler crossed the finish line in 11:26.41 to shatter the previous record (11:53.57 - set in 2003) by 27 seconds, en route to a fourth-place finish - the best finish ever by a women's relay team at Drake.
Genelle Chapman, Rachael McIntosh, Paula Maffey and Deb Durey clocked an eighth-place time of 63.14 to set the Academy's new all-time mark. The quartet topped the previous record of 67.01 that McIntosh and Maffey helped set at the Florida Relays in 2003.
Once again, Dana Pounds continued her winning ways - easily taking the top spot in the javelin with a throw of 181'2". She displaced the event runner-up by nearly seven feet. She recorded the second-best throw ever at the Drake Relays, while successfully defending her title.
The men's 4x1600-meter relay team of Richard Elmore, Derek Storbeck, Brian Dumm and Mark Walter combined for the third-best time in program history, clocking a time of 16:45.02 to finish fourth.
Genelle Chapman also anchored the 1600-meter sprint medley relay team, which nearly surpassed the Academy's standard. Chapman, Jami Hodge, Kelly Robinson and Kristin Trichler clocked a time of 4:07.19 - a mark that is just shy of the 4:05.60 Hodge helped set back in 2003.
In other news, sophomore Matt Schwandt finished second in the javelin throw with a toss of 204'3" ... Makisi Haleck matched his career-best height after clearing a 17'6?" in the pole vault to finish third.
DON KIRBY HIGHLIGHTS
Junior Nick Wilson claimed the title in the 5000-meter run as Air Force concluded competition at the Mondrall Sperling-Don Kirby Invitational on April 30 in Albuquerque. Wilson, who crossed the finish line in a 15:11.55, was the Falcons' only event winner, but one of 23 top-five finishes procured by Air Force in a meet that featured six teams including MWC rivals, New Mexico and Colorado State.
Senior Erin Richardson was the top place-finisher on the women's side, taking second in the pole vault with a season-best matching vault of 11'5?". Richardson first recorded that height this season at the Willie Williams Classic.
Freshman Travis Picou picked up a pair of second-place finishes for the men's team. Picou clocked a 10.75 in the 100-meter dash, before claiming a 21.68 in the 200-meter dash for his runner-up finishes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: sophomore Margaret Frash (May 1) ... freshman Creighton Moorman (May 3) ... sophomore Becky Stone (May 5) ... junior Jason Jones (May 6).
ON THE HORIZON: The Falcons travel up I-25 for the 2005 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The multi-event athletes kick off the competition May 11-12, while the individual events begin at 10:00 a.m. (women's hammer throw) on Friday, May 13.
MEN'S NEWS AND NOTES
THE LEADERS AND BEST: Travis Picou currently leads the Mountain West Conference in the 200-meter dash. Picou clocked a season-best time of 21.07 to claim the league's top spot. (With a time of 10.62, he is also currently ranked second in the 100-meter dash - just 0.01 shy of the conference leader.) Matt Schwandt also leads the MWC; posting the top javelin throw at a distance of 214'6?".
SPEARING IT UP: In addition to Matt Schwandt's league-leading distance in the javelin, Air Force boasts the second and third-ranked athletes in the conference, as well as four of the top-five. Brandon Murphy and Marcus Wells are ranked second (208'4?") and third (203'1"), respectively, while Brian Willis is ranked fifth with a toss of 193'6".
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: The javelin isn't the only event where the MWC rankings are a little Air Force top-heavy. The Falcons currently hold five of the top nine pole vault positions as well. Paul Gensic, who was the top collegiate finisher at the Mt. SAC Relays with a 17'8?", is ranked third, while Makisi Haleck is fifth at 17'6?". Jason Jones and Christian Morgan have matching heights of 16'6?" to tie for seventh, while Trey Fryman is ninth with a vault of 16'0?". In addition, Gensic, Haleck, Jones and Morgan have all met NCAA Regional standards.
TO THE TOP OF THE LIST: Brian Dumm posted an Academy record in 10,000-meter run with a time of 29:04.55 at the Stanford Invitational. His time topped the previous program-best of 29:25.34 that Ben Payne set just last season.
MOVING ON UP: While Matt Schwandt led Air Force with a second-place finish in the javelin at the Jack Christiansen Invitational, he also recorded a career-best throw in the process. With a toss of 214'6", the sophomore topped his previous personal best by nearly 12 feet. In addition, the throw is the third-best distance ever at the Academy and a new Sophomore class record.
WOMEN'S NEWS AND NOTES
THE ELITE CLASS: By competing in the record-breaking distance medley relay at the Drake Relays, Cindy Dawson is now a member of the four fastest DMR teams in Academy history, while Jami Hodge is a member of the top three.
IN THE FAMILY: As a member of the Academy's top shuttle hurdles relay team, Rachael McIntosh continues a family tradition. Her father, Dick McIntosh, was a member of the 1975 men's team that held the Academy's men's shuttle hurdles relay record for 29 years, until it was finally topped last season.
RELAY TEAM SETS ACADEMY RECORD: Clocking a time of 47.61, Jami Hodge, Genelle Chapman, Rachael McIntosh and Deb Durey teamed up to set an Academy record in the 4x100-meter relay at the Jack Christiansen Invitational.
POUNDS TAKES NCAA LEAD: At the Mt. SAC Relays, Dana Pounds recorded a 188'8" to become the new NCAA leader in the javelin throw, while also recording the fourth-best distance ever in U.S. history. Four of her throws went for over 180'0", as she crushed her previous Academy and MWC record. She was the top collegiate finisher, placing second only to a Danish Olympian who holds the third-best throw in the world. In fact, Pounds bested the U.S. Olympian by 17 feet, while topping the next collegian by 31 feet with the 13th-best throw in the world.
CAUTION! FALLING RECORDS: Jami Hodge shattered a 22-year old Academy record in the 200-meter dash on April 2. Hodge ran the race in 24.46 to crush the previous mark of 24.81 set in 1983 by former Falcon Gail Conway. By setting the Academy record, Hodge becomes the only person, other than Conway, to hold any of the outdoor dash or 800-meter run records.
MORE FALLING MARKS: Margaret Frash set an Academy record in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite on April 16. With a time of 10:48.25, Frash topped the previous record (set last year by Jean Taylor) by over four seconds.
DRAKE RELAY HIGHLIGHTS
The women's distance medley relay team of Kelly Robinson, Jami Hodge, Cindy Dawson and Kristin Trichler crossed the finish line in 11:26.41 to shatter the previous record (11:53.57 - set in 2003) by 27 seconds, en route to a fourth-place finish - the best finish ever by a women's relay team at Drake.
Genelle Chapman, Rachael McIntosh, Paula Maffey and Deb Durey clocked an eighth-place time of 63.14 to set the Academy's new all-time mark. The quartet topped the previous record of 67.01 that McIntosh and Maffey helped set at the Florida Relays in 2003.
Once again, Dana Pounds continued her winning ways - easily taking the top spot in the javelin with a throw of 181'2". She displaced the event runner-up by nearly seven feet. She recorded the second-best throw ever at the Drake Relays, while successfully defending her title.
The men's 4x1600-meter relay team of Richard Elmore, Derek Storbeck, Brian Dumm and Mark Walter combined for the third-best time in program history, clocking a time of 16:45.02 to finish fourth.
Genelle Chapman also anchored the 1600-meter sprint medley relay team, which nearly surpassed the Academy's standard. Chapman, Jami Hodge, Kelly Robinson and Kristin Trichler clocked a time of 4:07.19 - a mark that is just shy of the 4:05.60 Hodge helped set back in 2003.
In other news, sophomore Matt Schwandt finished second in the javelin throw with a toss of 204'3" ... Makisi Haleck matched his career-best height after clearing a 17'6?" in the pole vault to finish third.
DON KIRBY HIGHLIGHTS
Junior Nick Wilson claimed the title in the 5000-meter run as Air Force concluded competition at the Mondrall Sperling-Don Kirby Invitational on April 30 in Albuquerque. Wilson, who crossed the finish line in a 15:11.55, was the Falcons' only event winner, but one of 23 top-five finishes procured by Air Force in a meet that featured six teams including MWC rivals, New Mexico and Colorado State.
Senior Erin Richardson was the top place-finisher on the women's side, taking second in the pole vault with a season-best matching vault of 11'5?". Richardson first recorded that height this season at the Willie Williams Classic.
Freshman Travis Picou picked up a pair of second-place finishes for the men's team. Picou clocked a 10.75 in the 100-meter dash, before claiming a 21.68 in the 200-meter dash for his runner-up finishes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: sophomore Margaret Frash (May 1) ... freshman Creighton Moorman (May 3) ... sophomore Becky Stone (May 5) ... junior Jason Jones (May 6).
ON THE HORIZON: The Falcons travel up I-25 for the 2005 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The multi-event athletes kick off the competition May 11-12, while the individual events begin at 10:00 a.m. (women's hammer throw) on Friday, May 13.
MEN'S NEWS AND NOTES
THE LEADERS AND BEST: Travis Picou currently leads the Mountain West Conference in the 200-meter dash. Picou clocked a season-best time of 21.07 to claim the league's top spot. (With a time of 10.62, he is also currently ranked second in the 100-meter dash - just 0.01 shy of the conference leader.) Matt Schwandt also leads the MWC; posting the top javelin throw at a distance of 214'6?".
SPEARING IT UP: In addition to Matt Schwandt's league-leading distance in the javelin, Air Force boasts the second and third-ranked athletes in the conference, as well as four of the top-five. Brandon Murphy and Marcus Wells are ranked second (208'4?") and third (203'1"), respectively, while Brian Willis is ranked fifth with a toss of 193'6".
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: The javelin isn't the only event where the MWC rankings are a little Air Force top-heavy. The Falcons currently hold five of the top nine pole vault positions as well. Paul Gensic, who was the top collegiate finisher at the Mt. SAC Relays with a 17'8?", is ranked third, while Makisi Haleck is fifth at 17'6?". Jason Jones and Christian Morgan have matching heights of 16'6?" to tie for seventh, while Trey Fryman is ninth with a vault of 16'0?". In addition, Gensic, Haleck, Jones and Morgan have all met NCAA Regional standards.
TO THE TOP OF THE LIST: Brian Dumm posted an Academy record in 10,000-meter run with a time of 29:04.55 at the Stanford Invitational. His time topped the previous program-best of 29:25.34 that Ben Payne set just last season.
MOVING ON UP: While Matt Schwandt led Air Force with a second-place finish in the javelin at the Jack Christiansen Invitational, he also recorded a career-best throw in the process. With a toss of 214'6", the sophomore topped his previous personal best by nearly 12 feet. In addition, the throw is the third-best distance ever at the Academy and a new Sophomore class record.
WOMEN'S NEWS AND NOTES
THE ELITE CLASS: By competing in the record-breaking distance medley relay at the Drake Relays, Cindy Dawson is now a member of the four fastest DMR teams in Academy history, while Jami Hodge is a member of the top three.
IN THE FAMILY: As a member of the Academy's top shuttle hurdles relay team, Rachael McIntosh continues a family tradition. Her father, Dick McIntosh, was a member of the 1975 men's team that held the Academy's men's shuttle hurdles relay record for 29 years, until it was finally topped last season.
RELAY TEAM SETS ACADEMY RECORD: Clocking a time of 47.61, Jami Hodge, Genelle Chapman, Rachael McIntosh and Deb Durey teamed up to set an Academy record in the 4x100-meter relay at the Jack Christiansen Invitational.
POUNDS TAKES NCAA LEAD: At the Mt. SAC Relays, Dana Pounds recorded a 188'8" to become the new NCAA leader in the javelin throw, while also recording the fourth-best distance ever in U.S. history. Four of her throws went for over 180'0", as she crushed her previous Academy and MWC record. She was the top collegiate finisher, placing second only to a Danish Olympian who holds the third-best throw in the world. In fact, Pounds bested the U.S. Olympian by 17 feet, while topping the next collegian by 31 feet with the 13th-best throw in the world.
CAUTION! FALLING RECORDS: Jami Hodge shattered a 22-year old Academy record in the 200-meter dash on April 2. Hodge ran the race in 24.46 to crush the previous mark of 24.81 set in 1983 by former Falcon Gail Conway. By setting the Academy record, Hodge becomes the only person, other than Conway, to hold any of the outdoor dash or 800-meter run records.
MORE FALLING MARKS: Margaret Frash set an Academy record in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite on April 16. With a time of 10:48.25, Frash topped the previous record (set last year by Jean Taylor) by over four seconds.
Ryan Cole Interview - August 26th, 2025
Tuesday, August 26
Ryan Cole Interview - August 26, 2025
Tuesday, August 26
Ryan Cole Interview March 11, 2025
Tuesday, March 11
Ryan Cole Interview - March 11, 2025
Tuesday, March 11
