Air Force Men Take Second at MWC Championships

Oct. 28, 2006

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - With two all-conference runners in senior Richard Elmore and sophomore Matt Williams, the Air Force men's cross country team picked up a second-place at the annual Mountain West Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 28, in Salt Lake City, Utah. On the women's side, the Falcons placed seventh.

The all-conference honor is the first for both. They become the 12th and 13th Falcons, respectively, to earn all-conference accolades for the Air Force men since joining the Mountain West Conference (nine other Falcons were named to the WAC all-conference team during Air Force's time in that league)

Elmore clocked a time of 25:07 to finish within the top-10 at ninth, while Williams placed 12th in a time of 25:14. Junior Josh Van Wyngaarden and sophomore Ian McFarland picked up top-20 finishes, as van Wyngaarden clocked a time of 25:19 to finish 15th and McFarland placed 17th with a time of 25:31.

A trio of Air Force sophomores finished 24th, 25th and 26th. Scott Balcao clocked in at 25:58, while Sean Houseworth posted a time of 26:00 and Sebastian Ortiz crossed the finish line in 26:01. Junior Kenny Grosselin (26:13-31st) and senior Jason Beck (26:34-37th) rounded out the Air Force contingent at the conference meet.

BYU claimed its seventh conference crown with 27 points, as all five runners scored within the top-10. The Falcons combined for 76 points to take second, while Colorado State took third with 88 points. New Mexico (89 points), Wyoming (93 points) and TCU (153 points) round out the men's field.

On the women's side, junior Kelly Robinson posted the team's top finish, placing 21st with a time of 22:40. Freshman Alison Romanko had a strong showing at her first conference meet, placing 24th with a time of 22:50. Senior Margaret Frash placed 32nd, crossing the finish line in 23:02, while freshman Katherine Anderson finished 39th in 23:30. Junior Kate Papenberg clocked in a time of 24:47, while freshman Sara Juback posted a time of 25:27 to take 56th. Sophomore Jamie Illig rounded out the Air Force team with a 60th-place finish and a time of 27:04.

BYU collected 35 points, en route to its eighth straight title. Colorado State was the runner-up with 44 points. New Mexico took third with 94 points, while Wyoming posted 113 points to finish third. TCU (121 points) and Utah (156 points) finished fourth and fifth, while San Diego State (203) and UNLV (266 points) finished behind the Falcons in eighth and ninth, respectively.

The Falcons are off until Saturday, Nov. 11, when they head to Albuquerque, N.M., for the 2006 NCAA Mountain Region Championships to determine which squads will advance to the national meet on Nov. 20.

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