USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force track and field team has added an impressive class of newcomers to the 2007 roster, head coach Ralph Lindeman recently announced. The Falcons will add 16 men and 14 women to the squad for the upcoming season.
Five state champions will join the men's team, including Nick Frawley (Midlothian, Texas), who also earned first-place honors in the pole vault at the 2004 and 2005 AAU National Championships. A Texas 4A champion, Frawley was ranked fifth among the nation's high school seniors, breaking Olympian Nick Hysong's Great Southwest Invitational record of 17'0¾".
Colorado Springs resident Brent Byrd, who spent 2005 at the Academy's prep school, won the 2004 state 4A championship in the triple jump after recording a height of 48'3¾". Fellow newcomer Austin Fritzke (Mt. Shasta, Calif.) was a two-time champion at the California (Division 5) cross country meet.
Sophomore Kellen Curry (Midwest City, Okla.), who spent his freshman campaign as a member of the Academy's football team, joins the Falcons with Oklahoma 5A titles in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. Returning to the Academy is Erik Mirandette (Kentwood, Mich.), who spent the past two years on a mission to Africa. Prior to his original appointment at the Academy, Mirandette was Michigan's pole vault champion in 2000.
Junior Troy Jensen (Santa Ana Valley, Calif.) also rejoins the Falcons after spending two years on a church mission to Taiwan. Jensen competed in the 200- and 400-meter dashes during his first seasons at Air Force. After transferring from RPI, freshman Conor Murphy (Delmar, N.Y.) will have four years of track eligibility. Murphy was a member of the 4x800-meter relay that finished sixth at the Nike Outdoor Nationals.
All-state honoree Thomas Richter (Wrightwood, Calif.) has a pair of top-10 finishes at the state meets for track (3200-meter run) and cross country. Fellow Californian Myles McDowell (Murrieta) posted a career-best of 15'7" in the pole vault as a junior, prior to being injured throughout much of his senior year.
Like Frawley, Daniel Paladino (Monroe, N.Y.) was ranked among the nation's leaders. Paladino posted a hammer throw of 200'1", which was the nation's fifth-best toss among high school seniors. He was also ranked nationally in the weight throw during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Also joining the Falcons' roster are distance runners Andy Schweitzer (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) and Ryan Workman (Chapel Hill, N.C.), pole vaulters Kyle Ellsworth (Chandler, Ariz.) and Marshall Wills (Dimmitt, Texas), decathlete Roland Kern (Los Lunas, N.M.) and high jumper Kevin Goldsmith (Temperance, Mich.)
The Air Force women's team will increase by 14, including four state champions. Megan Miller (Boca Raton, Fla.) has a pair of state titles under her belt in the pole vault at both the 3A and 1A levels, while Sara Neubauer (Bottineau, N.D.) set a new state Division B record in the discus with a throw that established her as the 10th-ranked senior thrower in the country. She is also a state javelin title and was a runner-up in the discus.
Katie Weber (Malta, Mont.), who spent three years enlisted in the Navy following high school, set a state championship meet record in the javelin as a senior. Alison Romanko (North Bend, Ore.) won the state title in the pole vault, while collecting top-six finishes in the 800-meter run and 300-meter hurdles.
Melissa Beerse (Morrow, Ohio) finished third in the pole vault at the Ohio state championships, while Jessica Mapes (Minot, N.D.) claimed third-place honors in the 400-meter dash at North Dakota's state meet.
Fellow freshman Brittany Morreale (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) picked up top-10 finishes at the state track (3200-meter run) and cross country meets. Also joining the Falcons will be jumpers Katie Avena (Las Vegas, Nev.), Madison Burgess (Gunnison, Colo.), Danielle McCarty (South Beloit, Ill.) and Lauren McKinnon (Haddam, Conn.), as well as distance runner Katie Anderson (Coon Rapids, Minn.), sprinter Rebecca Burditt (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and hurdler Nicole Elliott (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
In addition to the incoming class of athletes, Capt. Ben Dahlke will join the Falcons as an assistant coach. Air Force opens the indoor season Jan. 13, with the Air Force All-Comers Meet.
