Falcons Head to MWC Championships
10/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 24, 2007
The Air Force cross country team will travel to Albuquerque, N.M., for the 2007 Mountain West Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27. Instead of heading to San Diego, the Falcons will now travel to New Mexico for the meet, which will take place at the UNM North Golf Course. The men's 8K race is slated for 10 a.m. (MST), while the women's 6K race will have its shotgun start at 11 a.m.
NEW COURSE SET FOR CONFERENCE MEET
The MWC Championships have been moved from San Diego, Calif., to Albuquerque, N.M., the conference office announced Oct. 23. The change in venue was made due to the wildfires and poor air quality in the San Diego area. This is the second time in the past four years that wildfires have forced the conference cross country championships from San Diego. The 2003 championships were moved to Albuquerque as well.
GLASS NAMED MWC RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Senior Calvin Glass was named the MWC Cross Country Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Oct. 23, following his performance during the Falcons' regular season finale. Glass, who finished third, overall, was the second fastest collegiate runner at the Air Force Open in Colorado Springs' North Monument Valley Park. Clocking a season-best time of 26:20.71, Glass was nine seconds faster than the fourth-place finisher and 16 seconds better than the next collegiate runner.
LAST TIME AT THE CHAMPIONSHIPS
At last year's conference championships in Salt Lake City, the men finished second, while the women placed seventh. Senior Richard Elmore and sophomore Matt Williams were both named to the all-conference team, backed by respective ninth- and 12th-place finishes.
LOOKING BACK TO 2003
Four years ago, the men became the first Academy program to win a Mountain West Conference title as it defeated defending champion BYU by four points. The Falcons, who remain the only team other than BYU to win either a men's or women's team title, saw all five of their scoring runners finish within the top 12. Air Force was paced by senior Ben Payne, who finished second and was one of six all-conference selections. Ironically, that year's championships were also moved to Albuquerque from San Diego due to wildfires.
ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Since joining the Mountain West Conference in 1999, the Falcons have accumulated 27 all-conference selections. Ben Payne (Class of 2004) is the only four-time all-conference honoree, claiming first-team honors in 2001 and 2003 (he was a second-team selection in 2000 and 2002). Nick Wilson (Class of 2006), Abe Wengel (Class of 2005) and Chris Acs (Class of 2004) each earned three all-MWC selections.
FALCONS FINISH SECOND TO DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPS
Paced by Calvin Glass, the Air Force cross country team wrapped up its regular season with the Air Force Open at the North Monument Valley Park on Oct. 20. The Falcons finished second to Colorado, which is the defending national champion. Glass, who finished third overall, was the second-fastest collegiate runner with a time of 26:20.71 - a time which was a 16 seconds better than the next collegiate athlete. Sebastian Ortiz clocked a time of 26:44.86 to finish eighth, while Andy Schweitzer picked up a top-10 finish (eighth) with a time of 26:50.62.
RECAPPING THE WOMEN'S AIR FORCE OPEN
Highlighted by an 11th-place finish, freshman Whitney Beck led the Falcons with a time of 27:28.35. Beck just edged out senior Kelly Robinson, who clocked 27:28.75 to finish 12th. Sophomore Katie Anderson clocked a time of 27:29.03 to finish 13th, while freshmen Jessie Stimpson (27:29.26) and Rebecca Bodtke (27:29.50) finished 15th and 16th, respectively.
ON THE HORIZON
Air Force will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 10, when it travels to Riverdale, Utah, for the NCAA Mountain Region Championships.
Players Mentioned
