Air Force Academy
Military Championships
Men Take First; Women Second at Inaugural Military Classic
3/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
March 31, 2007
LEXINGTON, Va. - Backed by 18 event victories and a stellar overall day of competition, the Air Force track and field team had a remarkable showing at the first-ever Military Classic on Saturday, March 31, in Lexington Va. The men won the inaugural meet against its fellow service academies, while the women took second.
The men, who won eight of the 11 track events, including all five sprint races and relays, totaled 246 points to edge out Army. The Black Knights finished second with 234 points. The Coast Guard (87 points) finished third, while The Citadel (72), VMI (64) and Merchant Marine Academy (13) rounded out the field.
Junior Travis Picou won two individual events, while running the second leg of the winning 4x100-meter relay. He won the 100-meter dash in 10.60, while clocking a 21.37 to take first in the 200-meter dash. Picou ran the relay with senior Nick Luina, junior John Payne and sophomore Kellen Curry.
In addition to being a member of the winning relay team, Curry won the 110-meter hurdles (14.79) and finished second to Picou in the 100-meter dash (10.79). Luina, who also accounted for a runner-up finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.71, won the 400-meter dash in 47.71 and was a member of both winning relay teams. In addition to his opening leg of the 4x100-meter run, Luina ran the final leg of the 4x400-meter relay that took first in 3:15.36. Payne, junior Kevin Hawkins and senior Brian Walsh joined Luina in this winning endeavor.
Air Force also accounted for the top two spots in the 3000-meter steeplechase and the top three spots in the 800-meter run. Sophomore Matt Williams clocked 9:22.65 to win the steeplechase, while senior Jason Beck finished second in 9:24.91. Hawkins paced the trio of 800-meter finishers with a time of 1:51.26. Classmate Calvin Glass placed second in 1:53.66, while sophomore Sebastian Ortiz took third (1:54.47).
Sophomore Kirk Devine picked up a pair of event wins from the field, taking first in the hammer throw (171'9") and discus throw (160'3"). Devine led a one-two Air Force punch in the hammer, as freshman Dan Paladino finished second with a distance of 170'11".
Adding to the team effort were several runner-up finishes. Ortiz claimed a second-place time in the 1500-meter run behind a time of 3:52.68 (senior Richard Elmore finished fourth in 3:53.96). Junior Ian McFarland took second in the 5000-meter run after crossing the finish line in 14:41.55 (sophomore Sean Houseworth took third in 14:52.66). Payne, who was a member of both relay teams, clocked a second-place time of 54.43 in the 400-meter hurdles (sophomore Aaron Nelson placed eighth in 57.00).
From the field, junior Erik Mirandette was the runner-up in the pole vault after clearing 15'5", while classmate Devin Hart took second in the long jump with a distance of 22'11¾" (Walsh finished fourth at 22'0¼"). Hart also earned a third-place mark in the triple jump behind a distance of 44'6". Sophomore Skylar Morgan, who finished fourth behind Hart in the triple jump (43'11¾"), also took third in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.23.
Paladino earned more points in the shot put (44'8¾" to finish fourth), while Walsh and Morgan finished fifth (6'0¾") and eighth (5'10¾"), respectively, in the high jump.
Five more Falcons rounded out the Air Force scoring Creighton Moorman finished fifth in the discus throw (133'0"), while senior Matt Pinson took eighth in the shot put at 42'2¼". Seniors Brandon Murphy (187'10") and Marcus Wells (183'5") went fourth and fifth in the javelin, while Kyle Meakins clocked 49.88 to take fifth in the 400-meter dash.
Accounting for wins in three of the four distance races and five of the eight field events, Air Force's women tallied 190 points to finish second behind Navy, which won the meet with 209 points. Army finished third with 175 points, while The Citadel (69), Coast Guard (42) and VMI (34) rounded out the competition.
Freshman Sara Neubauer continued to impact the record book, as she won the shot put with an Academy record-setting distance. Her throw of 48'4" displaced the previous mark of 47'9¾" that was set by senior teammate Olivia Korte two years ago. Korte finished third in today's shot with a throw of 43'11¾".
Korte picked up a pair of first-place finishes, winning the discus throw (148'5") and hammer throw (166'8"). Her distance in the hammer throw improves her fifth-place standing in the Academy's all-time list. In addition, she finished second in the hammer throw, rounding out the trifecta of awards with a throw of 166'8".
Freshman Katie Weber also won an event that improved her all-time standing. Winning the javelin throw with a distance of 137'5", Weber bettered her sixth-place standing in the Air Force record book. Fellow freshman Melissa Beerse cleared a 12'5½" to win the pole vault - a mark just shy of her Academy record set last week. In her first meet of the season, senior Dawn Higginbotham cleared 5'5" to win the high jump.
Air Force collected three top marks from the track, as well. Junior Kelly Robinson won the 1500-meter run in 4:35.28, while freshman Ally Romanko took first in the 800-meter run. Her time of 2:11.63 is the fifth-best mark in Academy history. Classmate Brittany Morreale took first in the 5000-meter run, crossing the finish line in 17:44.24. As the only athlete to clear the 18-minute mark, Morreale accounted for the eighth-best time ever at the Academy, while topping the field by 16 seconds.
Neubauer also picked up a second-place finish in the discus throw, with a toss of 142'9" - a mark that is eighth on the Academy's all-time list. Robinson also earned a second-place finish in the 800-meter run, after crossing the finish line in 2:13.69.
Senior Dierra
Senior Casey Bayne finished third in the javelin with a throw of 128'4", while classmate Kim Brady earned the same finish in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:05.53 (McCarty finished fourth in 1:05.66). Air Force also tallied third-place marks in the relays.
In her first high jump competition in quite some time, senior Caitie Holliday cleared 5'3" to take fourth, while sophomore Michelle Fryling advanced to 10'6" in the pole vault for the same finish.
Burditt also clocked a fifth-place time in the 400-meter dash (1:00.20), while Floyd-James finished seventh in the 100-meter dash (12.93) and eighth in the 200-meter dash (27.24). Schafer (13.04 for eighth in the 100-meter dash) and Beerse (27.84 for 10th in the 200-meter dash) rounded out the scoring in those two events.
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, April 7, when they head back to
Players Mentioned
