Air Force Heads to MWC Championships
5/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 8, 2007
The Air Force track and field team heads to
Weekly Release 08 - at MWC Championships
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WHAT'S ON THE SCHEDULE: The first two days are dominated by the multi-event competition (heptathlon/decathlon), but individual event action officially kicks off at 12 p.m., on Friday, May 11, with the women's high jump. The first track event will be the men's steeplechase, which will run at 2:00 p.m.
HISTORY 101: Since joining the Mountain West Conference, the Air Force men's team has finished within the top half of the field every year. Included during that span are three runner-up finishes, the last coming in 2005. The women's best finish at the MWC championships was a sixth-place tally in 2003.
ALL-CONFERENCE CALL: Air Force returns four all-conference selections from last year's MWC championships. Junior Kevin Hawkins and seniors Matt Schwandt and Brian Walsh return for the men's team, while senior Olivia Korte returns with the distinction on the women's side. Selections to the all-conference team are based on finishes within the top three of their respective events.
STANFORTH TO RETIRE: After 15 years of coaching at the
RECAPPING THE TWILIGHT MEET: Three incursions into the all-time record book highlighted the annual Ris Westen-Air Force Twilight Meet on Friday, May 4. The Falcons claimed 15 event titles in their final competition of the regular season.
STEPPING UP: Freshman Dan Paladino recorded a NCAA Regional Qualifying Mark of 188'4" in the hammer throw to win that event at the Air Force Twilight Invitational. Improving his personal-best standard by nearly five feet, Paladino rewrote the Freshman Class record and moved from eighth to fifth on the Academy's all-time list.
SPEED-RACERS: At the Twilight Meet, the 4x100-meter relay team of Nick Luina, Travis Picou, John Payne and Kellen Curry clocked 40.70 to win the race and account for the fourth-best time in Academy history. The quartet teamed up to cross the finish line two seconds ahead of the competition. It is the Academy's best 4x100-meter relay time since 1997.
A "NEU" MARK: Freshman Sara Neubauer moved into third on the Academy's all-time list in the discus throw with a second-place throw of 156'10" at the Twilight Meet. The mark vaulted her standing in the program record book from eighth to third. In addition to it being a NCAA Regional Qualifying Mark, the distance is the second-best in the MWC this season. Neubauer also won the shot put at the home finale with a throw of 47'11¾".
WINNERS AND ... MORE WINNERS: There were 15 Falcons that earned first-place accolades at the Air Force Twilight Meet. Kevin Hawkins (800-meter run), Kyle Jones (1500-meter run), Scott Balcao (3000-meter run), Kellen Curry (110-meter hurdles), John Payne (400-meter hurdles) and both of the relay teams won men's events from the track, while Devin Hart (long jump) and Dan Paladino (hammer throw) took victories from the field. On the women's side, Ayana Floyd-James (100-meter dash), Dawn Higginbotham (high jump), Melissa Beerse (pole vault), Sara Neubauer (shot put), Olivia Korte (discus throw) and Katie Weber (javelin throw) took first-place finishes. In addition, Korte (hammer throw) and Dane Jansson (shot put) were the top collegiate finishers in their respective events.
ON DECK: Several Falcons will travel to
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