Falcons Travel to Prestigious Pre-Nationals Meet
10/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 15, 2008
Select members of the Air Force cross country team will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to compete at the prestigious Pre-Nationals Meet on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course. The meet, which will feature over 80 programs from around the country, will begin at 11 a.m., with the women's 6k race.
Weekly Release 05: at Pre-Nationals Meet 
ABOUT THE MEET
The meet, held on the same course as the 2008 NCAA Championships in November, will feature six different races. Both the men's and women's fields will be broken down into two sections, with a few teams competing in an `open' event. Air Force's women will compete in the 41-team `Blue' race (6K) at 11:00 a.m., while the men will participate in the 40-team `White' race (8K) at 12:50 p.m.
HISTORY 101
Last year, Ian McFarland led the Falcons to a 19th-place team finish at the Pre-Nationals meet with a 44th-place time of 24:06. Matt Williams, Joe Curran, Josh Van Wyngaarden and Sean Houseworth rounded out the men's scoring runners. The women's team did not compete at the 2007 competition.
NEW DATE AND LOCATION FOR AIR FORCE OPEN
The Falcons have moved their annual Air Force Open cross country meet to Friday, Oct. 24 at 4 p.m. The location of the meet has also changed, as the Falcons will now be held at the Academy's Eisenhower Golf Course. (Information can be accessed on GoAirForceFalcons.com.)
ORTIZ NAMED MWC RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Senior Sebastian Ortiz was named the MWC Runner of the Week on Oct. 14 - the first such honor of the season for the men's team. Shaving two minutes off of his season-best time, Ortiz finished fourth out of 77 competitors at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open on Oct. 11. His time of 25:08 is the second-fastest on the team this year and one of the top-20 times in the conference.
LAST TIME OUT
The men's and women's teams finished third at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open on Oct. 11. Seniors Sebastian Ortiz and Scott Balcao collected top-10 finishes to lead the men, while freshman Meghan Prinkey's top-10 spot paced the women.
FINISHING STRONG
All five of the men's scoring runners finished within the top-15 at the Tiger Open. Senior Sebastian Ortiz paced the Falcons with a fourth-place finish, while classmate Scott Balcao was the sixth runner to cross the finish line. Junior Andy Schweitzer placed 12th, while freshmen Alex Zubey and Jonathan Rock finished 14th and 15th, respectively.
NEWCOMERS LEAD THE WAY
Paced by freshman Meghan Prinkey's seventh-place finish at the Tiger Open, some of the newest members of the program guided the women to a third-place team finish. Classmate Phaelen French finished 11th, while junior Katie Anderson placed 12th in her season debut. Freshman Alexa Ramsier and junior Danielle Snider rounded out the scorers, with respective 19th and 21st-place finishes.
ON THE HORIZON
The Falcons will host their only home competition of the season, the Air Force Open, on Friday, Oct. 24. The meet is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., at the Academy's Eisenhower Golf Course.
Players Mentioned
