Falcons Conclude Regular Season with Air Force Open

Oct. 24, 2008

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - With nine top-five finishes in four different races, the Air Force cross country team concluded the regular season on Friday, Oct. 24, at the annual Air Force Open. Juniors Andy Schweitzer (6K) and Becca Burditt (4K) finished first in their respective events, while senior Scott Balcao (8K) and freshman Phaelen French (6K) were the top finishing Falcons in the other two races.

The meet, held for the first-time in several years at the Academy's Eisenhower Golf Course, featured distances of 4K and 6K for the women and 6K and 8K lengths for the men.

Balcao clocked a time of 26:52 in the 8K race to finish second in the 28-runner event. Freshmen Jonathan Rock and Chase Welch also finished within the top-10. Rock posted a time of 27:50 to finish seventh, while Welch crossed the finish line in 28:39 to take 10th.

Also in the 8K race, sophomore Tyler Small ran the course in 28:47 to finish 11th, while freshmen Nick White (29:12), Jacob Fulton (29:16), Ryan Del Grosso (29:35) and Alex Zubey (29:55) finished 14th-17th, respectively. Classmate Zachary Marx rounded out the Air Force contingent with a 20th-place time of 30:30.

Schweitzer won the 6K race with a time of 20:38, while classmate John Oliphint placed second in 21 minutes flat. Fellow junior Conor Murphy picked up a fourth-place finish in 21:21 and freshman Matthew Cain recorded a time of 23:40 to finish eighth.

Air Force claimed three of the top-five spots in the women's 6K race, as these runners vied for a spot in next week's conference meet. French finished third and was the second-fastest collegiate runner after crossing the finish line in 25:42. Fellow freshman Alexa Ramsier placed fourth overall with a time of 25:46. Junior Danielle Snider clocked a time of 26:17 to finish fifth.

Clocking a winning time of 17:41, Burditt led a trio of Falcons that were competing in the women's 4K race. Sophomore Glorimar Torre' Santiago crossed the finish line in 18:16 to finish third, while junior Catherine Haycraft finished sixth in a time of 21:17.

Select members of the Falcons' squad will begin the `championship' portion of the season on Saturday, Nov. 1, when they travel to San Diego, Calif., for the 2008 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships. The race will be held at Mission Bay Park.

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