Air Force Men Place Second at MWC Championships

Nov. 1, 2008

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - With all five scoring runners finishing within the top-20, the Air Force men's cross country team picked up a second-place finish at the 2008 Mountain West Conference Championships on Saturday, Nov. 1, in San Diego, Calif. The women's team finished sixth at the Mission Bay Park course.

Seniors Sean Houseworth and Matt Williams paced the Falcons with top-10 finishes in the 50-runner 8000-meter race. Houseworth clocked a time of 24:51 to take seventh, while Williams crossed the finish line right behind him in 24:52 to place eighth.

Junior Zach Nordahl recorded a time of 25:06 to finish 14th, while sophomore Justin Tyner and senior Daniel Castle finished in 16th- and 17th-place, respectively. Tyner clocked a time of 25:09, while Castle timed in at 25:10 to complete the Falcons' scoring runners.

Four seniors also competed at the meet. Kyle Jones finished the race in 25:48 to place 24th, while Brad Chronister finished 26th in a time of 25:51. Justin Mason clocked a time of 26:18 to finish 34th, while Parker Cowles placed 38th in 26:40.

Air Force collected 62 total points for its fifth second-place finish in the 10-history of the MWC. The Falcons edged New Mexico by just two points, evening the score from last year when the Lobos took second-place from Air Force by one point. BYU won the conference title with 36 points, while Colorado State (114 points) placed fourth. Wyoming (116) and TCU (156), who boasted the top two runners in the meet, finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

In her first season on the cross country team, junior Katie Lynch led the women's team with a 21st-place time of 22:29 in the 6000-meter race. Lynch's time is the best on the team this season, surpassing a mark she previously held by one second.

Freshman Auriele Fain clocked a time of 22:58 to finish 31st, while juniors Ally Romanko and Katie Anderson finished 41st and 44th, respectively. Romanko posted a time of 23:22, while Anderson clocked in a 23:29. Freshman Meghan Prinkey rounded out the Falcons' scorers with a 50th-place time of 23:52.

Three freshmen and one sophomore also competed at the conference meet. Elyse Willard placed 52nd behind a time of 23:53, while Katherine Ward (24:08) and Phaelen French (24:12) finished 57th and 58th, respectively. Katie Carroll rounded out the Air Force contingent with a 67th-place time of 25:16.

The Falcons' total of 175 points was sixth in the nine-team league. With 31 points, New Mexico won its first conference title by defeating BYU by just two points. Utah finished third with 77 points, while defending champion Colorado State placed fourth with 121 points. Wyoming finished fifth with 143 points, while UNLV (190), TCU (195) and host San Diego State (239) rounded out the field.

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