Air Force Men Win First-Ever Front Range Invitational

May 3, 2008

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Backed by seven first-place victories and 12 additional top-three finishes, the Air Force men's track and field team won the inaugural Front Range Invitational on Saturday, May 3, in Laramie, Wyo. Competing against its counterparts from Colorado, Colorado State, Northern Colorado and Wyoming, the men finished first, while the women placed third.

Junior Daniel Castle won the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:00.27, while senior Josh van Wyngaarden took first in the 3000-meter race with a time of 8:56.21. Junior Kellen Curry earned a winning time of 14.32 in the 110-meter hurdles, while sophomore Marshall Wills paced a top-three sweep by the Falcons in the pole vault.

Senior David Lissy won the shot put with a toss of 54'6¾", while junior Harmon Gage tossed a 194'1" to win the javelin. In addition, the quartet of freshman Terry Robinson, senior Travis Picou, freshman LD Woods and Curry won the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.06.

Picou finished second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.96. Robinson clocked a time of 14.52 to finish second in the 110-meter hurdles. He also clocked a time of 54.20 to earn the same finish in the 400-meter hurdles (senior Jon Butcher finished third in 54.23).

Junior Matt Williams paced two Falcons to finishes in the top-three of the 3000-meter steeplechase. He finished second in 9:35.77, while freshman Justin Tyner finished third with a time of 9:52.97. Senior Calvin Glass took second in the 800-meter run at 1:54.11, while freshman Tyler Stanley finished third in 1:54.50. Sophomore Kyle Ellsworth and freshman Noah Palicia finished second and third, respectively, in the pole vault, as a judges' decision broke the finishes for their matching 14'0" heights.

Sophomore Dan Paladino recorded a distance of 194'1" to finish third in the hammer throw, while freshman Connor Van Fossen too third in the javelin with a toss of 190'1".

And although he finished fourth in the finals of the 100-meter dash, Picou set an Academy record time of 10.41 in that event, breaking his previous standard of 10.45 that he set as a sophomore.

The women tallied nine top-three finishes, including three winning marks from the field. Sophomore Melissa Beerse won the pole vault with a clearance of 12'7½", while classmate Sara Neubauer took first in the discus throw with a toss of 156'11". Fellow sophomore Katie Weber paced a one-two-three sweep in the javelin throw with a winning mark of 155'9".

Junior Jessica Soto took second in the javelin (122'10"), while senior Tiffany Moore threw a 118'9" to finish third. In addition to her winning mark in the discus, Neubauer also finished second in the shot put with a distance of 47'4½".

Sophomore Jessica Mapes picked up a second-place time of 57.72 in the 400-meter dash, while freshman Sarah O'Meara finished third in the pole vault with a clearance of 10'6". Mapes time is the seventh fastest in Academy history, while O'Meara's mark in the pole vault is ninth-best. Senior Kelly Robinson clocked a third-place time of 2:18.27 in the 800-meter run to round of the Falcons' top-three finishers.

The Falcons tallied 202 points to easily distance themselves from the rest of the field. Colorado State finished second with 148 points, while Wyoming took third with 121 points. Colorado (58) and Northern Colorado (50) rounded out the teams.

On the women's side, Air Force tallied 85 points to finish third. Colorado State won the meet with 183 points, while Wyoming took second with 166 points. Northern Colorado (57) and Colorado (43) completed the field of teams.

The Falcons are off from competition until May 14, when they travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for the 2008 Mountain West Conference Championships.

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.