Falcons Conclude Competition at Conference Challenge

Jan. 24, 2009

LINCOLN, Neb. - Backed by 22 scoring finishes, the Air Force track and field team concluded competition at the third-annual Big 12/Mountain West Conference Challenge in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday, Jan. 24. The men earned 15 scoring finishes, while the women accounted for seven scoring finishes and four incursions into the Academy's record book.

The Falcons accounted for two of the top three scores in the women's pole vault, highlighted by freshman Kimber Shealy's second-place. Shealy cleared a career-best 12'0¾" to place second and move into fourth on the program's all-time top-10 list. Sophomore Rachel Simmons also cleared 12'0¾", finishing third based on attempts.

Juniors Becca Burditt and Sara Neubauer picked up third-place finishes at the Conference Challenge. Burditt clocked a time of 2:17.98 in the 800-meter run, while Neubauer tossed a 49'3½" in her only fair shot put attempt of the night to place third in the results.

Two juniors and a freshman also earned points for Team MWC. Crossing the finish line in 17:58.92, junior Katie Lynch placed fourth and moved into the program's top-10 list. Her time is the ninth-fastest in Academy history. Classmate Nicole Elliott finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.37), while freshman Auriele Fain earned the same placement in the mile with a time of 5:04.80.

And although it didn't result in a scoring finish, Neubauer tossed a distance of 53'4½" in the weight throw for the third farthest in Academy history. Freshman Paige Blackburn recorded a distance of 43'3¼" in the shot put to move to sixth in the program record books.

On the men's side, three Falcons finished as the runner-up in their respective events. Junior Nick Frawley cleared 16'6" to finish second in the pole vault, while senior Daniel Castle clocked a time of 4:10.43 in the mile to earn the same placement. Fellow senior Sean Houseworth was one of two Falcons to score in the 3000-meter run. Houseworth picked up a second-place time of 8:24.95, while classmate Matt Williams earned a fourth-place finish of 8:30.32.

Fellow senior Kellen Curry placed third in the 60-meter dash (7.12), while also finishing third in the 60-meter hurdles (8.37). Curry was one of two scoring Falcons in the hurdles, as freshman Bryce Bergman clocked a time of 8.58 to place fourth. Bergman was also a member of the third-place 4x400-meter relay team (3:22.00), along with classmate Max Lutton and sophomores Matt Jones and Tyler Stanley.

In addition, Jones picked up a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter dash (50.73).

Freshman Alex Zubey (2:29.49) and senior Sebastian Ortiz (2:29.81) finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 1000-meter run, while junior Conor Murphy placed third in the 800-meter run (1:55.11) and senior Parker Cowles' time of 15:06.46 in the 5000-meter event was also good for third.

Senior Aaron Nelson placed fourth in the 600-yard run with a time of 1:17.05, while newcomer Dillon Stucky rounded out the Falcons' scoring athletes with a fourth-place distance of 45'11¾" in the triple jump.

The Big 12 Conference, which featured the nationally ranked teams of Kansas State, Missouri and Nebraska, defeated the Mountain West Conference teams of Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming by a score of 249-118. It is the third-straight year that the Big 12 has won the Challenge.

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