Women Place Second at Fort Hays Tiger Invitational

Oct. 10, 2009

HAYS, Kan. - Sophomore Meghan Prinkey paced the Air Force women's cross country team to a second-place finish at the Tiger Invitational, hosted by Fort Hays State University, on Saturday, Oct. 10, in Hays, Kan. Competing in cold and windy conditions, the women finished just five points out of first, while the men placed fifth.

Prinkey was the Falcons' top finisher for the second time in her career after clocking 5K time of 18:37 to place eighth in the 168-runner race. Her time is the squad's best 5K time of the season, bettering the previous mark by nearly two minutes.

She was one of three Falcons to place within the top 10, as all five scoring runners finished within the top 16. Senior Brittany Morreale clocked a time of 18:39 to finish ninth, while freshman Melissa Fuerst finished 10th in 18:41. Freshman Morgan Mosby crossed the finish line in 18:55 to finish 13th, while sophomore Katie Carroll rounded out the scoring runners with a 16th-place time of 19:07.

Northern Colorado won the women's race with 46 points, just edging Air Force (51 points). Colorado School of Mines finished third with 57 points, as the top-three schools distanced themselves from the remaining teams. Fort Hays State, the host school, placed fourth with 94 points, while Colby College (130), Bethany College (184) and Garden City College (189) rounded out the seven-team field.

For the second consecutive week, freshman Jeremy Drenckhahn was the men's top finisher. Clocking a time of 25:45, Drenckhahn finished 21st in the 102-runner event. His time is the fourth-fastest time on the team in three 8K races to-date.

All five scoring runners, including four freshmen, finished within the top half of the field. Sophomore Nick White clocked a time of 25:54 to finish 27th, while freshmen Andrew Quallio (26:18) and Seth Pelletier (26:24) finished 36th and 38th, respectively. Classmate Donald Jackson rounded out the Falcons' contingent of scoring runners, as he finished 42nd with a time of 26:28.

Colorado School of Mines won the meet with a total of 21 points. Garden City College finished second with 62 points, while host Fort Hays State placed third with 82 points. Colorado College (104 points) and Air Force (116) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Northern Colorado (sixth, 151), Bethany (seventh, 222) and Regis (eighth, 227) rounded out the field.

Six additional Falcons competed in the women's race. Sophomore Phaelen French finished 18th in a time of 19:15, while classmate Alexa Ramsier placed 21st with a time of 19:16. Freshmen Dominique Amor (19:20) and Kara Hovseth (19:41) finished 25th and 31st, respectively. Junior Whitney Beck clocked a time of 19:42 to finish 32nd, while freshman Kathleen Vardell finished 42nd in a time of 20:30.

Five other Falcons also competed in the men's race. Sophomore Matthew Cain crossed the finish line in 26:51 to finish 51st, while freshmen Zak Boston (27:08), Dylan Hallums (27:17) and Thomas Heikkinen (27:19) finished 57th, 58th and 59th, respectively. Classmate Gage Owens rounded out the Air Force contingent with a 70th-place time of 27:47.

The Falcons' varsity squad heads to Terre Haute, Ind., next weekend for the annual Pre-Nationals Meet on Saturday, Oct. 17. The meet, which will be held on the same course as the upcoming national championship meet in November, will begin at noon.

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