Falcons Head to Pre-Nationals Meet
10/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 14, 2009
The varsity members of the Air Force cross country team will head to Terre Haute, Ind., for the prestigious 2009 Pre-Nationals Meet on Saturday, Oct. 17. The meet, hosted by Indiana State University and held on the same course as the NCAA National Championships, features over 1500 runners from over 75 programs from across the country. Action begins at 11 a.m. (CST) with the first of two men's 8K races.
Meet Notes 06: at Pre-Nationals Meet 
MEET INFORMATION
The Pre-Nationals Meet will take place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. The 75 competing teams have been divided into two races - the "Blue" race and the "White" race. Air Force has been designated into the Blue races. The men will compete against 34 other teams in the 8K race at 11 a.m., while the women will be a part of the 37-team 6k race at 12:20 p.m.
LAST YEAR AT PRE-NATIONALS
Backed by three runners placing within the top third of the field, the Air Force men's cross country team placed 15th at the 2008 Pre-Nationals Meet. Then-senior Sean Houseworth paced the Falcons with a season-best time of 24:35 to finish 64th. Then-junior Katie Lynch led the women to a 37th-place team finish, after clocking a 168th-place 6K time of 22:30.
THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR
Justin Tyner and Zach Nordahl have both raced the men's 8K course in Terre Haute, as both were scoring members of last year's team. All five members of the women's scoring team - Katie Lynch, Ally Romanko, Katherine Ward, Elyse Willard and Auriele Fain - return to the field.
DRENCKHAHN EARNS MWC HONOR
Freshman Jeremy Drenckhahn was named the Mountain West Conference Runner of the Week following his team-leading performance at the Fort Hays State Tiger invitational on Oct. 10. With a career-best time of 25:45.26, Drenckhahn finished 21st amongst 102 runners, while pacing the Falcons to a fifth-place team finish.
WE'LL TAKE TWO
After pacing the Falcons for the second consecutive week, freshman Jeremy Drenckhahn was named the conference's runner of the week (Oct. 10). It was the second time in three weeks that Air Force has been awarded the league's weekly honor. Drenckhahn joined junior Justin Tyner, who claimed the honor on Sept. 29.
WOMEN TAKE SECOND AT TIGER INVITATIONAL
With an eighth-place time of 18:37, sophomore Meghan Prinkey paced the Falcons to a second-place finish at the Fort Hays State Tiger Invitational on Oct. 10. Prinkey was one of three Falcons to place within the top 10 of the 168-runner race, as senior Brittany Morreale and freshman Melissa Fuerst finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
DRENCKHAHN DOES IT ... AGAIN
For the second straight week, freshman Jeremy Drenckhahn was the men's top finisher at a race. He clocked a season-best time of 25:45 to finish 21st in the 102-runner event. His time is the fourth fastest 8K time on the team this season and the best by a freshman. All five scoring runners finished within the top half of the field, including Nick White (27th), Andrew Quallio (36th), Seth Pelletier (38th) and Donald Jackson (42nd).
CONFERENCE RANKINGS
Ally Romanko leads the Mountain West Conference in the women's 6K with a time of 23:03 (23:02.5). Katherine Ward is ranked fifth (23:30), while Katie Lynch (23:32) and Elyse Willard (23:48) are ranked seventh and eighth, respectively. In the men's 8K, Justin Tyner is currently ranked 20th with his time of 24:58 at the Roy Griak Invitational. James Walmsley is ranked 25th with his Roy Griak Invitational time of 25:34.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Falcons are off until Saturday, Oct. 31, when they travel to Provo, Utah, for the 2009 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships. The annual conference event will be held at Cascade Golf Course on the campus of BYU.
Players Mentioned
