Air Force Academy
Pre-Nationals
Tyner and Walmsley Pace Men at Pre-Nationals
10/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 17, 2009
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - For the second time this season, Justin Tyner paced the Air Force cross country team at a national meet. The junior recorded a career-best 8K time of 24:17 to place 21st amongst 238 Division I runners at the 2009 Pre-Nationals Meet in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Oct. 17. Tyner guided the men to a 12th-place finish in the 34-team "Blue" race.
Tyner's time was a 33-second improvement over his previous career high, which was set at last year's Pre-Nationals Meet. He was one of two Falcons to finish within the top 35, as sophomore James Walmsley clocked a personal-best time of 24:29 to finish 35th. Walmsley's time is over a minute faster than his previous best time, which was set in late September at the Roy Griak Invitational.
In fact, all seven Air Force runners upped their personal-best times during the annual race. Senior Zach Nordahl clocked a time of 24:50 to finish 64th, while sophomore Jonathan Rock crossed the finish line in 25:00 to place 83rd. Senior Andy Schweitzer rounded out the Falcons' scoring runners with a 181st-place time of 26:06. Junior Tyler Small (201st, 26:23) and sophomore Ryan Del Grosso (219th, 26:55) rounded out the Air Force contingent.
The Falcons collected 382 points for a 12th-place finish in the team standings, falling just one point shy of 11th. Highlighted by the race winner Luke Puskedra, defending national champion Oregon won the "Blue" race with 79 points, while Alabama (114 points) and Northern Arizona (115 points) rounded out the top three.
On the women's side, senior Ally Romanko was the Falcons' top finisher, clocking a season-best time of 22:24 to finish 130th amongst 249 total runners. Sophomore Auriele Fain, competing in her first 6K event of the season, posted a career-best time of 22:27 to place 135th. Senior Katie Lynch recorded a season-best time of 22:35 to placed 145th.
Junior Katherine Ward finished 171st with a time of 22:54, while freshman Kate Kanetzky rounded out the scoring Falcons with a career-best time of 23:16 (196th). Fellow freshman Jennifer Bremser also competed at the Pre-Nationals Meet, shaving nearly one minute off of her time (23:27) to finish 210th.
Air Force placed 32nd in the team standings, with 777 points. Backed by race winner Jenny Barringer, Colorado won the "Blue" race with 94 points. Florida State (135 points) and Oregon (169 points) finished second and third, respectively, in the women's field.
The Falcons are off from competition until Saturday, Oct. 31, when they travel to Provo, Utah, for the 2009 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships.
Players Mentioned
