Air Force Academy
NCAA Championships
Justin Tyner Places 71st at NCAA Cross Country Championships
11/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 23, 2009
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Air Force junior Justin Tyner finished within the top third of the field at the 2009 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, which were held this morning (Nov. 23) at the Lavern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. Competing in a field of 250 of the nation's top distance runners, Tyner placed 71st with a 10,000-meter time of 30:37.6.
Tyner's finish was the best by an Air Force athlete since Brian Dumm and Jeff Gosselin finished 57th 61st, respectively, at the 2004 meet, while his time of 30:38 is the best for a Falcon at the national meet since Chris Acs clocked a 30:22 at the 2003 championships. In fact, only one other Air Force runner has surpassed that time at the NCAA Championship meet since 1991.
Tyner's time is just seconds off of his personal-best (30:29.5), which was set at the regional championship meet on Nov. 14. Contributing to Tyner's time today were splits of 8:57 (3k), 15:14 (5k) and 24:31 (8k).
The national championships concluded a stellar cross country season for Tyner, who was the top-scoring Falcon in four meets this season. Pacing Air Force this season in both the 8K and 10K distances, Tyner was an all-conference (third) and all-region (fifth) selection. In addition, he recorded strong finishes at the Pre-Nationals (21st) and Roy Griak (fifth) Invitational, while earning MWC Athlete of the Week honors.
Liberty's Samuel Chelanga won the 2009 national title in a time of 28:41.3, while Oklahoma State took the team title with 127 points.
Players Mentioned
