Air Force Academy
Willie Williams Classic
Air Force Has Strong Showing in Outdoor Opener
3/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
March 21, 2009
TUCSON, Ariz. - Highlighted by four regional qualifying marks, nine incursions into the Academy record book and five meet champions, the Air Force track and field team opened the outdoor season this weekend (March 20-21) at the Willie Williams Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
Sara Neubauer paced the Falcons with a pair of regional qualifying victories in the shot put and discus throw. The junior won the shot put with a toss of 48'11½", while placing first in the discus throw with a personal-best throw of 161'2". Both marks qualified Neubauer to the regional championships in May. In addition, Neubauer recorded a mark of 138'5" in her hammer throw debut to move into ninth place on the Falcons' all-time list.
Classmates Nick Frawley and Dan Paladino also recorded regional qualifying marks in their outdoor season debut. Frawley won the pole vault with a clearance of 16'10¾", while Paladino picked up a fourth-place distance of 187'3" in the hammer throw.
Fellow junior Ally Romanko had a strong weekend as well, winning the 800-meter event and placing third in the 1500-meter race. Romanko's time of 2:11.52 in the 800-meter race topped the field by nearly a second, while she also recorded a time of 4:38.47 in the 1500. Freshman Auriele Fain joined Romanko among the top-eight of both events, clocking times of 2:19.49 (800) and 4:46.76 (1500).
In her outdoor debut, freshman Paige Blackburn made her mark in two of the program's all-time lists. Placing sixth in the shot put with a toss of 42'9¾", Blackburn recorded the fifth-best distance in program history. She also notched the 10th-best discus distance with an eighth-place mark of 139'9". Sophomore Christina Burke joined Blackburn in the shot put records, with the ninth-best distance (147'5") to finish fifth in the meet.
Freshman Kimber Shealy cleared a height of 12'3½" in the pole vault to place second in the meet and record the third-best mark in Academy history. Sophomore Rachel Simmons matched that mark to place fourth, based on clearance attempts.
Junior Katie Weber and Blackburn finished third (141'9") and fifth (123'8"), respectively, in the javelin, while sophomore Nercressaine White moved into ninth all-time in the 100-meter dash (12.48) and junior Jessica Mapes recorded the 10th-fastest time ever (58.04) in the 400-meter dash.
Back on the men's side, senior Kirk Devine rounded out the Falcons' event winners, with a winning throw of 168'7" in the discus throw. Classmate Kellen Curry was the runner-up in the 200-meter dash, clocking the 10th-best time in Academy history at 21.53, while also placing third in the 110-meter hurdles (14.33).
Air Force earned three of the top-four spots in the javelin throw, highlighted by senior Harmon Gage's second-place toss of 199'1". Sophomores Connor Van Fossen and Jon Santiago finished third (194'10") and fourth (187'4"), respectively, in the event standings.
Dillon Stuckey placed third in the triple jump (46'0½"), while sophomore Justin Tyner earned the same placement in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:38.37. Senior Sebastian Ortiz and sophomore Tyler Stanley finished third (1:54.74) and fourth (1:55.19), respectively, in the 800-meter run, while Matt Jones placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in 48.55. Freshmen Brandin Bear and Cort Rogers picked up respective fourth- (15'7") and sixth-place (15'1") finishes in the pole vault during their opening weekend of the outdoor season.
The Falcons will remain in Arizona for a week of training during the Academy's spring break. The majority of the Air Force squad will travel to Tempe on March 27-28, for the Arizona State Invitational. Select members of the distance squad will compete at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., that weekend as well.
Players Mentioned
