Falcons Head North for Weekend Meet
4/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
April 2, 2009
The Air Force track and field team is scheduled to travel to Greeley, Colo., for the annual Tom Benich Classic on Saturday, April 4. In addition, junior Nick Frawley will compete in the pole vault at the Texas Relays, while senior Kirk Devine and junior Sara Neubauer will participate in the Invitational Discus Throw in Fort Collins, Colo., on Friday, April 3.
TOM BENICH MEET INFORMATION
The meet, which will be held at Nottingham Field, is slated to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, on the track (men's 3000-meter steeplechase) and from the field (men's javelin throw, women's shot put and women's pole vault). However, the men's and women's hammer throw will be contested on Friday at Colorado State.
TEXAS RELAYS INFORMATION
Junior Nick Frawley will be the Falcons' lone representative at the 82nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, competing in the pole vault on Saturday. Frawley will compete at 3:00 p.m., at the 20,000-seat Mike A. Myers Stadium.
HOUSEWORTH EARNS MWC HONOR ... FOR GOOD REASON
Senior Sean Houseworth picked up his first-ever Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week award on March 31, after setting an Academy record and automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000-meter run at Stanford. Clocking a time of 28:33.71 at the Stanford Invitational, the senior shattered the program standard, while decreasing his personal time by nearly two minutes. To date, that time is the best in the conference, eighth in the nation and fourth all-time in the MWC.
MORE NEWS FROM STANFORD
In addition to Sean's Houseworth's winning time in the 10,000-meter run, classmate Matt Williams posted a regional qualifying time of 9:06.72 in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the prestigious Stanford Invitational.
REGIONAL MARKS HIGHLIGHT SPRING TRAINING FINALE
Seven regional qualifying marks were set, as the Falcons wrapped up their spring training trip at the Arizona State Invitational on March 28. In addition, Air Force recorded two victories and made seven changes to the program's all-time record book.
RUNNIN' ROMANKO
Junior Ally Romanko won the 800-meter run at Arizona State with a career-best, regional qualifying time of 2:07.92. That time improved her second-place standing on the program's all-time list, as she moved closer to the program record. She was one of two Falcons to impact the all-time 800-meter list, as classmate Becca Burditt debuted at 10th with a time of 2:15.36.
TY'ING UP A SPOT
Justin Tyner won the 3000-meter steeplechase at ASU, with a career-high, record book changing time of 9:00.68. That time moved the sophomore into fifth-place in the program's all-time standings. Tyner paced the Falcons to two of the top-three spots, as senior Justin Mason finished third in 9:23.40.
PICKING UP A PAIR
Junior Sara Neubauer picked up a pair of regional marks behind matching fourth-place finishes in the shot put and discus throw. Neubauer improved her personal-best throw in the discus to 169'1" - the second-farthest throw in Academy history. She also posted a regional mark to finish fourth in the shot put at 48'7½". Those two throws came one day after Neubauer recorded a career-high 151'7" in the hammer throw to move into eighth on the program's all-time list.
THROWING AROUND SOME REGIONAL MARKS
Sophomore Connor Van Fossen threw a career-best distance of 210'11" in the javelin on March 28 to earn a regional berth, while junior Katie Weber posted a regional qualifying throw of 147'2" in the women's event. Van Fossen, who became the eighth Falcon to clear the 200-foot plateau, surged into fifth on the all-time list.
MORE NEWS FROM THE DESERT
Senior Kellen Curry punched a ticket to the regional meet at Arizona State, placing second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.23. In addition, Curry moved into eighth on the all-time list for the 200-meter dash (21.38). Freshman Paige Blackburn improved her 10th-place standing in the all-time discus throw records, with a toss of 141'4".
POUNDS NAMED TO MWC 10TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM
Former Air Force standout Dana Pounds (2003-06) was named to the Mountain West Conference 10th Anniversary Women's Outdoor Track and Field Team on April 1. Over her outstanding four-year career with the Falcons, Pounds won three conference titles and back-to-back national championships in the javelin throw. She is the only member of the 10th anniversary team (men's or women's) to earn multiple national titles.
WHAT'S ON DECK
The Falcons will split up on Saturday, April 11, for a pair of meets. Part of the squad will travel to Columbia, Mo., for Missouri's annual Tom Botts Invitational, while the rest of the team heads to Boulder, Colo., for the Colorado Invitational.
