Air Force Travels to Wyoming for MWC Championships
5/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 12, 2009
Championship season begins this week for the Air Force track and field team, as the squad heads to Laramie, Wyo., for the 2009 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships. The meet, which begins with the heptathlon and decathlon on Wednesday, May 13, will continue through Saturday, May 16, at the Memorial 8 Track at Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.
Meet Notes - at Mountain West Conference Championships 
MEET INFORMATION
The decathlon and heptathlon will take place on Wednesday-Thursday (May 13-14), while the individual events will be held on Friday-Saturday (Mary 15-16). The multi-events begin at noon both days, while Friday's action begins at 11 a.m., and Saturday's events begin at 12 p.m.
AN IMPRESSIVE FEAT
Scheduled to compete in the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin, junior Sara Neubauer will become just the third athlete in MWC history to participate in all four throwing events at the conference championships. She will join Wyoming's Robin Lyons (2000) and Andrea Batt (2001). No athlete has ever scored in all four events, although Colorado State's Loree Smith posted scoring marks in three events during the 2005 meet.
HISTORY 101
Since 2000, Air Force has accounted for 57 MWC titles, including 34 from the outdoor season. Kevin Griswold was the first Air Force runner to earn an outdoor title, as he won the 400-meter dash. Three Falcons have won multiple titles during the same meet, most recently Ian McFarland, who won the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races at the 2008 meet. Travis Picou won the 100- and 200-meter dashes in 2005, while Anthony Park won the long and triple jumps during 2001.
DID YOU KNOW?
Air Force has claimed a javelin title during all but two years of Mountain West Conference action. Dana Pounds won three titles for the women's team from 2004-06, while Tim Fritz won two for the men (2002-03). Joe Bonner (2000) and Matt Schwandt (2007) also claimed javelin titles for the men's team.
MORE DID YOU KNOW?
Members of the men's squad have won six of the last seven conference titles in the 10,000-meter run, including the last three consecutive titles. Ben Payne won back-to-back-to-back from 2002-04, while Nick Wilson (2006), Sean Houseworth (2007) and Ian McFarland (2008) claimed the last three.
MEN REPEAT AS CHAMPS OF THE FRONT RANGE
Highlighted by six event titles, the Air Force men successfully defended its title at the Front Range Classic on May 2. The Falcons easily defeated their five other local opponents, besting the field by at least 44 points. In addition, the women finished as the runner-up at the second annual meet.
HAMMERING IT OUT...
Although it is just her first year of throwing the hammer, junior Sara Neubauer blasted the Academy standard at the Front Range Classic. Neubauer won the event with a toss of 182'8" - a personal improvement by nearly 20 feet! That distance easily broke the Falcons' nine-year-old record of 177'11" that was originally set by Tara Copas.
DOUBLING UP...
Sara Neubauer and Kellen Curry each won a pair of events at the Front Range Classic. Neubauer won the hammer throw (182'8") and discus throw (meet record 164'7"), while Curry finished first in the 200-meter dash (21.52) and 110-meter hurdles (meet record 14.30).
TAKING IT TO THE TOP
With a pair of regional qualifying times, senior Matt Williams and junior Zach Nordahl posted a one-two punch for Air Force in the 3000-meter steeplechase on May 2. Williams won the meet with an altitude adjusted time of 8:58.90, while Nordahl placed second in 9:05.61. Williams' time is the third-fastest steeplechase time in Academy history.
GIVING IT AN AIR FORCE SEAL OF APPROVAL
Air Force put its stamp on the results of the men's javelin throw at the Front Range Classic, as sophomore Connor Van Fossen won the event with a meet record 198'7". Senior Harmon Gage (193'7"), sophomore Jon Santiago (180'6") and classmate Noah Palicia (178'4") finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. On the women's side, junior Katie Weber (143'5") and freshman Paige Blackburn (128'5") finished first and second, respectively.
OTHER WINNERS FROM THE FRC
Junior Nick Frawley won the men's pole vault (16'0¾"), while sophomore Rachel Simmons and freshman Kimber Shealy tied for the top spot (11'1 ¾") in the women's event. Freshman Maxwell Lutton won the 400-meter dash in 48.73.
