Skylar Morgan Wins MWC Decathlon; Noah Palicia Takes Second

May 14, 2009

LARAMIE, Wyo. - With a career-best 6,750 points, Air Force senior Skylar Morgan won the Mountain West Conference decathlon title as the multi-event members of the track and field team concluded the second day of action at the conference championship meet in Laramie, Wyo., on Thursday, May 14. Morgan paced the Falcons to a one-two punch in the event, as sophomore Noah Palicia placed second.

Morgan entered the day in fourth place, but continued tallying career-best marks to vault into first and win his first-ever conference championship. Morgan finished second in each of the first three events. He set career-best marks in the 110-meter hurdles (14.86), discus throw (124'10") and pole vault (13'11¼") to move up the standings. He also set a career-best distance of 160'11" to finish third in the javelin throw, while clocking a time of 5:11.08 in the 1500-meter run. His total of 6,750 points, a personal improvement of 193 points, is the fifth-best total in Academy history.

Morgan becomes the fourth Air Force decathlete to ever win a title in the 10-event competition. Jeromy Williams won the WAC title in 1992, while Marcus Nichols claimed titles in back-to-back years (1996-1997). Most recently, Brian Walsh won a MWC title in 2007.

Despite suffering a broken nose during the pole vault, Palicia posted a career-best 6,642 points finish second and secure the Falcons' impressive one-two standing atop the medal podium. Palicia entered the day in fifth place, but began his climb up the leaderboard with a career-best 15.68 time in the 110-meter hurdles. After placing sixth in the discus throw (89'1"), Palicia moved onto the pole vault. While clearing the 15'7" mark, the crossbar blew off its bearings and caught Palicia on the nose. The sophomore didn't let a broken nose stop him, as he went on to clear a personal-best 16'2¾" and win the event. Continuing his winning ways, Palicia won the javelin throw (165'11", career-best) and 1500-meter run (4:42.81) to total the eighth-best decathlon total in Academy history.

In the women's heptathlon, junior Danielle McCarty and freshman Phaelen French finished fifth (4,413 points) and seventh (3,792 points), respectively.

McCarty upped her career-best total by two points, remaining fourth on the Academy's all-time list. Her best finish of the day was a fifth-place time of 2:32.52 in the 800-meter run. She also finished sixth in the javelin throw with a personal-best 87'11" and ninth in the long jump at 16'2¼". Like McCarty, French posted her best finish in the 800-meter run, placing fourth with a time of 2:29.96. She also picked up matching seventh-place scores in the long jump (16'7¾", career-best) and javelin throw (80'9").

With 18 combined points from Morgan and Palicia, the Air Force men lead the conference after the second day of competition. The women are currently in fourth place with six points. The rest of the Falcons begin competition at the Mountain West Conference Championships tomorrow (Friday, May 15) morning at 11 a.m., in Laramie, Wyo.

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