Falcons Conclude Action at Air Force Invitational
2/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 13, 2010
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Six incursions were made to the Falcons' all-time record book, as the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the 20th annual Air Force Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Academy's Cadet Field House. In addition to the personal-best marks that appear on the program's all-time list, several other career-best performances were achieved this afternoon.
Senior Sara Neubauer upped her Academy record in the shot put for the fourth time this season, as she won the 42-member event with a distance of 52'6". Her throw, a three-inch personal improvement, bettered the field by over four feet.
Junior Cresha White clocked a career-best time of 7.69 to place seventh in the 60-meter dash and move into a tie for second on the program's all-time list. Sophomore Tawny Lambuth cleared a career-best 12'5 ½" to place seventh in the pole vault, while junior Rachel Simmons used a 10th-place clearance of 11'11¾" to also score for the Falcons. Lambuth, who first cleared the 12-foot bar last week at New Mexico, moved into a tie for fourth on the program's all-time list.
Junior Katherine Ward scored for the Falcons in the mile run, clocking a time of 5:35.48 to finish seventh, while the relay quartet of senior Jessica Mapes, sophomore Emily Cotharn, senior Danielle McCarty and freshman Morgan Mosby finished fifth with a time of 4.01.78.
Although McCarty just missed a scoring finish in the high jump, the senior cleared a career-best 5'5" to make her debut on the all-time list on that event. With the seventh-best clearance in program history, McCarty is the first Falcon to appear on the high jump list since 2001.
On the men's side, junior Tyler Stanley was the top collegiate finisher in the 800-meter run, while senior Nick Frawley placed first amongst collegiate athletes in the pole vault. Stanley recorded a season-best time of 1:56.91 to finish third overall, while Frawley cleared 17'4½" to place second in the full field of 13.
Frawley was one of three Falcons to score in the pole vault. Freshman Chase Cooper placed sixth with a career-best clearance of 17'0¾", while junior Noah Palicia finished ninth with a personal-best height of 16'0¾". Cooper became just the ninth Air Force vaulter to clear the 17-foot bar and debuted in a tie for fifth on the program's all-time list.
Freshman Uzor Udensi picked up a pair of scoring finishes for the Falcons. He finished sixth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.99, while placing eighth in the 60-meter sprint in 7.01. Sophomore Phil Ofili also scored for the Falcons in the 60-meter dash, placing ninth with a time of 7.02.
Three Falcons picked up points for the team in the mile. Senior Andy Schweitzer clocked a time of 4:29.21 to finish sixth, while sophomore Nick White placed seventh in 4:33.12. Fellow sophomore Matthew Cain crossed the finish line in 4:34.47 to place ninth.
Air Force gained a pair of scoring finishes in the 400-meter dash, as well as the 60-meter dash. Clocking career-best times, sophomore Manuel Smith (48.94) and junior Chris Severino (49.07) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in that race. Severino, Udensi and Smith teamed up with junior Matthew Jones to finish second in the 4x400-meter relay, behind a time of 3:19.06.
In the men's shot put, sophomore Kyle Schwochow finished fifth with a career-best toss of 52'11½", while classmate Robert Drye measured a career-best distance of 51'10½" to place eighth. Bettering his personal-best distance by over a foot, Schwochow's throw is the ninth-best toss in Academy history. Drye also improved his PR in that event by a foot.
The men placed third with 73.50 points. BYU won its first-ever Air Force Invitational with 89 points, while Colorado State finished second with 81. With 66 points, Wyoming finished fourth behind the Falcons, while Wayland Baptist (42) rounded out the top five. The women finished sixth with 37.50 points. BYU won its second straight title at the Falcons' annual meet with 150 points. Colorado State tallied 69.50 to edge Wayland Baptist (66) for second. Wyoming (45) and Wichita State (43.50) rounded out the top five.
History was made at the Air Force Invitational, as Kelsie Hendry, an unattached pole vaulter from Canada, set her country's indoor pole vault record at 14'7¼". That mark was one of two Air Force Invitational records to fall this weekend. In addition to Hendry's mark in the pole vault, former Colorado State standout Jenay DeLoach broke the meet's 13-year-old record in the long jump, recording a distance of 21'3¼".
Air Force returns to action on Friday, Feb. 19, when they travel to Laramie, Wyo., for the annual Robert Shine Invitational. The meet will serve as a final tune-up for the 2010 Mountain West Conference Championships, which will be held Feb. 25-27 in Albuquerque, N.M.