Falcons Conclude Action at a Windy Tom Benich Classic

April 3, 2010

GREELEY, Colo. - The Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the annual Tom Benich Classic on Saturday, April 3, under extremely windy conditions in Greeley, Colo. In a meet that featured over 1200 competitors from around the state, the Falcons accounted for multiple top-10 finishes. The Tom Benich Classic also served as the outdoor debut for some of the younger Air Force athletes.

Sophomore Tawny Lambuth was the runner-up in the pole vault, after clearing a career-best 12'1½". Improving her personal-best mark by over a foot, Lambuth moved into fourth on the program's all-time list. She was one of two Falcons to move up the Academy's all-time list, as freshman Bizzy Mellado cleared a career-best 11'7¾" to move into a tie for sixth in the record book. The Falcons accounted for three of the top five finishes, as freshman Pia Goodman cleared 10'2" in her outdoor debut to place sixth.

In addition to her record-setting performance in the pole vault, Lambuth also earned a pair of fourth-place finishes in the 100-meter dash (12.92) and 200-meter dash (26.75).

Air Force also accounted for three of the top five spots in the men's pole vault. Freshman Rob Simmons paced the squad, as he cleared a career-best matching 16'0¾" to take second. Simmons tied with his twin brother Cale for that clearance, but took second based on attempts. Sophomore Brandin Bear finished fifth with a height of 15'1".

With a second-place throw in the javelin, junior Jon Santiago paced the Falcons to five of the top eight spots. Santiago threw a 188'5" to place second, while freshman Wyatt Warnick finished fourth with a distance of 163'10". Air Force decathletes freshman James Dills (149'11"), sophomore Jacob Ringrose (144'5") and freshman Michael Tibbs (144'1") finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

Sophomore Bryce Bergman was the runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles, behind a time of 15.02, while classmate Manuel Smith finished second in the 400-meter dash (49.50). Bergman also finished third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.68. Junior Chris Severino finished fourth behind Smith in the 400-meter dash (50.22), while junior Matt Jones and senior Bryant Davis finished sixth (54.36) and seventh (54.90), respectively, behind Bergman in the 400-meter hurdles.

Sophomore Robert Drye finished third in the shot put (52'3¼"), fourth in the hammer throw (181'1") and ninth in the discus throw (159'7")

Freshman Uzor Udensi finished fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.25, while Smith (sixth, 22.76) and freshman Anthony Delgado (10th, 23.36) also finished within the top-10 of that race. Udensi also finished seventh in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.32.

On the women's side, Air Force collected three additional top-seven marks from the track. Freshman Rachel Thomas (64.29) and sophomore Emily Cotharn (65.05) finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles, while freshman Bethany Gross placed seventh in the 400-meter dash (60.29).

From the field, Air Force earned seven additional top-10 finishes during a meet that featured over 1200 entries. Freshman Kegan Garnett placed sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 45'1½", while classmate Zach Wood earned the same placement in the high jump with a clearance of 6'4¾". Fellow freshman Travis Smith placed 10th in the high jump with a height of 6'2¾".

Freshman Loren Van Rassen finished seventh in the high jump with a personal-best matching clearance of 5'1", while junior Christina Burke (133'7") and freshman Katy Moorkamp (133'3") placed ninth and 10th, respectively, in the discus throw. Sophomore Rachel Gebauer rounded out the top-10 Air Force finishers with a career-best 10th-place throw of 39'4" in the shot put.

The Falcons will split up again next Saturday (April 10), as select members travel to Tempe, Ariz., for the annual Sun Angel Classic and the rest of the squad travel to Boulder for the Colorado Invitational.

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