Air Force Academy
MWC Championships
Sara Neubauer and Katie Weber Claim MWC Titles
5/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 15, 2010
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Seniors Sara Neubauer (shot put) and Katie Weber (javelin throw) claimed conference titles as the Air Force track and field team concluded competition at the 2010 Mountain West Conference Championships on Saturday, May 15, in Albuquerque, N.M. Junior Justin Tyner paced the men's team with a runner-up finish in the 5000-meter run.
It is the first time in Air Force history that two different members of the women's team have claimed conference titles.
With a throw of 51'1½" on her final attempt, Neubauer claimed her second title of the weekend as she won the shot put. The senior, who won the discus title yesterday, fouled off her first two attempts before throwing a 45'7¼" to advance to the finals. In the finals, Neubauer fouled off her next two throws and was sitting in fourth entering her last throw. Breaking out a distance of 51'1½" on her last attempt, Neubauer claimed the title by just two inches. She became the program's most decorated conference champion, earning four MWC titles (two indoor, two outdoor),
Weber claimed her first-ever Mountain West Conference title with a distance of toss of 149'11". The winning throw came on her final attempt, although four of her other five attempts bettered the second-place distance. It is the eighth time since 2000 that the Falcons have accounted for a conference title in the javelin throw. Weber was joined on the medal podium by Neubauer, who finished third with a distance of 140'3". Neubauer's third-place throw came on her third attempt, as she passed on the remaining three chances to prepare for the shot put.
Tyner was the runner-up in the 5000-meter run, as he crossed the finish line in 14:19.31. Tyner paced the Falcons to four of the top seven spots in that race, as sophomore James Walmsley (14:54.46), senior Zach Nordahl (14:58.06) and freshman Jeremy Drenckhahn (15:07.15) finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively.
Thanks to Drenckhahn, who picked his way through the field during the race to finish within scoring position for the Falcons, Air Force has now accounted for four of the top eight runners in the 5000-meter run during each of the last four years.
The 5000-meter run was one of several events where the Falcons dominated the medal podium.
Junior Conner Van Fossen used a career-best javelin distance of 223'7" to pace three of the top six finishers in the conference. Van Fossen, who improved his career mark by 10 feet, finished third with the second-farthest throw in Academy history. With a throw of 197'7", freshman Wyatt Warnick shattered his previous best distance by over 20 feet to place fifth and move into 10th on the Academy's all-time list. Junior Jon Santiago recorded a distance of 183'7" to take sixth in the javelin standings.
Senior Nick Frawley's third place finish in the pole vault paced Air Force to three of the top six places in that event. Frawley cleared 17'0¾" to take third, while classmate Joel Nolan and freshman Rob Simmons recorded matching heights of 16'4¾" to take fifth and sixth, respectively, based on attempts.
Junior Bryce Bergman finished among the conference's top four in both the 110- and 400-meter hurdles. Bergman clocked a time of 14.60 to finish third in the 110-meter hurdles, before finishing the 400-meter hurdles in a fourth-place time of 51.48.
Air Force claimed a pair of scoring finishes in the 400- and 1500-meter races. Sophomore Manuel Smith finished fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.32, while junior Chris Severino took sixth in 47.75. Sophomore Alex Zubey recorded a time of 3:51.11 to place sixth in the 1500-meter run, while Walmsley also scored for the Falcons behind a seventh-place time of 3:51.78.
Junior Tyler Stanley clocked a time of 1:50.33 to place fourth in the 800-meter run, while sophomore Kyle Schwochow placed eighth in the shot put with a distance of 51'9". The men's 4x400-meter relay team recorded a time of 3:12.57 to place third, while the 4x100-meter squad clocked a time of 42.60 to finish fifth.
Back on the women's side, both relay teams made a dramatic impact on the Academy's all-time record book. The 4x100-meter relay team clocked a time of 47.73 (eighth), accounting for the second-best time in Academy history. That time bettered the previous No. 2 time that had stood since 1983. In addition, the 4x400-meter relay team accounted for the third-best time in Academy history, as it finished fifth in 3:45.05.
The Falcons also collected points from sophomore Paige Blackburn and senior Ally Romanko. Blackburn tossed a 45'8½" to take eighth in the shot put, while Romanko finished the 800-meter run in 2:11.56 to finish eighth in that race.
The men tallied 113 points to finish fourth in the team standings. BYU won the team title with 211 points, while host New Mexico placed second with 153 points. With 149 points, TCU rounded out the top three and were followed by Air Force, Wyoming (96) and Colorado State (87).
The women amassed 59.50 points to take eighth. With 204 points, BYU won the team title, followed by TCU (121) and Colorado State (101). Host New Mexico finished fourth with 93.50 points, while UNLV (71), Utah (70.50) and San Diego State (70) battled closely for fifth, sixth and seventh. Air Force and Wyoming (28.50) rounded out the team standings.
Players Mentioned
