Air Force Academy
Don Barrett Duals
Six Falcons Win Event Titles at Don Barrett Duals
1/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Jan. 29, 2011
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Highlighted by six event titles and 28 top-three finishes, the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the third annual Don Barrett Duals on Saturday, Jan. 29, at the Academy's Cadet Field House. Both squads posted their best-ever finish at the Duals, as the men combined for a 4-1 overall record and the women posted a 3-2 mark.
Air Force claimed both pole vault titles, highlighted by sophomore Rob Simmons' winning clearance of 17'0¾". Simmons, who broke into the program's top-10 last weekend, became just the 10th Air Force pole vaulter to clear the 17-foot bar and is now tied for seventh on the program's all-time list. Senior Melissa Beerse posted a season-high clearance of 12'7½" to win the women's field.
Junior Kyle Schwochow won the shot put with a personal-best 55'9". A personal improvement by two feet, Schwochow moved into fifth on the program's all-time list. Junior Jim Walmsley won his first career mile with a time of 4:23.83, while sophomore Zach Wood won a tiebreaker on the high bar with a personal-best height of 6'8¾".
On the women's side, sophomore Bethany Gross clocked a career-best time of 56.78 to win the 400-meter hurdles and move into fourth on the program's all-time list.
Four more Falcons accounted for personal-best marks that moved them up the program's all-time standings. Freshman Jackie Ahloo recorded a personal-best distance of 44'9" in the women's shot put to finish third in the meet and move into fourth on the program's all-time standings, while junior Rob Drye moved into seventh on the men's all-time shot put list with a career-best mark of 55'2¾" to finish third.
Freshman Paige Shirley matched her career-best clearance in the pole vault at 12'1½", remaining sixth on the program's all-time list, while junior Paige Blackburn improved her sixth-place all-time mark in the weight throw with a distance of 52'6½" to finish fifth.
Air Force dominated the pole vault standings, taking the top four spots in the both the men's and women's field. Behind Simmons' winning mark of 17'0¾", Cale Simmons finished second with a career-best matching mark of 16'6¾", while senior Noah Palicia equaled his personal-best clearance of 16'0¾" to take third. Freshman Elliott Beski rounded out the quartet with a tie for fourth behind a personal-best bar of 15'1". In addition to Beerse's win (12'7½") and Shirley's third-place finish (12'1½"), juniors Kimber Shealy and Tawny Lambuth finished second and fourth, respectively, with matching marks of 12'1½".
The Falcons claimed eight more runner-up finishes, highlighted by several personal-best marks.
Sophomore Anthony Delgado placed second in the 400-meter dash with a career-best time of 48.90, while freshman Brad Hackert tied for second on the long jump, as he bettered his personal-best distance by over four feet to 22'4¼". Sophomore Morgan Mosby finished second in her first career mile with a time of 5:13.45, while junior Nick White earned the same placement in his first 800-meter run (1:55.81) of the season.
A pair of freshmen earned second-place finishes in their respective events, as Kassie Gurnell posted a distance of 37'3" in the triple jump and Regan Rogers cleared 5'5" on the high jump. Blackburn, who placed third in the weight throw, also earned a runner-up spot in the shot put, as she recorded a distance of 46'6¾". The men's 4x440-yard relay team of Cory Engel, David Ptacek, Matt Jones and Noah Palicia finished second with a time of 3:18.25.
Five Falcons also claimed third-place scores to help the Falcons to their respective overall finishes. Senior Chris Severino clocked a personal-best time of 48.94 to finish third behind Delgado in the 400-meter dash, while sophomore Cameron Edwards placed third in the 800-meter run with a career-best time of 1:56.58. Freshmen Tasha Mayne took third in the 800-meter run with a personal-best time of 2:20.14, while classmate Gavin Owen set a career record of 9:03.40 to take third in the 3000-meter run. Drye, who took third in the shot put, earned the same placement in the weight throw with a distance of 60'1¾". That mark is less than a foot off of his Academy record distance.
The men earned a 4-1 record, including a 55-52 win over Mountain West Conference rival Wyoming. Air Force also added wins against Colorado (73-31), Long Beach State (71-33) and Northern Colorado (88-16), while falling to Colorado State by a narrow 56-51 margin. The women defeated Colorado (72-41), Long Beach State (78-35) and Northern Colorado (68-48), while falling to conference foes Colorado State (68-49) and Wyoming (71-45).
Air Force heads back out on the road next weekend (Feb. 3-5), when it travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for the New Mexico Classic and Combined Events. The Falcons' multi-event athletes will participate in their first combined meet of the season of Feb. 3-4, while the rest of the squad will compete on Feb. 4-5. This meet will give Air Force athletes their first chance to compete at the ABQ Convention Center - the site of the 2011 Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Players Mentioned
