Falcons Collect Six First-Place Finishes at Wyoming

Feb. 18, 2011

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Highlighted by six first-place finishes, members of the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the Robert Shine Invitational in Laramie, Wyo., on Friday, Feb. 18. The meet, which served as a final tune-up before next week's conference championships, saw a combined 26 top-three finishes against athletes from Colorado State and Wyoming.

Air Force swept the men's and women's event titles of the pole vault and high jump, highlighted by sophomore Cale Simmons' career-best clearance of 17'2¾". With the sixth-best vault in Academy history, Simmons became the 12th Air Force vaulter to ever clear the 17-foot bar. On the women's side, junior Kimber Shealy won the pole vault for the third straight year, clearing a season-best 12'6¼".

Freshmen Tyler Jordan and Jamie Hart won their respective titles in the men's and women's high jump. Jordan cleared 6'7¾" to win the men's flight, while Hart posted a winning height of 5'4¼".

With first-place finishes on the track, classmates Daniel Bieber and David Ptacek paced a small contingent of Air Force runners at the Robert Shine Invitational. Bieber won the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.53, while Ptacek made his Air Force debut in the 200-meter dash with a winning time of 23.37. Ptacek and Bieber, who also placed third in the 200-meter dash (24.03), joined junior Max Lutton and freshman Brad Hackert to finish second in the 4x400-meter relay (3:34.98).

Four other Falcons accounted for top-three finishes on the track. Sophomore Drew Coleman finished second in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.48, while classmate Dontae Strickland placed third in 6.65. Freshman Shawn Dubbs clocked a 1200-meter time of 3:19.01 to place third in that race, while fellow freshman Heather Shepard, the only member of the women's team to run tonight, placed second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 1:05.78.

Back on the field, Air Force accounted for numerous top-three finishes.

Junior Tawny Lambuth finished second to Shealy in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 12'0¾", while freshman Paige Shirley and sophomore Bizzy Mellado tied for third with matching clearances of 11'6¼". On the men's side, Elliott Beski cleared the bar at 15'0" to take second.

Junior Paige Blackburn finished within the top three of both throwing events, placing second in the shot put (48'2") and third in the weight throw (54'7¼"). In addition, freshman Teresa Loya placed third in the shot put with a distance of 45'3¾". On the men's side, juniors Kyle Schwochow and Robert Drye placed second the shot put (55'5") and weight throw (61'0¾"), respectively, while classmate Sean Herbison finished third in the shot (career-best 53'7")

Air Force also earned three additional third-place finishes in the jumps. Freshman Daniel Dieudonne cleared 6'4" in the high jump to tie for third, while classmates Chris Keranen and Daniel Funk earned the same placement in the long jump (20'0¼") and triple jump (42'6"), respectively.

The Air Force track and field team heads to Albuquerque, N.M., next week (Feb. 24-26) for the 2011 Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. It will be the Falcons' second trip to the ABQ Convention Center this season, as they opening the month there at the New Mexico Classic.

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