Air Force Academy
Christiansen Invite
Vertical Jumpers Shine at Jack Christiansen Invitational
4/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
April 23, 2011
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Highlighted by strong performances from the vertical jumpers, the Air Force track and field team wrapped up a strong day of competition at the Jack Christiansen Invitational on Saturday, Apr. 23, in Fort Collins, Colo. The Falcons accounted for six all-incursions into the all-time standings of the high jump and pole vault, while collecting seven first-place finishes.
Sophomore Zach Wood became the first Air Force high jumper to impact the program's top 10 since 1998, as he won his signature event with a career-best 6'10¼". With his event title, Wood paced Air Force to the top two placements in the high jump, as classmate Travis Smith recorded a personal-best 6'6¼" to finish second.
Fellow sophomore Cale Simmons became the eighth pole vaulter in program history to clear the 17-foot bar in the outdoor event, as he won the men's meet with a clearance of 17'7¾". Simmons, who improved his career clearance by nearly one foot, moved into fourth on the program's all-time list. Rob Simmons joined his twin brother on the program's all-time list, as he finished second with a career-best 16'8" and debuted in 10th in the program standings.
On the women's side, junior Tawny Lambuth and Kimber Shealy cleared matching career-best marks of 12'10" to move into a tie for second on the all-time list. Lambuth, who finished second based on attempts, improved her overall clearance by four inches, while Shealy's third-place finish was an improved by a half inch.
Freshman Regan Rogers matched her career-best high jump clearance of 5'6" to finish as the top collegiate jumper and remain in third on the Academy's all-time list.
The Falcons received several other top finishes in those two events. Lambuth and Shealy paced the Falcons to four of the top five finishes in the women's pole vault, as senior Melissa Beerse placed fourth with a season-best height of 12'4" and sophomore Bizzy Mellado took fifth with a mark of 11'10". The Simmons twins led Air Force to a sweep of the top-three finishes, as sophomore Chase Cooper cleared 16'2" to finish third.
Several other incursions were made to the program's top-10 list today, including two in the shot put. Junior Paige Blackburn improved her third-place standing on the women's all-time list for the shot put, as she won the event with a career-best 48'0". Classmate Sean Herbison debuted in sixth on the men's list, as he finished second with a personal-best throw of 54'6". On the track, the women's 4x400-meter relay team of junior Rachel Thomas, sophomore Bethany Gross, junior Emily Cotharn and sophomore Morgan Mosby recorded the fifth-fastest time in program history (3:52.66) to win their race.
The Falcons received four additional first-place finishes. On the track, the men's 4x400-meter relay team of junior Manny Smith, senior Chris Severino, freshman Cory Engel and sophomore Anthony Delgado claimed a first-place time of 3:11.22, while sophomore Matt Bell won the 5000-meter run with a time of 15:00.59. Freshman Tim Urista won the javelin throw with a distance of 189'11", while classmate Kassie Gurnell won the triple jump with a mark of 39'11½".
Air Force collected three of the top-four finishes in the 5000-meter run, as Bell paced freshman Isaiah Bragg and sophomore Andrew Quallio to respective third (15:07.69) and fourth-place (15:22.10) finishes. The Falcons also claimed two of the top three spots in the 4x400-meter relay, as the team of freshmen David Ptacek and Michael Craig, senior Matt Jones and junior Bryce Bergman finished third in 3:15.27. Urista was one of two Falcons to place within the top four, as classmate Blake Moorhead threw a fourth-place distance of 160'2".
In addition to her event title in the shot put, Blackburn finished second - and was the top collegiate finisher - in the javelin throw with a season-best toss of 142'8", while placing third in the discus throw with a mark of 155'9". Gross, who ran the second leg of the winning 4x400-meter relay, placed second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.64. Cotharn, who ran the third leg of that relay, also placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles, with a time of 62:58.
On the men's side, Engel placed third in both the 110-meter (14.70) and 400-meter (54.07) hurdles, while Bergman finished second in the 400-meter hurdles (53.41).
The Falcons claimed several additional finishes among the top five of their respective events. Senior Tyler Stanley and junior Nick White finished third (1:51.74) and fourth (1:52.57), respectively, in the men's 800-meter race, while freshman Tasha Mayne (2:19.76) and sophomore Melissa Fuerst (2:21.64) claimed the same finishes in the women's race at that distance.
Freshman Carley Gross was the runner-up in the 5000-meter run with a career-best time of 18:52.15, while sophomore Uzor Udensi finished fifth in the 100-meter dash with a personal-best time of 11.02.
Air Force splits up next weekend for a pair of competitions. The majority of the team will travel to Laramie, Wyo., for the annual Front Range Classic on Apr. 30, while select members will head to Des Moines, Iowa, for the 102nd Drake Relays on Apr. 28-30.
Players Mentioned
