Air Force Academy
Pre-Nationals
Riley Coates, Lindy Long Pace Falcons at Pre-Nationals
10/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Senior Riley Coates and sophomore Lindy Long paced the Air Force cross country team to top-20 finishes at the prestigious Pre-Nationals Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Oct. 18. The men placed 18th out of 46 teams in the Blue Race, while the women took 17th in the 33-team White Race.
In the first 8K race of the season for all but one member of the men's Blue lineup, Coates crossed the finish line in a time of 25:05.3 to take 51st in a field of 310 runners. Junior Patrick Corona finished 67th in a time of 25:14.8, while senior Zach Perkins added a 97th-place time of 25:25.6. Junior Dan Caddigan and sophomore Kyle Eller rounded out the squad's scoring finishers, as they finished 137th (25:41.6) and 168th (25:55.5), respectively.
The men tallied 520 points to tie with Iowa for 18th in the 46-team Blue Race standings. With their finish, the Falcons earned a victory over one nationally-ranked team in No. 21 Southern Utah, who finished 34th (809). Top-ranked Colorado placed all five scoring runners in the top 12 to win the Blue Race with just 35 points, while No. 2 Oregon captured 91 points to finish second and Georgetown placed third with 148 points.
Freshman Andrew Johnston and junior Daniel Shellhouse also competed in the race, finishing 183rd (career-best 26:01.3) and 209th (26:12.6), respectively.
"The men struggled today with managing the field size," head coach Ryan Cole said. "We got buried off the line and moved up throughout the race, but we're still trying to find our stride in executing our group race plan. I'm confident that with our upperclassmen leadership, the group will position better at the Mountain West meet and have a better team outcome."
Long was the Falcons' top finisher in the women's 6K White Race, clocking a season-best time of 22:30.3 to finish 32nd in the 214-runner field. Freshman Nicole Hahn and senior Rebecca Esselstein also finished within the top 75, as Hahn finished 53rd in her first 6K race (22:55.5) and Esselstein placed 74th with a season-best time of 23:10.8. Freshman Carina Gillespie clocked a career-best time of 23:45.9 to finish 126th, while junior Anna Olesinski rounded out the Falcons' scoring finishers by recording a time of 24:08.0 (150th) in her first race of the season.
The women accounted for 428 points to finish 17th in the 33-team White Race. Washington State captured the team title with 143 points, while Southern Illinois and Iowa finished second (182) and third (246), respectively.
Freshman Katie Burnham also competed in the White Race, posting a time of 25:08.4 to finish 189th.
"The girls who raced today competed hard and took some steps in their individual development," Cole continued. "We were without a few of our key team members and look forward to having our full squad at the Mountain West Championships."
In addition, two sophomores competed in the men's Open Race at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. In his first 8K race of the season, Matt Dorsey finished fifth in the 97-runner field, clocking a time of 25:51.2, while Jason Engel added a season-best time of 26:11.1 to finish 13th.
The Falcons are off from competition until Friday, Oct. 31, when they travel to Fresno, Calif., for the 2014 Mountain West Cross Country Championships. The race, which will be held at Woodward Park, is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. (PT).
Results: Men's Blue Race 
| Results: Women's White Race | Results: Men's Open Race
Players Mentioned
