Air Force Heads to Mountain West Championships
10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Championship season begins this week for the Air Force cross country program, as the squad heads to the 2015 Mountain West Cross Country Championships. The Falcons' lineup, which features the 26th-ranked men's team, will face their conference counterparts in Reno, Nev., on Friday, Oct. 30.
Meet Notes 05: at Mountain West Cross Country Championships 
MW Championship Central
MW CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
The Mountain West Cross Country Championships will take place on Friday, Oct 30, at the Montrêux Golf Club in Reno, Nevada. The men will kick off the championships with an 8K race at 10:00 a.m. (PT), while the women will follow with a 6K race at 10:45 a.m.
IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE MEET
A live video stream of the meet will be available through the Championship Central Page at theMW.com.
WHO TO WATCH | THE AIR FORCE LINEUP
Air Force will send nine men -- Jacob Bilvado, Dan Caddigan, Patrick Corona, Matt Dorsey, Kyle Eller, Jason Engel, Andrew Johnston, Andrew Milliron, Daniel Shellhouse -- and nine women -- Katie Burnham, Shanna Burns, Hannah Everson, Carina Gillespie, Lindy Long, Anna Olesinski, Samantha Skold, Jaci Smith, Giulianna Vessa -- to the Mountain West Cross Country Championships.
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE
The Mountain West Championship will feature eight men's teams and 11 women's programs, including six that are listed in the USTFCCCA national rankings. The men's lineup includes 16th-ranked Boise State, 26th-ranked Air Force and 30th-ranked Colorado State, as well as six-time defending champion New Mexico, which is receiving votes in the weekly poll, Fresno State, San Jose State, Utah State and Wyoming. The women's field, which features the nation's unanimous No. 1 in New Mexico, winners of the last seven conference titles, and ninth-ranked Boise State, also includes Air Force, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming.
HISTORY 101
Highlighted by a conference title in 2003 and eight runner-up finishes, the men have finished within the top three of the Mountain West Championships during 15 of the last 16 seasons. The women, backed by five top-three finishes, have placed within the top half of the field 11 times in the last 16 years.
HISTORY 201
Since the Mountain West was formed in 1999, Air Force has seen 29 men combined for 50 all-conference selections, including one champion and 16 with first-team distinction (19 occasions). Isaiah Bragg became the program's first Mountain West champion with a victory in 2013, while Ben Payne is the Falcons' most decorated honoree with all-MW distinction all four years. On the women's side, eight Falcons have earned all-conference awards, with Hannah Everson, the program's only first-team honoree, and Melissa Fuerst claiming all-MW honors multiple times.
LAST YEAR AT THE MW CHAMPIONSHIPS
Backed by the then-fastest 8K time in Academy history, Patrick Corona finished second at the 2014 conference championships (23:41.50), as the men earned a runner-up finish in the team standings. All five of the men's scoring runners finished within the top 25, while Corona and Riley Coates (seventh) captured first-team all-MW honors. On the women's side, Hannah Everson clocked a then-DI record in the 6K (20:47.90) to capture first-team all-conference honors (seventh) and pace the women to a fifth-place finish in the team standings.
THE NEXT COURSE
Air Force continues the championship portion of its season on Friday, Nov. 13, when it travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for the NCAA Mountain Region Championships at UNM North Golf Course.
Players Mentioned
