Air Force Academy
MW Championships
Grant Hamilton, Joey Uhle Claim Conference Titles on Final Day
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Junior Grant Hamilton (shot put) and senior Joey Uhle (pole vault) claimed conference titles this afternoon (Feb. 28), as the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the 2015 Mountain West Indoor Championships in Albuquerque. In addition to the two conference titles, three Academy records were set during the final day of action.
Hamilton broke his own Air Force standard in the shot put, en route to his first conference title. The junior, who was the event leader after the opening round of throws, tossed a career-best 60'4" on his first attempt of the finals to become the first Falcon to surpass the 60-foot mark in an indoor competition. Sophomore Darby Maier added a scoring finish in the shot put, as he finished fourth with a throw of 56'8½".
For the third straight year, Uhle claimed the Mountain West title in the pole vault, as he cleared 17'8½" to lead the Falcons to a sweep of medalist honors. Junior Dylan Bell finished second with a clearance of 17'0¾", while sophomores Kyle Pater and Tyler Ginger tied for third with matching heights of 16'0¾". With his third straight indoor title, Uhle tied with Sean Houseworth and Justin Tyner for the most indoor conference titles in program history.
Freshman Jamiel Trimble collected three medals during his first conference meet, as he picked up two individual medals and one as a member of the 4x400-meter relay team. The freshman, who clocked the program's third-fastest 200-meter time during yesterday's preliminary round, improved that today, as he finished third with a time of 21.19. That finish came just over an hour after he placed third in the 60-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 8.06. Trimble closed out the day anchoring the 4x400-meter relay that clocked the sixth-fastest time in Academy history (3:13.08). Classmate Tyler Koss and sophomore Garrett Newman followed Trimble on the relay, while senior Jake Spuller used a strong anchor leg to lead the Falcons to a second-place finish.
Air Force claimed two of the top-three finishes in the high jump, as sophomore Taylor Smith and senior Kobi Rex finished second (7'0¼") and third (6'11"), respectively. The Falcons also earned a scoring finish from freshman John Reynolds, who finished seventh with a clearance of 6'6¾". Reynolds also earned a top-eight finish in the triple jump, as he placed sixth with a distance of 48'8¾". Senior Kyle Gartrell joined Reynolds on the awards stand in the triple jump, finishing eighth with a mark of 47'5".
In addition to his leg of the mile, Koss added a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter dash (48.87). Sophomore Matt Dorsey earned the same placement in the mile after clocking a time of 4:12.88 and senior Riley Coates added a scoring finish in the 3000-meter run behind a career-best time of 8:27.45.
The men tallied 118 points to finish third in the team standings. New Mexico won the team title with 160 points, while Colorado State took second with 140. Utah State (111), Wyoming (70) and Boise State (57) rounded out the field of six teams.
Two Academy records highlighted the women's day, as the Falcons made four additions to the program's all-time standings.
Freshman Carina Gillespie set a new Academy record in the mile during a runner-up performance in her first championship final. Clocking a time of 4:50.50, Gillespie finished just a half-second behind the meet winner and broke the program's eight-year-old mark by over five seconds (4:44.17, adjusted for altitude).
Gillespie also helped with a major rewrite to the Academy's 3000-meter standings. Junior Hannah Everson, who broke the program's 5000-meter standard yesterday, shattered Air Force's all-time mark at 3000 meters today, while Gillespie accounted for the program's second-fastest time. Everson (9:51.64 actual) and Gillespie (9:53.83 actual) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the race, while Everson's altitude-converted time of 9:37.07 deleted nearly four seconds from the previous mark and Gillespie's adjusted time of 9:39.20 also bettered the previous standard to move into second on the all-time list.
The women also accounted for the seventh-fastest 4x400-meter time, as senior Erica Carson, sophomore Alexa Chacon, classmate Stephanie Robb and junior Naomi Alston combined for a relay time of 3:54.17.
In addition the scoring finishes that impacted the program record book, the women added another pair of top-eight marks. Junior Angelea Ross recorded a season-best distance of 39'6" to place sixth in the triple jump, while freshman Giulianna Vessa joined Gillespie on the award podium of the mile with a seventh-place time of 5:00.86.
The women tallied 33 points to finish 10th, although just two-and-a-half points separated them from eighth. The Lobos swept the conference title, as the 25th-ranked women tallied 149 points to win the team title. Colorado State finished second with 96 points, while San Diego State (81.50), UNLV (78) and Wyoming (52) rounded out the top five. Utah State finished sixth with 45 points and Boise State placed seventh with 40.50 points. Fresno State (eighth, 35.50), Nevada (ninth, 34.50) and Air Force (10th, 33) were separated by less than three points, while San Jose State rounded out the field with 11 points.
The indoor season comes to close over the March 13-14 weekend, as the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held in Fayetteville, Ark.
Players Mentioned
