Air Force Academy
Air Force Holiday Open
Four Academy Records Fall in Season Opener
12/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
Dec. 9, 2016
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. -- Highlighted by four Academy records and nine first-place finishes, the Air Force track and field team kicked off the 2016-17 season this evening (Dec. 9) at its annual Holiday Open. In addition to the four program standards, the Falcons also impacted the program's all-time standings in two other events.
Senior Zach Johnson headlined Air Force's record-breaking night at the Cadet Field House, as he reset a pair of program standards. Clocking a time of 6.73 to finish first out of 45 runners in the 60-meter dash, Johnson broke a program standard that had stood since 2007 and knocked 0.03 seconds off of a Senior Class Record that had stood since 1988. Johnson capped his night running the 300-meter dash in 34.37 -- a time that deleted nearly a half-second from the previous 2013 mark.
Air Force accounted for another school record on the track, as junior Tyler Koss broke his own Academy record in the 500-meter dash. Clocking a time 1:04.23 to win the 12-runner event, Koss improved his two-year-old standard by one second.
Like Koss, junior Shelley Spires also improved her own Academy record in an event, as she won the high jump with a career-best clearance of 5'11¼". Adding three-quarters of an inch to her previous best mark, Spires took over sole possession of the program's all-time standard and added more than three inches to a Junior Class Record that had remained unchanged since 1986.
The Academy record book also received an additional pair of upgrades from sophomore Kathryn Tomczak and senior Malachi Sparling, who impacted the all-time standings in their signature events. Tomczak, who became the first freshman in Air Force history to clear 13 feet in the pole vault last winter, improved her No. 3 placement on the program's all-time list with a winning clearance of 13'5¼" this evening. With a winning toss of 60'5" in the weight throw, Sparling debuted in seventh on the program's all-time standings -- and became just the ninth Air Force thrower to break the 60-foot barrier.
In addition to impacting the program's all-time standings, Johnson, Koss, Spires and Sparling also paced the Falcons to multiple top-five finishes in their respective events.
Johnson led Air Force to three of the top-five finishes in both the 60-meter and 300-meter races. Sophomore Miguel Molas clocked a career-best time of 6.85 -- a mark just shy of the program's top-10 -- to finish second in the 60-meter hurdles, while classmate Reece Pontious finished fifth behind a personal-best time of 6.97. Pontious added a third-place finish in the 300-meter dash (debut of 34.61), while senior Cody Ray posted a career-best time of 36.15 to finish fifth.
Koss was one of three Falcons to better the previous record that he set two years ago, as sophomore Brandon Sanders finished second in 1:04.34 and junior Chip White place third in 1:04.84.
Senior Alexa Chacon and freshman Heidi Borgerding finished third (5'3") and fifth (5'1"), respectively, behind Spires in the high jump, while Sparling paced senior Reed McGuire (second, 53'7½"), junior Jackson Spalding (third, 46'1¼") and freshman Victor Osinloye (fourth (40'10¼") in the weight throw.
Air Force earned four additional event titles on the night. Freshmen Anthony Davis and Connor Stevens finished first in the triple jump (43'10½") and pole vault (15'7"), respectively, while sophomore Sam Hinegardner won the high jump with a career-best matching clearance of 6'6 ¾" and senior Darby Maier rounded out the list of first-place finishers for Air Force, as he won the shot put with a throw of 57'4¼".
Hinegardner added a third-place finish in the pole vault (career-best matching 15'1"), while Davis finished fifth in the long jump (19'4¾"). The Falcons claimed three of the top five spots in the pole vault, as sophomore Walker Newell took second with a personal-best 15'1" and freshman Logan Grizzle finished fifth with a debut of 14'7¼". Junior Calvin Berstler finished second to Hinegardner in the high jump (career-best 6'4¾") and freshman Jacob Fields joined Davis in the top-five of the horizontal jumps, as he finished second in the triple jump (42'5¼") and third in the long jump (20'6½").
Air Force added three of the top-five times in the 60-meter hurdles, as Newell (8.45), Berstler (8.47) and sophomore David Collins (8.58) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in that event. Junior Jackson Spalding (second, 52'10"), sophomore Logan Feasline (third, 52'0") and classmate Garrett Coalson (fourth, 51'0¾") all registered career-best marks in the shot put, while freshman Riley Finnegan rounded out the Falcons' list of top-five finishers with a debut toss of 43'2".
On the women's side, Air Force earned top-three finishes in the triple jump from freshman Lucy Zimmerman (second, 36'7½") and sophomore Andrea Abel (36'5"), while sophomores Aryn Maxwell and Kaliyah Gorman finished fourth (1:16.64) and fifth (1:16.82), respectively, in the 500-meter dash. Senior Cydnee Reese rounded out the Falcons' top-five finishers, as she recorded a throw of 51'11¼" to finish fourth in the weight throw.
The Falcons are off from competition until Saturday, Jan. 14, when they travel to Boulder, Colo., for the Potts Invitational.
Players Mentioned
