Falcons Split for Three Weekend Meets
2/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 10, 2016
The Air Force track and field team heads out on the road this weekend for three separate competitions. While select members of the team will compete at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., over the Feb. 12-13 weekend, the rest of the squad will travel to Alamosa, Colo., for the Adams State Qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 13.
Meet Notes 07: at Tyson Invitational, at Husky Classic, at Adams State Qualifier 
MEET INFORMATION: TYSON INVITATIONAL
The Tyson Invitational, which is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m., on Friday (Feb. 12) and 12:00 p.m., on Saturday (Feb. 13), will be held at the Randal Tyson Track Center. A total of 26 Division I teams will take part in the Tyson Invitational, including 17 programs that are ranked among the nation's top 25 (13 in the men's top 25, 15 in the women's top 25). Live results will be posted at www.FlashResults.com, while team highlights will be available on the Falcons' official Twitter account (@af_trackfield).
MEET INFORMATION: HUSKY CLASSIC
The Husky Classic, featuring runners from more than 70 programs, including 13 that are ranked, will be held at Dempsey Indoor and run from 4:00 p.m., on Friday (Feb. 12) through Saturday (Feb. 13). Live stats will be available through GoHuskies.com and Air Force highlights will be posted on the team's Twitter page (@af_trackfield).
MEET INFORMATION: ADAMS STATE QUALIFIER
The ASU Qualifier, which is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m., on Saturday, Feb. 13, will take place at the High Altitude Training Center on the campus of Adams State. Live stats will not be available for this meet.
LOOKING AT THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE
Two Falcons are currently listed in the nation's top 10, including Dylan Bell, who posted the nation's third-best clearance during an 18'2¾" performance at the Air Force Team Challenge. Taylor Smith is ranked ninth in the high jump after matching the Academy record of 7'1¾" at the New Mexico Team Invitational. The Falcons have two runners ranked among the nation's top 25, with Patrick Corona and Jamiel Trimble listed in the mile (16th, 3:59.77a) and 200-meter dash (22nd, 21.03), respectively.
BELL CLAIMS SECOND MOUNTAIN WEST AWARD OF THE SEASON
After becoming just the second NCAA vaulter to break the 18-foot bar in competition this season, Dylan Bell was named the Mountain West Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week on Feb. 9. The senior cleared an Academy-best clearance of 18'2¾" to win the Air Force Team Invitational, break the former Meet Record and move into second on the Mountain West's all-time list. It is the second MW award of the season for Bell, who also earned the award after the season-opening Air Force Holiday Open.
DID YOU KNOW?
Dylan Bell was named the Mountain West Athlete of the Week for the sixth time in his career on Feb. 9, breaking the previous record of five that he had shared with current teammate Patrick Corona and former vaulters Cale Simmons and Joey Uhle. Bell, who has claimed all six awards during the indoor season, earned one during each of his first two seasons, before claiming back-to-back honors as a junior and another pair this year.
AIR POWER
Recording the second-highest pole vault clearance in Mountain West history (18'2¾") on Feb. 5, Dylan Bell joined a list that is dotted with Academy vaulters. With the addition of Bell, Air Force vaulters have now accounted for five of the seven-highest clearances in conference history.
SPIRES MATCHES AIR FORCE HIGH JUMP RECORD
With a career-best high jump clearance of 5'10½", Shelley Spires matched the Academy's high jump mark to win the Air Force Team Challenge. Bettering the field by more than two inches, Spires equaled that program record that Rachel Herald had initially set in 2014 and added nearly an inch to the program's Sophomore Class Record that had stood since 1996.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
Hannah Everson debuted on the program's all-time standings in the mile on Feb. 5, using a time of 4:53.91 (adjusted for altitude) to clock the eighth-fastest time in Academy history. In just her second mile race since her sophomore year, Everson clocked an actual time of 5:05.45 to win the event by nearly seven seconds.
AIR FORCE ADDS THREE TO OFFICIALS HALL OF HONOR
Three longtime competitions officials – Lee Richards, Wendy Richards, Rich Schornstein – were inducted into the Air Force Track and Field Officials' Hall of Honor on Feb. 5, during the Air Force Team Challenge.
WHAT'S ON DECK
Air Force heads to Laramie, Wyo., for the annual Rocky Mountain Classic on Friday, Feb. 19. The meet will serve as the Falcons' final tune-up before the 2016 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will take place on Feb. 25-27 in Albuquerque.
