Falcons Head to Mountain West Championships
2/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 23, 2016
The indoor championship season gets underway for the Air Force track and field team this week, when it travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for the 2016 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships. The three-day meet, which will be held at the ABQ Convention Center, begins on Thursday, Feb. 25, and continues through Saturday, Feb. 27.
Meet Notes 09: at Mountain West Indoor Championships 
MEET INFORMATION
The Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held at the ABQ Convention Center in downtown Albuquerque. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for students (with ID) and youth during each full day of competition (Thursday is free). For fans unable to attend the meet, real-time results will be available through the conference's Championship Central page at theMW.com. Live video of the running events on Friday and Saturday will also be available via the Mountain West Network. A direct link to the Championship Central page can be found on the Falcons' schedule.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
The women's pentathlon and first four events of the men's heptathlon get underway at 11:00 a.m., on Thursday, while the distance medley relay championships are slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. Friday's competition starts with the conclusion of the heptathlon at 11:00 a.m., while individual events begin at 12:30 p.m. (field) and 1:30 (track). Saturday begins on the field at 10:00 a.m., while the running events get underway at noon. A complete schedule of events is located on page two of this release.
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
The Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships will feature 11 women's teams (Air Force, #19 Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, #23 New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming) and the men's team's from #21 Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming.
HISTORY 101
Since the formation of the Mountain West Conference, Air Force has been atop the indoor medal podium on 46 occasions and earned 173 all-conference selections. Air Force captured the men's indoor team title in 2012 – marking the program's first conference championship. Former standouts Sean Houseworth, Travis Picou, Justin Tyner and Joey Uhle are the Academy's most decorated indoor champions, as each claimed three titles during their career. Tyner holds the MW Meet Record in the 5000-meter run, as he clocked a winning time of 14:13.33 in 2011.
CONFERENCE SNAPSHOT
Air Force holds the top two clearances in the men's pole vault (Dylan Bell, 18'2¾"; Kyle Pater, 17'0¾"), as well as multiple top-five marks in the men's 200-meter dash (Jamiel Trimble, 21.03; Zach Johnson, 21.41), mile (Patrick Corona, 3:59.77a; Matt Dorsey, 4:00.30), shot put (Grant Hamilton, 59'6¼", Darby Maier, 57'3") and weight throw (Spencer Baldwin, 60'9½"; Brooks Hardy, 59'2¾"). In addition to Bell's Mountain West lead in the pole vault, the Falcons also feature the conference leaders in the 3000-meter run (Corona, 7:50.60), distance medley relay (9:32.19) and high jump (Taylor Smith, 7'2¼").
LOOKING AT THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE
Three Falcons are currently listed in the nation's top 10, including Dylan Bell, who posted the nation's third-best pole vault clearance during an 18'2¾" performance at the Air Force Team Challenge. Taylor Smith is ranked eighth in the high jump following a 7'2¼" clearance at the Tyson Invitational, while Patrick Corona is ranked ninth in the 3000-meter run after clocking in at 7:50.60 at the Husky Classic. The Falcons have two additional top-20 placements in the national standings, as Hannah Everson is ranked sixth in the 5000-meter run (15:54.64, Husky Classic) and the men's distance medley relay team of Corona, Grant Caswell, Matt Dorsey and Tyler Koss are ranked 17th in that event (9:32.19, Alex Wilson Invitational).
FALCONS MOVE TO 21ST IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
The men continued to climb up the national standings this week, as they moved up to No. 21 in the USTFCCCA National Rankings on Feb. 22. The Falcons, the only top-25 men's team in the Mountain West, are one of only three teams outside of the "Power 5" conferences to hold a national ranking.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
The women moved up two spots to 84th in the USTFCCCA Rankings on Feb. 22 – the program's highest placement since 2010.
WHAT'S ON DECK
The indoor season comes to a close on March 11-12, when the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships are held in Birmingham, Alabama.
