Air Force Academy
MW Championships
Falcons Open Action at MW Championships
2/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
Feb. 25, 2016
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Highlighted by a pair of No. 2 marks on the Academy's all-time list, the Air Force track and field team opened competition at the 2016 Mountain West Indoor Championships this afternoon (Feb. 25) in Albuquerque, N.M.
Alexa Chacon registered the second-highest pentathlon total in Academy history -- 3582 points -- to set a new Junior Class Record and finish seventh out of 17 competitors. Chacon, whose score was just four points shy of the program's all-time record, added more than 150 points to the Junior Class Record that had stood since 2012.
Chacon claimed three top-five marks on the day, highlighted by a third-place time of 2:22.39 in the 800-meter run. The junior also finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (season-best 8.90) and fifth in the high jump (career-best 5'3¾"), while rounding out her pentathlon with season-best marks in the long jump (17'2¾", 11th) and shot put (5'3¾", 14th).
In the first final of the women's championship meet, the distance medley relay of sophomore Carina Gillespie, freshman Kaliyah Gorman, sophomore Giulianna Vessa and senior Hannah Everson finished fourth with a time of 11:36.60. When converted for the altitude of Albuquerque, that quartet clocked the second-fastest time in Academy history (11:26.06a) and were one of five teams to break the old MW Championship Meet record (11:37.96).
After two events, the women are currently in fifth with seven points. Colorado State leads the field after the opening day (13 points), while Nevada (11), Boise State (10) and Fresno State (8) join Air Force in the top five. Wyoming, San Jose State and New Mexico are all tied for sixth with six points, while UNLV is 10th with four points and Utah State is 11th with two points.
The 21st-ranked men claimed their first top-three finish of the meet in the meet's initial championship final, as the distance medley relay of freshman Jacob Bilvado, classmate Sedacy Walden, junior Matt Dorsey and senior Patrick Corona combined to finish third with time of 9:51.90.
With one event scored, the men are in third with six points. Utah State has the early lead (10 points), while Boise State is in second with eight points. Colorado State is in fourth with five points, while Wyoming (four) and New Mexico (three) rounded out the opening day field.
In addition to the three championship finals, the first four events of the heptathlon competition also took place today. Sophomore Calvin Berstler tallied 2,738 points to sit in fifth, while classmate Tyler Berson is 10th with 2,435 points.
Berstler's best finish of the day came in the high jump, where he registered a career-best clearance of 6'4" to finish second. He added sixth-place marks in the 60-meter dash (7.22) and long jump (20'10"), as well as a seventh-place distance of 35'1¾" in the shot put. Berson finished ninth in both the 60-meter dash (career-best 7.33) and shot put (34'2¼"), while placing 11th in the long jump (career-best 19'9¾") and high jump (career-best 5'7¾").
The Falcons continue action at the MW Indoor Championships tomorrow (Feb. 26) inside the Albuquerque Convention Center. Berstler and Berson conclude the heptathlon at 11:00 a.m., while individual events get underway at 12:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
