Air Force Academy
MW Championships
Taylor Smith Wins Mountain West High Jump Title
2/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 26, 2016
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- With an Academy and Mountain West-record high jump, Air Force junior Taylor Smith captured the conference title as the Falcons' track and field team wrapped up the second day of action at the Mountain West Indoor Championships this evening (Feb. 26) in Albuquerque.
Smith won his first indoor high jump title -- and his third overall -- after clearing a career-best 7'2½". That mark, which improved his own Air Force record, equaled the both the Mountain West's all-time and Championship Meet records. The only jumper to surpass seven feet, Smith cleared the opening attempt on six of his first seven bars. He is just the second Falcon to ever win a MW title in the indoor high jump.
The Falcons claimed two of the top-three finishes in the high jump, as John Reynolds cleared a career-best 6'9¾" to finish place third. The sophomore cleared his opening attempt during each of the first four heights, going six-of-seven overall en route to his career-best height.
Reynolds scored additional points for the Falcons in the long jump, as he finished seventh with a distance of 22'9" -- a mark just three quarters of an inch shy of his career best.
Like the high jump, Air Force claimed multiple scoring finishes in the weight throw. Sophomore Brooks Hardy used a career-best distance of 60'7¼" -- the sixth-best throw in Academy history -- to finish second, while junior Darby Maier finished seventh with a throw of 56'6". Hardy, just the eighth thrower in Air Force history to surpass the 60-foot mark, is just the third Falcon to medal in that event.
Junior Kyle Eller earned a third-place finish in the 5000-meter run, as he crossed the finish line in a time of 14:44.26.
Sophomores Calvin Berstler and Tyler Berson concluded competition in the heptathlon today, collecting career-best totals to finish seventh (4910) and eighth (4754), respectively. Berstler added nearly 100 points to his previous best total to improve his No. 9 standing on the Academy's all-time list, while Berson bettered his previous high by more than 400 points.
Berstler finished seventh in both the pole vault (12'11½") and 1000-meter run (2:51.16), while taking eighth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.69). Berson's best finish came in the pole vault, as he added nearly one foot to his previous mark to finish second with a clearance of 14'3¼". He also finished fifth in the 1000-meter run (2:44.17) and ninth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.87).
At the conclusion of the second day, the 21st-ranked men are in second with 43 points. Colorado State currently leads the field with 69 points, while Air Force and New Mexico (41) round out the top three. Wyoming is in fourth with 34 points, while Utah State and Boise State are ranked fifth (29) and sixth (15), respectively.
The women received points in the pole vault from freshman Kathryn Tomczak and senior Riley Vann, who both finished within the top six of that event. Tomczak finished fourth with a clearance of 12'9½", while Vann tied for sixth with a height of 12'5½".
After six events, the women are in sixth with 14.50 points. Colorado State leads the field with 46 points, while Boise State is second with 41.50. San Diego State and Wyoming are tied for third with 32 points apiece, while Nevada rounds out the top five with 21 points. San Jose State is just a half-point behind the Falcons in seventh, while Utah State (10, eighth), Fresno State (eight, 10th) and UNLV (five, 11th) complete the women's standings after day two.
In addition to the championship events, several qualifying races were contested.
Sophomore Jamiel Trimble was the top finisher in the 60-meter hurdles, posting a time of 7.94, while senior Joey Wilkin finished eighth in 8.35 to earn a second Air Force spot in the finals. Trimble added a runner-up finish in the qualifying of the 200-meter dash (21.09), while junior Zach Johnson clocked the fifth-fastest time in Academy history (21.39) to finish fifth and earn a spot in the finals. Like Trimble, Johnson qualified in a pair of events, as he finished fourth (6.80 -- a time that equals the program's sixth-fastest time) in the 60-meter dash. Sophomore Robbie Anderson finished eighth in that event (6.91) to earn a spot in the finals.
Posting the eighth-fastest time in Academy history (48.00), sophomore Tyler Koss advanced to the finals of the 400-meter dash with a fourth-place finish in the qualifying round. Senior Grant Caswell added an advancing finish for the Falcons in the 800-meter run, as he placed eighth in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:52.70.
On the women's side, sophomores Carina Gillespie and Giulianna Vessa advanced in the mile, as Gillespie finished third with a time of 4:55.37 and Vessa took ninth in 5:02.59. Gillespie, whose time was converted to 4:48.94 for altitude, crushed the Academy's Sophomore Class Record in that event, as she took more than five seconds off of the previous time that had remained unchanged for the last decade.
During the qualifying round, freshman Kaliyah Gorman debuted in fifth on the program's all-time list in the 400-meter run, behind a career-best time of 57.25.
Air Force concludes action at the 2016 Mountain West Indoor Championships tomorrow (Feb. 26).
Players Mentioned
