Air Force Academy
MW Championships
Air Force Men Capture Mountain West Title
2/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 27, 2016
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- In a battle that came down to the very last event, the 21st-ranked Air Force men's track and field team captured the conference title at the 2016 Mountain West Indoor Championships, which concluded this afternoon (Feb. 27) in Albuquerque. In a definite case of "every point counts", the Falcons edged Utah State, 142-141, for the second MW indoor title in program history.
Backed by four individual champions (including three on Saturday) and at least one scoring finish in every event over the three-day meet, Air Force tallied 142 points to edge Utah State (141) and Colorado State (138) on the final event. New Mexico finished fourth with 101 points, while Wyoming and Boise State finished fifth (70) and sixth (64), respectively.
The men earned conference titles from senior Dylan Bell (pole vault), classmate Patrick Corona (3000-meter run) and sophomore Jamiel Trimble (60-meter hurdles), while senior Hannah Everson highlighted the women's meet with just the second conference title in a running event (3000-meter run).
Bell cleared 17'9" to win the pole vault, marking the fifth straight year that Air Force has earned a Mountain West title in that event. Bell, who was a perfect three-of-three on first attempt clearances en route to his second title in three years (2014), paced the Falcons to a sweep of the top-two placements in the pole vault. Junior Kyle Pater matched that height -- a personal-best -- to finish second and move into seventh on the Academy's all-time list.
On the infield straightaway of the Albuquerque Convention Center, Trimble earned his first conference title in the 60-meter hurdles. With a blistering time of 7.78, the sophomore bettered the field by 0.11 to become the program's first Mountain West champion in that event since 2004. Trimble, who won the 110-meter hurdles title and anchored the winning 4x100-meter relay at last year's outdoor championships, clocked the second-fastest time in Academy history and the third-fastest time in Mountain West history. Trimble was one of two Falcons' to earn a scoring finish in the hurdles, as senior Joey Wilkin clocked an 8.34 to place seventh.
The Falcons' third conference title came on the final individual race of the meet. After staying near the front of the lead pack for the majority of the 3000-meter run, Corona kicked his race into another gear for the final lap. Corona, the outdoor champion at 5000 meters, clocked a winning time of 8:19.26 -- the fourth-fastest time in Mountain West Championship Meet history -- to earn the Falcons' first 3000-meter title in four years. Corona was joined on the awards podium by junior Kyle Eller, who finished sixth with a time of 8:27.70.
In addition to his title in the hurdles, Trimble added a runner-up finish in the 200-meter dash with an Academy record-setting time of 20.83. Trimble, who easily broke his previous program standard of 21.03, also made his second addition to the day in the conference record book, as that time is ranked third on the Mountain West's all-time and championship meet lists.
Finishing fourth in the meet's two fastest events, junior Zach Johnson impacted the Academy's all-time standings in both. Johnson clocked the fourth-fastest 200-meter time in Air Force history (21.25) to help AIR Force to half of the top-four placements in that event, while matching the fifth-fastest 60-meter time in program history (6.79) and pace the Falcons to a pair of scoring finishes. Sophomore Robbie Anderson joined Johnson on the 60-meter dash podium, as he clocked a time of 7.08 to finish eighth.
Senior Grant Hamilton and junior Darby Maier posted a pair of top-four finishes in the shot put. Hamilton earned a medalist finish for the third-straight year in that event, as he registered a distance of 57'4¾" to take third, while Maier matched his season-best throw of 57'3" to take fourth.
Air Force earned a medalist finish in the mile from junior Matt Dorsey, who finished third with a time of 4:12.30, while sophomore Tyler Koss and senior Grant Caswell accounted for top-six finishes on the track. Koss registered the eighth-fastest 400-meter time in Academy history (47.87) to finish fifth, while Caswell placed sixth in the 800-meter run following a time of 1:53.01.
Sophomore John Reynolds, who finished third in the high jump and scored in the long jump yesterday, collected a fourth-place distance of 50'0" in the triple jump today. It is the third time this season that Reynolds has reached the 50-foot mark this season.
The men's final event -- the 4x400-meter relay -- was a literally a "winner-take-all" race, as Air Force (134) held a one-point lead over Colorado State (133) and a three-point lead over Utah State (131). The quartet of Trimble, freshman Sedacy Walden, Johnson and Koss combined for a time of 3:11.78 -- the third-fastest time in Academy history -- to finish second and secure the team title.
It is the fourth Mountain West title for the men's track and field team (2012 indoor, 2012 outdoor, 2013 outdoor, 2016 indoor) and the second this year for members of the distance squad, who claimed the men's cross country title in November. Overall, the Falcons' track, field and cross country teams have accounted for six of the Academy's seven MW titles.
With the second-fastest 3000-meter time in MW Championship Meet history -- 9:32.79 -- Everson claimed just the second indoor title in a running event in Academy history. When converted for the altitude of Albuquerque, her time of 9:18.68 shattered her own program record, deleting nearly 20 seconds off of the mark she initially set last year. She also crushed the program's Senior Class Record that had stood since 1991.
Air Force earned additional medalist honors from senior Angelea Ross, who recorded a distance of 39'10¾" to finish third in the triple jump.
Everson wasn't the only Falcon to impact the program's all-time standings at the 3000-meter distance today, as junior Lindy Long clocked an altitude-converted time o 9:51.26 -- the seventh-fastest time in Academy history.
The women scored 30.50 points to finish 10th in the overall standings. Colorado State won the 2016 team title with 115 points, while San Diego State finished second with 105. Boise State (71.50) and New Mexico (65) finished third and fourth, respectively, while just seven points separated Wyoming (59, fifth), UNLV (56, sixth) and Nevada (52, seventh). Fresno State (49), Utah State (33), Air Force and San Jose State (27) rounded out the team standings.
The indoor track and field season concludes on March 11-12, when some of the nation's top athletes travel to Birmingham, Ala., for the 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. The entries for the meet will be announced early next week.
Players Mentioned
