Ralph Lindeman, Air Force Honored by Mountain West
2/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 29, 2016
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Air Force track and field team accounted for 15 all-conference selections at the recent 2016 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships, the league office announced today (Feb. 29). By finishing within the top three of their respective, 12 individuals and two relays earned all-MW distinction.
In addition to the all-conference selections, head coach Ralph Lindeman was named the Mountain West Men's Indoor Coach of the Year. It is the sixth MW indoor award for Lindeman, who also was voted as the league's top coach following the 2001, 2004, 2008, 2011 and 2012 seasons.
The men, who used a thrilling one-point decision over Utah State (142-141) to earn the second MW Indoor title in program history, accounted for 13 total all-conference awards – the most of any team in the conference.
Air Force claimed two of the three all-MW honors in the pole vault and high jump. Senior Dylan Bell and junior Kyle Pater went one-two in the pole vault, marking the fifth-straight year that Air Force has claimed multiple medalist finishes in that event. Junior Taylor Smith claimed his first indoor high jump title and sophomore John Reynolds finished third, as the Falcons claimed two all-MW awards for the second straight year.
Like Bell and Smith, senior Patrick Corona (3000-meter run) and sophomore Jamiel Trimble (60-meter hurdles) earned all-conference recognition after earning MW titles in their respective events. Corona is the first all-league runner at 3000 meters since 2013, while Trimble claimed all-MW in the hurdles for the second straight year. Trimble earned an additional all-conference honor in the 200-meter dash, after finishing second – a placement that brought his career indoor all-MW award total to four.
The men earned four more all-MW accolades, as sophomore Brooks Hardy finished second in the weight throw and junior Matt Dorsey (mile), classmate Kyle Eller (5000-meter run) and senior Grant Hamilton (shot put) all finished third in their respective events.
In addition to their individual honors, Corona, Dorsey and Trimble also competed on one of Air Force's two all-MW relays. Joined by freshmen Jacob Bilvado and Sedacy Walden, Dorsey and Corona ran the final two legs of the distance medley relay that finished third, while Trimble and Walden joined junior Zach Johnson and sophomore Tyler Koss on the 4x400-meter relay that finished second and clinched the conference championship title for Air Force.
Seniors Hannah Everson and Angelea Ross represented the women's team on the all-Mountain West list for the 2016 championships. Everson captured the second all-MW award of her career, after winning the 3000-meter run, while Ross earned her first following a third-place finish in the triple jump. Everson is just the second Air Force runner to earn all-MW accolades at the 3000-meter distance, while Ross is the program's third medalist in the triple jump.
