Air Force Academy
Air Force Team Challenge
Two Academy Records Highlight AF Team Challenge
2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
Feb. 5, 2016
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Backed by two Academy records and one additional incursion into the program's top 10, the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the fifth-annual Air Force Team Challenge on Friday, Feb. 5, at the Cadet Field House. The men won the quadrangular that featured North Dakota State, South Dakota and Wichita State, while the women took fourth.
Senior Dylan Bell cleared an Academy-record of 18'2¾" to win the pole vault, while sophomore Shelley Spires matched the program's high jump standard of 5'10½" during a winning endeavor.
Bell, who entered the pole vault at 17'6½", won the competition after easily clearing his first attempt at that height. As the only jumper to clear that bar, the senior passed to 18'2¾", making the record-setting jump on his third attempt. In addition to breaking the Academy's one-year-old record, it also matched the NCAA lead for 2016 and is the second-best jump in Mountain West history.
Bell's record-setting vault came just hours after Spires matched the Air Force standard in the high jump. Clearing 5'10½" on her second attempt, the sophomore bettered the field by more than two inches. With that height, Spires matched the program record that was initially set in 2014 and broke the program's 20-year-old Sophomore Class Record.
Senior Hannah Everson also impacted the record book, as her altitude-adjusted time in the mile (4:53.91a) is the eighth-fastest time in Air Force history. In just her second mile race since her sophomore year, Everson clocked an actual time of 5:05.45 to win the event by nearly seven seconds.
With a season-best matching clearance of 17'0¾", junior Kyle Pater joined Bell in the top-two of the pole vault. That was one of four events that saw the men record a one-two finish.
Junior Zach Johnson and sophomore Robbie Anderson finished first (6.90) and second (6.98), respectively, in the 60-meter dash, while junior Matt Dorsey (1:53.22) and sophomore Zac Petrie (1:54.10) earned the same placements in the 800-meter run. Senior Patrick Corona and freshman Jacob Bilvado rounded out the Falcons' one-two scoring finishers, as Corona won the mile in 4:17.42 and Bilvado finished second in 4:19.47.
Johnson also helped Air Force to first-place honors in the mile relay, as he joined with freshman Sedacy Walden, sophomore Chip White and classmate Tyler Koss for a winning time of 3:18.99.
In addition to his runner-up finish in the 60-meter dash, Anderson also finished second in the 200-meter dash after clocking a time of 21.83. The sophomore paced the Falcons to a pair of top-four finishes in that event, as Koss finished fourth in 22.27. Walden and Koss recorded top-three placements in the 400-meter dash, as Walden finished second in 48.72 and Koss took third in 48.99.
Sophomore John Reynolds finished second in the triple jump with a distance of 48'6¼", while junior Taylor Smith finished third in his collegiate debut for that event with a mark of 46'4¾". Reynolds added a third-place finish in the long jump (22'9¾"), while Smith earned the same placement in the high jump (6'8¾"). Sophomore Jake LaCoste and freshman Sam Hinegardner also scored for the Falcons in those events, as LaCoste finished fourth in the long jump with a distance of 22'1¾" and Hinegardner earned a seventh-place finish in the high jump (6'2¾").
Senior Grant Hamilton paced Air Force's throwing contingent with a runner-up finish in the shot put (59'1¼"). Junior Darby Maier finished seventh in that event (55'3"), while senior Spencer Baldwin and sophomore Brooks Hardy finished sixth (59'1½") and ninth (56'0½"), respectively, in the weight throw.
Backed by event titles from Spires and Everson, the women accounted for 18 scoring finishes.
Sophomore Giulianna Vessa joined Everson in the top three of the mile, as she finished third with an actual time of 5:18.88. The women also accounted for multiple top-five finishes in the 800-meter run, as junior Stephanie Robb finished third with a time of 2:18.45 and freshman Tami Cardenas placed fifth with a time of 2:20.46.
Freshman Kaliyah Gorman picked up scoring finishes in multiple running events, as she finished sixth in the 400-meter dash (58.82) and ninth in the 200-meter dash (26.22). Classmate Aryn Maxwell joined Gorman among scoring finishers of the 400-meter dash (1:00.92, 11th), while junior Alexa Chacon added a scoring finish in the 200-meter dash (26.92, 12th).
From the field, senior Angelea Ross finished second in the triple jump with a distance of 39'10½", while freshman Andrea Abel placed ninth with a mark of 36'5½". Abel also scored in the long jump (10th, 17'1¼") and Chacon added a distance of 16'3¾" to finish 12th. Freshman Kathryn Tomczak cleared 12'3½" to finish eighth in the pole vault, while senior Riley Vann finished 12th with a height of 11'11¾". Juniors Cydnee Reese and Ashley Morgan rounded out the Falcons' scorers, as they finished 10th (50'11") and 11th (46'2½"), respectively, in the weight throw.
The men won the Air Force Team Challenge with 149 points, while Wichita State (second, 133), North Dakota State (third, 109) and South Dakota (fourth, 68) rounded out the four-team field. On the women's side, South Dakota tallied 131 points to edge North Dakota State (130) for the team title by just one point. Wichita State finished third with 126 points, while Air Force placed fourth with 67.
The Falcons split up next weekend for three competitions. Part of the squad will travel to the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 12-13, while select members of the distance squad will compete at the Husky Invitational in Seattle. The remainder of the squad will travel to Alamosa, Colo., on Feb. 13, for the Adams State Qualifier.
Players Mentioned
