Air Force Academy
MW Championships
Falcons Have Strong Day at MW Championships
5/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
May 13, 2016
CLOVIS, Calif. -- Highlighted by one conference champion, one Academy record, three of the top-five finishes in the hammer throw and 11 advancing times, the Air Force track and field team wrapped up a stellar day of competition at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships, which continued this evening (May 13) in Clovis, California.
With a career-best clearance of 6'11", sophomore John Reynolds won the conference title in the high jump -- marking the fourth time in five years that Air Force has claimed the MW championship in that event. Reynolds, whose clearance is tied for the fifth-best mark in Academy history, won the high jump less than an hour after securing a runner-up finish in the long jump (wind-aided 24'7¾").
Senior Grant Hamilton unleashed an Academy-record throw of 61'2¼" to finish second in the shot put. Hamilton, who also reset the program's 15-year-old Senior Class Record by more than one foot with that throw, paced the Falcons to two of the top-five finishes in the event, as junior Darby Maier placed seventh with a toss of 55'2¾" -- a mark just shy of his career best.
In addition to scoring for the Falcons in the shot put, Maier also earned points for the men in the hammer throw, as Air Force combined for three of the top-five finishes. Senior Spencer Baldwin posted a throw of 199'6" -- the third-best throw in Academy history -- to finish third and earn the Falcons' first medal in that event since 2013. Sophomore Brooks Hardy registered a career-best toss of 182'11" to finish fourth, while Maier took fifth with a personal-best distance of 176'2".
Sophomore Andrew Milliron capped off the third day of action with a scoring finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase. In the only final on the track, Milliron finished fifth with a time of 9:15.63.
Several qualifying races were also held tonight at Veterans Memorial Stadium, with the men advancing 11 runners in the contested events.
The Falcons accounted for four of the top-eight qualifying times in the 200-meter dash, as well as three of the top seven in the 100-meter event. Sophomore Jamiel Trimble finished second in the 200-meter dash with a wind-aided time of 20.68, while junior Zach Johnson took fifth (21.23w) and sophomore Robbie Anderson and senior Gavin McHenry finished seventh (21.25w) and eighth (21.34w), respectively.
Trimble also earned an automatic spot in the final of the 100-meter dash after finishing second during the preliminary round with a wind-aided time of 10.34. Johnson and Anderson advanced to the finals based on time, as they finished fourth (10.37w) and seventh (10.54w), respectively. McHenry was also right in the mix during the 100-meter prelim, missing the advancement by just 0.001 second.
The men also advanced multiple athletes into the finals of the 800-meter run. The Falcons earned two automatic qualifying spots, as junior Matt Dorsey won his qualifying heat with a time of 1:52.62 and sophomore Zac Petrie finished second in his heat with a time of 1:52.05. Senior Grant Caswell became the third Falcon to advance in that race after posting a time of 1:52.66.
Sophomore Tyler Koss won the qualifying round of the 400-meter dash (47.51) to advance to the finals.
On the women's side, senior Naomi Alston advanced at 400 meters after clocking a time of 56.36.
After three days of action, the men are in second with 62 points, while the women are in 10th with nine points.
The Falcons return to Veterans Memorial Stadium tomorrow (May 14) for Championship Saturday of the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Action begins with the women's discus throw at 3:00 p.m. (PT)
Players Mentioned
