Air Force Men Win Woody Greeno/Dirksen Invitational

Sept. 17, 2016

LINCOLN, Neb. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢'Â¬" Backed by a runner-up finish from junior Andrew Milliron and five of the top-seven Division I finishers, the Air Force men's cross country team easily won the University title at the 27th-annual Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational this morning (Sept. 17) at Pioneers Park in Lincoln.

Milliron completed the 8K course in a time of 26:12.7 to finish second amongst the University Division competitors and 11th in the overall field of 219. Sophomore Andrew Tankersley (career-best 26:18.2) and junior Anthony Bucci (career-best 26:24.3) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the University standings, while sophomore Tim Ward (career-best 26:25.1, sixth) and junior Conner Wilburn (career-best 26:25.1, seventh) rounded out the Falcons' five-man scoring roster.

With those finishes, the men accumulated just 24 points to better the University field by 30. Nebraska, co-host of the annual event, finished second with 54 points, while Kansas State placed third with 78. Teams from Wichita State (96) and South Dakota (122) rounded out the University field.

It is the eighth Woody Greeno team title for the men ... and the first since 2012.

In addition to the scoring runners, the Falcons accounted for eight of the top 10 finishes in the University lineup ... and eight of the top 20 finishes in the overall field. Freshman Adam Haynes clocked a time of 26:26.0 in his 8K debut to finish eighth in the University Division, while junior Jimmy Shipley (26:26.3, ninth) and senior Jason Engel (26:32.7, 10th) rounded out the top 10.

Freshman Patrick Sullivan placed 17th amongst DI runners with a time of 26:54.0, while classmate Jack Bluth clocked 27:15.4 to finish 24th. Sophomore Josh Wojciechowski finished 33rd in his first 8K race (27:55.3) and freshman Jordan Armstrong rounded out the contingent with a time of 28:02.9 (35th).

"The guys did a good job of establishing themselves near the front of the race and working together," head coach Ryan Cole said. "We had some young guys get some experience in their first 8K. The purpose of this event is to make some investment in the future and allow our developing group to get in a strong run, which we did today."

The Falcons are off from competition until the end of the month, when they for a pair of meets. Part of the team will travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Sept. 30, while the rest of the squad travels to Boulder, Colo., for the annual Rocky Mountain Shootout on Saturday, Oct. 1.

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