Air Force Academy
Air Force Invitational
Track and Field Wins Air Force Invitational
1/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
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Results | Air Force Invitational 
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. -- Junior Shelley Spires broke her own Academy record in the high jump for the third straight meet and senior Kyle Pater joined the program's 18-Foot Club in the pole vault, as the track and field program swept the team titles of the 27th-annual Air Force Invitational this afternoon (Jan. 21) at the Academy.
Spires, who broke her own program standard twice during the event, finished the day with a career-best clearance of 6'1½" -- the second-best clearance in the nation this season and a new Mountain West record. The junior, who bettered the field of 12 by one inch, made the new record-breaking clearance on her first attempt and displaced the conference's six-year-old record by a quarter inch.
Pater became the seventh vaulter in Air Force history to clear 18 feet in the pole vault, as he was the top collegiate finisher in the Elite section with a career-best clearance of 18'0½". Posting a height that equaled the fifth-best clearance in Academy history, Pater finished fourth overall in a field that included two members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team. The senior, one of just five NCAA vaulters to break the 18-foot bar this season, has improved his clearance by more than three inches in the last two weeks.
The men collected five first-place finishes during Saturday's action, including four on the track. Senior Zach Johnson clocked a time of 6.75 to win the 60-meter dash for the sixth time in as many races this season, while sophomore Sedacy Walden won the 400-meter dash in 48.84, junior Zac Petrie won the 800-meter run in 1:54.35, and senior Matt Dorsey won the mile in 4:18.21.
From the field, senior Darby Maier claimed his third shot put title in as many meets after posting a distance of 55'10". Maier was one of four throwers to score for Air Force in that event, as sophomore Garrett Coalson notched a career-best distance of 52'10¼" to finish third, junior Jackson Spalding tossed a 50'2¾" to finish sixth and sophomore Logan Feasline registered a throw of 50'1¾" to take seventh.
Walden, Petrie and Dorsey paced Air Force to multiple scoring finishes in their respective events. Junior Chip White and senior Cody Ray finished third (49.23) and seventh (50.09), respectively, in the 400-meter dash, while the Falcons dominated the scoring finishes in the 800- and mile events. Sophomore Gordon Kowalkowski was second in the 800-meter run, while classmate Preston Roche (third, 1:54.60), Dorsey (fourth, 1:54.60) and sophomore Jack Quinn (sixth, 1:55.75) rounded out the top five of the collegiate field. Junior Conner Wilburn (seventh, 1:55.78), freshman Trevor Whiteside (eighth, 1:55.88) and sophomore Nic Cheuvront (ninth, 1:56.10) also ran in that race. Sophomore Noah Riley (third, 4:23.50), freshman Patrick Sullivan (fourth, 4:27.97), senior Jason Engel (fifth, 4:28.31) and freshman Jack Bluth (sixth, 4:28.72) joined Dorsey in the top-five of the collegiate field in the mile, while sophomore Andrew Tankersley (seventh, 4:32.10), freshman Marshall Wheeler (eighth, 4:33.86) and junior Anthony Bucci (ninth, 4:34.65) also gave points to the Falcons' total.
Sophomore San Hinegardner crept closer to the program's top-10 list of the high jump, as he cleared a career-best height of 6'9¾" to take second. Freshman Cole Tippit ran a career-best time of 8.62 to finish fifth in the 60-meter hurdles and junior Robbie Anderson finished seventh in the 200-meter dash following a season-best time of 22.02 in the event finals.
The men tallied 232 points to win the team title, easily distancing themselves from runner-up BYU (118). Oral Roberts finished third with 67 points, while Western State (fourth, 62.5) and Chadron State (fifth, 48) rounded out the top five. Northern Colorado (sixth, 40.5), Colorado (seventh, 20.5) and MSU Billings (eighth, 5.5) also competed in the men's event.
Spires was one of two event winners for the women, as junior Carina Gillespie won the mile with a season-debut time of 5:03.01. When converted for the altitude of the Academy, her time of 4:51.56 is a new Junior Class Record for Air Force -- taking two seconds off of a mark that had stood for 24 years.
Gillespie paced the women to five of the top seven finishes in mile, as sophomore Jaci Smith (third, 5:12.49), senior Lindy Long (fourth, 5:20.65) and junior Giulianna Vessa (fifth, 5:27.53) all placed within the top five and freshman Lindsey Blanks finished seventh with a time of 5:27.81.
Sophomore Kathryn Tomczak was the top collegiate athlete in the pole vault, as she surpassed the 13-foot bar for the third time in as many meets this year. Competing in the Elite section of the event, Tomczak finished fourth behind three professional vaulters with a clearance of 13'3½".
Air Force received several additional scoring finishes on the day, including a pair of top-eight finishes in the triple jump. Sophomore Andrea Abel finished seventh following a season-best jump of 37'3¼", while freshman Lucy Zimmerman registered a career-best distance of 37'1¼" -- a mark just outside of the program's top 10 -- to finish eighth.
Freshman Teri Brady was the top collegiate (second overall) in the 3000-meter run (11:28.59), while classmate Swathi Samuel placed sixth in the 800-meter run (2:32.15) and fellow freshman Ashley Cameron took eighth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.24). Sophomore Kaliyah Gorman added a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter dash (59.33).
The women captured the team title with 92 points, defeating conference opponent Fresno State (second, 85), Oral Roberts (third, 77), BYU (fourth, 75) and Colorado (fifth, 73.5). Northern Colorado finished sixth with 50 points, as it edged New Mexico Highlands by just two points (48). Chadron State placed eighth with 37 points, while Western State (ninth, 11.5), Wyoming (10th, 11) and Fort Lewis (11th, 1) also competed at the Cadet Field House.
Air Force heads to Albuquerque next weekend for the New Mexico Collegiate Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the ABQ Convention Center.
Players Mentioned
