Air Force Academy
Christiansen Invite
Air Force Men win Jack Christiansen Invitational
4/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Results | Jack Christiansen Invitational 
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Backed by five first-place finishes and one addition to the Academy record book, the Air Force men's track and field team won the Jack Christiansen Invitational today (April 22) in Fort Collins. The Falcons' middle distance and distance runners combined for four event titles and 13 top-five finishes, while senior Darby Maier won the hammer and impacted the all-time list in the shot put.
On the track, Air Force earned from senior Matt Dorsey (800 meters), sophomore Noah Riley (1500 meters), classmate Nikolai Rhodes (and freshman Marshall Wheeler (3000-meter steeplechase).
Dorsey clocked a time of 1:51.57 to pace the Falcons to four of the top-five times in the 800-meter run. Freshman Michael Rhoads finished second in 1:51.69, while sophomore Gordon Kowalkowski and freshman Mati Szelazek finished fourth (1:53.43) and fifth (1:53.83), respectively. Air Force also earned four of the top-five finishes in the 5000-meter run. Rhodes won the event in a time of 15:05.89, while classmate Nathan Thomas took second in 15:13.64 and senior Anthony Bucci finished third in 15:19.76. Freshman Patrick Sullivan rounded out the Falcons' top-five finishers in the day's longest race, as he finished fifth in an event debut time of 15:35.35.
Riley won the 1500-meter run in a time of 3:55.56, while junior Andrew Tankersley and freshman Trevor Whiteside finished third (3:56.14) and fourth (3:56.69), respectively. Wheeler and classmate Justin Weber posted a one-two finish in their steeplechase debut at the 3000-meter distance, as Wheeler clocked a winning time of 9:48.41 and Weber finished second in 10:15.22.
Maier, who used a third-place throw of 58'3¼" to improve his No. 3 ranking on the program's all-time shot put standings, won the hammer throw with a career-best throw of 186'11" – a personal improvement of more than eight feet. Air Force claimed three of the top-five finishes in the hammer, as senior Malachi Sparling and junior Brooks Hardy placed second (186'7") and fifth (166'10"), respectively. Fellow junior Jackson Spalding added a fifth-place throw of 160'1" in the discus.
Junior Jake LaCoste made his outdoor debut this afternoon, claiming a runner-up finish in the high jump (6'5") and earning a fifth-place finish in the long jump (21'8¼"). Sophomore Walker Newell posted a season-best 13'1½" to tie for second in the pole vault, while freshmen Anthony Davis and Jacob Fields finished fourth (outdoor debut of 43'11¾") and fifth (42'1¼"), respectively, in the triple jump.
Back on the track, sophomore Micah Fontaine and senior Jacob Romitti earned runner-up finishes in the hurdle events, as Fontaine clocked a career-best 14.49 in the 110-meter hurdles and Romitti ran a career-best 54.01 in the 400-meter event. The Falcons accounted for two additional top-five finishes in those events, as sophomore Keith Batista finished third in the 110-meter hurdles (career-best 14.56) and classmate David Collins took fourth at 400 meters (personal-best 54.43).
Fontaine also earned a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash (career-best 22.51), while junior Trent Holmes and senior Cody Ray earned that same placement in the 100-meter dash (personal-best 10.91) and 400-meter dash (49.57), respectively. In addition, the 4x400-meter quartet of Kowalkowski, Szelazek, sophomore John Quinn and junior Zac Petrie earned a third-place relay finish of 3:23.85.
Air Force combined for 224.50 points to take first in the team standings. Host and 16th-ranked Colorado State finished second with 197.50 points, while Wyoming and Northern Colorado finished third (105.50) and fourth (72.50), respectively.
Freshman Sierra Rodriguez won the javelin throw (career-best 118'5") to pace a small group of Air Force women at the Jack Christiansen Invitational. The freshman led the Falcons to a one-two finish in that event (sophomore Liz Jarvis, personal-best 115'11"), while adding a career-best, fifth-place throw of 134'4" in the discus. Fellow freshman Heidi Borgerding tied for second in the high jump with a career-best 5'5¾" and classmate Ashleigh Lehotsky finished fourth in the shot put with a toss of 33'9¼".
On the track, freshman Teri Brady and junior Nicole Hahn finished second (18:04.52) and fourth (18:17.85), respectively, in the 5000-meter run, while freshman Swathi Samuel placed fifth in the 800-meter run (2:25.27).
The women finished fourth overall, with 64.50 points. Colorado State won its home meet with 217 points, while Northern Colorado and Wyoming placed second (161.50) and third (127), respectively
The Falcons return to action next week, when they travel to Des Moines, Iowa, for the 108th-annual Drake Relays. The three-day event at Drake Stadium begins on Thursday, April 27.
Players Mentioned
