Saturday, November 17
Madison, WI
9:45 a.m. MT
Air Force Academy
at
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos
Jaci Smith Earns All-America Honors at NCAA Championships
11/17/2018 4:17:00 PM | Cross Country
With a 27th-place finish, Smith becomes just the second Air Force female All-American at the DI level.
MADISON, Wis. – Senior Jaci Smith capped a stellar cross country season by becoming just the second Air Force female to ever earn All-America honors at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, which concluded this afternoon (Nov. 17) on a cold, snow-covered Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Wisconsin. The 17th-ranked men also wrapped up their season today in Madison, claiming a 20th-place finish in the team standings.
With a 6K time of 20:27.7, Smith finished 27th out of 255 runners – posting the second-highest finish ever by a member of the Air Force women's team at the Division I championships. Smith, who became the first female Falcon to make three appearances at the DI national meet, also became just the second female All-American at that level and the 13th overall All-American in the program's combined Division I history.
"For the last four year, Air Force cross country has been the most fun and rewarding part of my life," Smith said after the race. "My goal today was to leave it all on the course, running for the teammates, coaches, family and supporters who have made it such an amazing ride. I am so proud of what the guys and gals of AFXC have accomplished this season, and of the challenges we have overcome. So to finish with a bang was not only the fulfillment of a personal goal, but also a tribute to the people who have been running by my side throughout the journey."
"Jaci had a very strong run today in the snow," head coach Ryan Cole said. "Probably not her ideal conditions, but she didn't let that become a distraction. Finishing off her collegiate cross country career as an All American is pretty special. She has been a difference maker for our program."
On the men's side, seniors Mickey Davey and Nathan Thomas captured top-75 finishes to pace the Falcons to a 20th-place finish in the team standings – a team placement that equaled the program's second-highest team finish in the last 14 years. Davey registered a 10K time of 30:24.5 to finish 69th in the overall field of 255 runners, while Thomas added a time of 30:25.7 to finish 74th. Classmate Trevor Siniscalchi finished 128th with a time of 30:54.3, while sophomores Alec Schrank and Scott Johnson rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup by finishing 164th (31:13.3) and 179th (31:22.3), respectively.
Climbing up seven spots during the race's final two loops around Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, the men finished the 31-team race with 498 points. Top-ranked Northern Arizona captured its third-straight title with 83 points, while second-ranked BYU (116), fourth-ranked Portland (160), eighth-ranked Colorado (178) and seventh-ranked Stanford (201) rounded out the top five.
"The men closed really well over the last 2K of the race," Cole said after the day's second race. "For a large portion of our group, we started patiently, but didn't get moving through the field early enough to give ourselves a chance to be a top-15 team today. We were in 27-28th place at halfway, which is too far back in a good field. But we finished the race very well and were able to get in the top 20. While we felt like this wasn't our best showing, being a top-20 team in the country on a tough day speaks to where our program is at right now. That's due in large part to our senior class and that group has led our team all fall. We've had a good season."
Juniors Patrick Sullivan and Justin Weber also raced for the Falcons today, with Sullivan clocking a time of 31:41.1 (200th) and Weber finishing in 33:05.5 (245th).
While the cross country season came to a close this afternoon, the Falcons' distance squad will continue their momentum into the track and field season, which kicks off next month with the Air Force Holiday Open on Friday, Dec. 7.
With a 6K time of 20:27.7, Smith finished 27th out of 255 runners – posting the second-highest finish ever by a member of the Air Force women's team at the Division I championships. Smith, who became the first female Falcon to make three appearances at the DI national meet, also became just the second female All-American at that level and the 13th overall All-American in the program's combined Division I history.
"For the last four year, Air Force cross country has been the most fun and rewarding part of my life," Smith said after the race. "My goal today was to leave it all on the course, running for the teammates, coaches, family and supporters who have made it such an amazing ride. I am so proud of what the guys and gals of AFXC have accomplished this season, and of the challenges we have overcome. So to finish with a bang was not only the fulfillment of a personal goal, but also a tribute to the people who have been running by my side throughout the journey."
"Jaci had a very strong run today in the snow," head coach Ryan Cole said. "Probably not her ideal conditions, but she didn't let that become a distraction. Finishing off her collegiate cross country career as an All American is pretty special. She has been a difference maker for our program."
On the men's side, seniors Mickey Davey and Nathan Thomas captured top-75 finishes to pace the Falcons to a 20th-place finish in the team standings – a team placement that equaled the program's second-highest team finish in the last 14 years. Davey registered a 10K time of 30:24.5 to finish 69th in the overall field of 255 runners, while Thomas added a time of 30:25.7 to finish 74th. Classmate Trevor Siniscalchi finished 128th with a time of 30:54.3, while sophomores Alec Schrank and Scott Johnson rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup by finishing 164th (31:13.3) and 179th (31:22.3), respectively.
Climbing up seven spots during the race's final two loops around Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, the men finished the 31-team race with 498 points. Top-ranked Northern Arizona captured its third-straight title with 83 points, while second-ranked BYU (116), fourth-ranked Portland (160), eighth-ranked Colorado (178) and seventh-ranked Stanford (201) rounded out the top five.
"The men closed really well over the last 2K of the race," Cole said after the day's second race. "For a large portion of our group, we started patiently, but didn't get moving through the field early enough to give ourselves a chance to be a top-15 team today. We were in 27-28th place at halfway, which is too far back in a good field. But we finished the race very well and were able to get in the top 20. While we felt like this wasn't our best showing, being a top-20 team in the country on a tough day speaks to where our program is at right now. That's due in large part to our senior class and that group has led our team all fall. We've had a good season."
Juniors Patrick Sullivan and Justin Weber also raced for the Falcons today, with Sullivan clocking a time of 31:41.1 (200th) and Weber finishing in 33:05.5 (245th).
While the cross country season came to a close this afternoon, the Falcons' distance squad will continue their momentum into the track and field season, which kicks off next month with the Air Force Holiday Open on Friday, Dec. 7.
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