Four Falcons Earn All-Region Honors

PROVO, Utah – Highlighted by four all-region runners and a top-five individual finish from senior Jaci Smith, the Air Force cross country team wrapped up competition at the NCAA Mountain Regional this afternoon (Nov. 9) in Provo, Utah. The women finished fifth and the 13th-ranked men placed seventh in the overall team standings of their respective races.

Clocking a time of 19:44.1, Smith became just the second Falcon to run a sub-20 at the 6K distance, as she finished fourth in the 135-runner field. Smith was one of two women to earn all-region honors, as sophomore Maria Mettler added a 24th-place time of 20:43.9. Juniors Swathi Samuel and Teri Brady finished just 0.3 seconds apart, finishing 42nd (21:10.6) and 43rd (21:10.9), respectively, while classmate Lindsey Blanks rounded out the scoring runners with a 57th-place time of 21:22.0.

The women, who are receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA rankings, registered 170 points to finish fifth in the 20-team event – the highest placement by a team not currently listed in the nation's top-30. Top-ranked New Mexico won the regional meet with 41 points, while fourth-ranked Colorado earned the second automatic bid into the NCAA Championships after earning runner-up honors with 53 points. Ninth-ranked BYU (85) and 22nd-ranked Southern Utah (155) finished third and fourth, respectively, while Air Force rounded out a top-five group that separated themselves from the rest of the field by more than 40 points.

"Our women had a good day," head coach Ryan Cole said. "We exceeded our regional ranking from both coming into the season, and coming into the meet. Jaci ran very aggressive and earned an NCAA individual qualifying spot, which will be her third NCAA cross country appearance and the fourth year in a row that the women have had competitors at the national meet. But our goal is to always have the team qualify, and while this outcome stings a bit, I'm extremely proud of this year's team."

Seniors Nathan Thomas and Trevor Siniscalchi captured all-region honors for the men after placing within the top 25 of the 115-runner meet. Thomas registered the program's fastest Regional time in five years, as he clocked a time of 29:42.0 to finish 19th in the overall field, while Siniscalchi posted a time of 29:53.2 to finish 23rd. Classmate Mickey Davey and sophomore Scott Johnson finished 36th (30:18.3) and 40th (30:23.0), respectively, while junior Patrick Sullivan rounded out the Falcons' scoring finishers with a 49th-place tie of 30:38.6.

The men tallied 167 points to finish seventh in the 17-team meet. Northern Arizona and BYU, the top-two teams in the nation, earned the region's automatic bids, as they finished first (42) and second (56), respectively, in the overall field. Eighth-ranked Colorado (71), No. 14 Colorado State (114) and a Southern Utah squad (146) that is receiving votes in the national standings rounded out the top five.

Four other Falcons also traversed the East Bay Golf Course today in Provo. Freshman Jenna Kill (69th, 21:31.7) and senior Shanna Burns (117th, 22:35.7) competed in the women's 6K, while sophomores Alec Schrank and Hunter Boyer finished 53rd (30:45.7) and 70th (31:15.2), respectively, in the men's 10K.

"Our guys had a bit of a tough day, but we've competed consistently hard all year and did so again today," Cole said. "We believe it will be enough to advance to the NCAA meet and look forward to the race next weekend."

The complete list of NCAA qualifiers will be announced tomorrow (Nov. 10) and the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships conclude the season next Saturday (Nov. 17) in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Players Mentioned

Lindsey Blanks

Hunter Boyer

Teri Brady

Shanna Burns

Mickey Davey

Scott Johnson

Jenna Kill

Maria Mettler

Swathi Samuel

Alec Schrank

Trevor Siniscalchi

Jaci Smith

Patrick Sullivan

Nathan Thomas

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