Two Academy Records Fall at Air Force Holiday Open

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Two Academy records, two additional top-10 marks and nine first-place finishes highlighted a successful night of action for the Air Force track and field team, as it kicked off the home portion of its season with the eighth-annual Holiday Open at the Cadet Field House on Friday, Dec. 7.

Senior Sedacy Walden and junior Megan Irvine highlighted the season-opening meet with Academy records in two non-traditional races. Walden clocked a winning time of 1:03.28 to break the program's one-year-old record in the 500-meter dash, while Irvine posted a 300-meter time of 39.85 to take nearly one second off of the previous Academy record that had stood since 2015. Senior Aryn Maxwell also bettered the previous standard in the 300-meter dash, as she clocked a time of 40.69 to finish eighth.

Junior Terrell Bradford and freshman Lashawn Taylor picked up a pair of event titles on the night, with Bradford also impacting the Academy record book in his season debut. Bradford clocked a winning time of 6.76 to debut in fifth on the Academy's all-time standings at 60 meters – and accounted for the second-fastest 300-meter time in program history (34.45) to easily win that event. Taylor collected a pair of event titles in his collegiate debut, winning the long jump (22'2½") and triple jump (45'10½").

Sophomore Addyson Smith also impacted the Academy record book this evening, debuting in seventh on the program's all-time standings in the weight throw after posting a personal-best distance of 53'5¾".

Walden's record-setting performance in the 500-meter dash paced a quartet of Academy runners to top-five finishes in that event. Classmate Preston Roche finished second in 1:06.20, while sophomores Luke Zuluaga and Terrell Davis finished third (1:06.48) and fifth (1:07.09), respectively. The Falcons also accounted for four of the top-five finishes in the 300-meter dash, with sophomore Zachary Dicken (third, 34.69), senior Miguel Molas (fourth, 35.10) and freshman Sean Geither (fifth, 35.67) joining Bradford in the top-five of the 63-runner event. Molas added a runner-up finish in the 60-meter dash (6.77), while junior George Brown finished fifth with a time of 6.91.

Senior Sam Hinegardner won the high jump with a season-opening clearance of 6'8¾", while freshman Jake Hall and sophomore Addison Brown tied for second behind matching clearances of 6'4¾". Junior Connor Stevens and Hinegardner both cleared 16'6¾" to place first and second, respectively, amongst collegiate competitors in the pole vault (third and fourth, overall), while freshman Calvin Ciganik finished third in the collegiate field – fifth overall – with a debut clearance of 15'7". Freshman Wyatt Murphy earned a runner-up finish behind Taylor in the long jump (21'4¼"), while Stevens finished fourth with a debut distance of 20'0¼".

Senior Gordon Kowalkowski and freshman Frank Rossi finished second (2:36.02) and third (2:36.53), respectively, in the 1000-meter run, while senior Garrett Coalson earned runner-up honors in the shot put with a toss of 53'1½". Fellow senior Davis Collins rounded out the men's list of top-five finishers by clocking a time of 8.13 to take fifth in the 60-meter hurdles.

The women earned a pair of event titles, as senior Kathryn Tomczak won the pole vault (13'5¼") and freshman Tayler Miranda took first in the mile (5:59.85). Senior Jerni Self finished second in the pole vault with a clearance of 12'5½", while freshmen Corey Friedenbach, Erika Willis and Frankie Porambo all recorded marks of 11'11¾" to place within the top five (based on attempts, Friedenbach and Willis tied for third and Porambo finished fifth). Senior Andrea Abel also earned a top-five finish on the night, as she posted a distance of 36'11¾" to finish fifth in the triple jump.

The Falcons return to action on January 11-12, when they travel to Boulder for the Potts Invitational.

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