Air Force Set to Open Action at NCAA Championships
5/22/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Meet Notes 18: at NCAA Outdoor Championships, West Preliminary 
Nineteen members of the Air Force track and field team will travel to Sacramento, Calif., this week for the West Preliminary of the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The three-day event, which will be held at Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State University, will run from Thursday, May 24, through Saturday, May 26.
MEET INFORMATION
The NCAA West Preliminary will be held in Sacramento for the first time, although Hornet Stadium has served as host to the national championship meet four times (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007). A complete schedule of events for the Falcons can be found on Page 2 of the release. Live stats will be available for all three days of competition, courtesy of Flash Results and the NCAA, while FloTrack will broadcast the meet through their FloPro subscription service (direct links will be available on the Falcons' schedule page at GoAirForceFalcons.com). Additionally, in-meet updates regarding air Force will be available on the team's official Twitter account (@af_trackfield).
HOW THIS WORKS
The 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships begin this week at two preliminary sites (West Region â€" Sacramento, Calif., East Region â€" Tampa, Fla.). Each region features the top 48 declared athletes in each event, with the exception of the relays (top 24 teams). The top 12 finishers from each event at the two preliminary sites will advance to the final site of the NCAA Outdoor Championships â€" Historic Hayward Field in Eugene â€" on June 6-9.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Falcons earned 20 total bids into the NCAA West Preliminary, as 13 men, four women and one relay combined for a spot in 16 different events. Air Force will compete in 10 running events, five jumping events and one throwing event at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium.
DID YOU KNOW?
With 14 entries into the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the men are ranked among the national leaders, in terms of total entries. With bids for three sprint/hurdles, four distances, one relay, three jumps and three throws, Air Force is tied for 16th in an overall field that includes 245 men's programs. In addition, the men's 14 entries are ranked seventh among programs not in a Power 5 conference.
WHAT TO WATCH
The men qualified multiple athletes in the javelin throw (Parker Spearman, Donny Crabill, Luke Piper) and 10,000-meter run (Andrew Johnston, Mickey Davey), while the women advanced a pair of runners at 5000 meters (Jaci Smith, Carina Gillespie). The Falcons will be represented in both the men's and women's 5000-meter run (Jacob Bilvado, Smith, Gillespie), 10,000-meter run (Johnston, Davey, Smith), high jump (Sam Hinegardner, Shelley Spires) and pole vault (Connor Stevens, Kathryn Tomczak), while also competing in the 400-meter dash (Tyler Koss), 1500-meter run (Gillespie), 110-meter hurdles (Micah Fontaine), 400-meter hurdles (Chip White), 3000-meter steeplechase (Andrew Milliron), triple jump (John Reynolds) and 4x400-meter relay (Sedacy Walden, Zachary Dicken, White, Koss).
WHO TO WATCH
Three Falcons are ranked among the West's top 10 in their respective events. Carina Gillespie is the Falcons' highest ranked regional qualifier, holding a No. 7 listing in the 1500-meter run (4:16.51), while Shelley Spires is ranked eighth in the high jump (6'0") and Andrew Johnston is listed ninth in the 10,000-meter run (28:56.60).
THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR
Carina Gillespie, Tyler Koss, John Reynolds and Shelley Spires are representing the Academy at the West Preliminary for the third-straight year, while Jacob Bilvado, Donny Crabill, Micah Fontaine, Andrew Johnston, Andrew Milliron, Jaci Smith, Kathryn Tomczak, Sedacy Walden and Chip White are all making their second consecutive appearance in the opening round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES!
Twenty-four members of the Air Force track and field team â€" Robbie Anderson, Tyler Berson, Calvin Berstler, Katie Burnham, Donny Crabill, Carina Gillespie, Nicole Hahn, Brooks Hardy, Trent Holmes, Andrew Johnston, Tyler Koss, Jake LaCoste, Andrew Milliron, Zac Petrie, Luke Piper, Cortney Porter, John Reynolds, Jimmy Shipley, Jackson Spalding, Shelley Spires, Jamiel Trimble, Giulianna Vessa, Chip White, Conner Wilburn â€" will graduate from the Academy on Wednesday, May 23, and be commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force.
WHAT'S ON DECK
The 2018 collegiate season concludes in two weeks, as the top 12 finishers from each event at this week's two preliminary meets travel to Eugene, Ore., for the final rounds of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The four-day meet will be held June 6-9 at Historic Hayward Field.
Players Mentioned
