Friday, August 31
Laramie, WY
6:00 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
at
Wyoming Invitational
Jaci Smith Wins Wyoming Invitational
8/31/2018 11:16:00 PM | Cross Country
The senior clocked a 5K time of 17:59 to win the race by nearly 13 seconds.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Air Force senior Jaci Smith kicked off the 2018 season with a dominating victory at the Wyoming Invitational on Friday, Aug. 31, at the Little America Resort in Cheyenne. The senior, who paced the women a runner-up finish in the team standings, clocked a 5K time of 17:59 to defeat the full field of 60 runners by nearly 13 seconds.
The senior was one of two women to place within the top four of the overall field, as sophomore Maria Mettler finished fourth with a time of 18:25. All five of the Falcons' scoring runners finished within the top 20 of the collegiate field – junior Teri Brady clocked a time of 18:57 to take 14th, while senior Shanna Burns and junior Lindsey Blanks finished 19th (19:17.7) and 20th (19:17.9), respectively.
Smith paced the women to a runner-up finish in the team standings of the season-opening meet against their counterparts along the Front Range. Colorado, ranked second in the USTFCCCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, won the meet with 31 points, while Air Force accumulated 58 points to finish second and edge Colorado State – a team receiving votes in the preseason poll – by two points (60). Wyoming finished fourth with 82 points and Northern Colorado rounded out the field with a fifth-place total of 152 points.
Senior Trevor Siniscalchi was the top finisher on the men's side, clocking a 5K time of 15:34.3 to place sixth in the 81-runner field and lead the men to a trio of top-10 marks. Classmate Mickey Davey finished right on Siniscalchi's heels (15:34.4) to take seventh, while fellow senior Jacob Bilvado placed eighth in a time of 15:38. Junior Justin Weber and sophomore Alec Schrank earned top-20 finishes to round out the squad's scoring lineup, as Weber finished 15th (15:50) and Schrank placed 18th (15:54).
Ninth-ranked Colorado State won the men's meet with 32 points, while Wyoming and 16th-ranked Air Force finished second (46) and third (54), respectively. Seventh-ranked Colorado tallied 111 points to finish fourth, while Northern Colorado rounded out the field with 115 points.
"We had a solid start to the season on both sides today," head coach Ryan Cole said. "For the women, Jaci and Maria looked very comfortable in their runs and our varsity depth is as good as it's ever been. On the men's side, a few of our veterans didn't run, but Trevor and Justin have been training great and it showed today. Our sophomore group also is continuing to develop, so we're excited to have our full varsity group together at the end of September."
Several other members of the team also competed at Little America on Friday evening. On the women's side, junior Swathi Samuel and freshman Jenna Kill finished 31st (19:29) and 32nd (19:32), respectively, while freshmen Andi Almodovoar (35th, 19:40) and Sydney Hansen (38th, 19:48) earned top-40 marks. Classmates Mikayla Gallagher and Sarah Deresky finished 43rd (20:14) and 45th (20:23), respectively, while sophomore Shay Stayton clocked a time of 20:29 to finish 48th and freshman Adrianna Wilder rounded out the women's lineup with a 52nd-place time of 20:57.
On the men's side, sophomore Scott Johnson placed 24th in the overall field (15:59), while classmate Hunter Boyer (25th, 16:01), senior Nikolai Rhoads (27th, 16:02) and sophomore Jordan Lesansee (29th, 16:11) also finished within the top 30. Fellow sophomore Colin Dwyer posted a time of 16:27 to finish 45th, while junior Jordan Armstrong and senior Erik McMillan placed 47th (16:28) and 48th (16:29), respectively. Senior Andrew Tankersley (50th, 16:39), freshman Will Kitzhaber (52nd, 16:42), classmate Ryan Ioanidis (53rd, 16:42), junior Marshall Wheeler (58th, 16:53), sophomore Aric Kedge (62nd, 17:01), freshman Luke Nolley (63rd, 17:03), classmate Matt Zacharias (65th, 17:11), sophomore Drew Lester (68th, 17:17) and the freshmen contingent of Frank Rossi (72nd, 17:34), Joseph Wittig (73rd, 17:36), Adam Kedge (75th, 17:41), Garrett Blenkush (76th, 17:44) and Chris Floyd (77th, 17:48) also opened the season in Cheyenne.
Air Force returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 15, when the team travels to Lincoln, Neb., for the annual Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational.
The senior was one of two women to place within the top four of the overall field, as sophomore Maria Mettler finished fourth with a time of 18:25. All five of the Falcons' scoring runners finished within the top 20 of the collegiate field – junior Teri Brady clocked a time of 18:57 to take 14th, while senior Shanna Burns and junior Lindsey Blanks finished 19th (19:17.7) and 20th (19:17.9), respectively.
Smith paced the women to a runner-up finish in the team standings of the season-opening meet against their counterparts along the Front Range. Colorado, ranked second in the USTFCCCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, won the meet with 31 points, while Air Force accumulated 58 points to finish second and edge Colorado State – a team receiving votes in the preseason poll – by two points (60). Wyoming finished fourth with 82 points and Northern Colorado rounded out the field with a fifth-place total of 152 points.
Senior Trevor Siniscalchi was the top finisher on the men's side, clocking a 5K time of 15:34.3 to place sixth in the 81-runner field and lead the men to a trio of top-10 marks. Classmate Mickey Davey finished right on Siniscalchi's heels (15:34.4) to take seventh, while fellow senior Jacob Bilvado placed eighth in a time of 15:38. Junior Justin Weber and sophomore Alec Schrank earned top-20 finishes to round out the squad's scoring lineup, as Weber finished 15th (15:50) and Schrank placed 18th (15:54).
Ninth-ranked Colorado State won the men's meet with 32 points, while Wyoming and 16th-ranked Air Force finished second (46) and third (54), respectively. Seventh-ranked Colorado tallied 111 points to finish fourth, while Northern Colorado rounded out the field with 115 points.
"We had a solid start to the season on both sides today," head coach Ryan Cole said. "For the women, Jaci and Maria looked very comfortable in their runs and our varsity depth is as good as it's ever been. On the men's side, a few of our veterans didn't run, but Trevor and Justin have been training great and it showed today. Our sophomore group also is continuing to develop, so we're excited to have our full varsity group together at the end of September."
Several other members of the team also competed at Little America on Friday evening. On the women's side, junior Swathi Samuel and freshman Jenna Kill finished 31st (19:29) and 32nd (19:32), respectively, while freshmen Andi Almodovoar (35th, 19:40) and Sydney Hansen (38th, 19:48) earned top-40 marks. Classmates Mikayla Gallagher and Sarah Deresky finished 43rd (20:14) and 45th (20:23), respectively, while sophomore Shay Stayton clocked a time of 20:29 to finish 48th and freshman Adrianna Wilder rounded out the women's lineup with a 52nd-place time of 20:57.
On the men's side, sophomore Scott Johnson placed 24th in the overall field (15:59), while classmate Hunter Boyer (25th, 16:01), senior Nikolai Rhoads (27th, 16:02) and sophomore Jordan Lesansee (29th, 16:11) also finished within the top 30. Fellow sophomore Colin Dwyer posted a time of 16:27 to finish 45th, while junior Jordan Armstrong and senior Erik McMillan placed 47th (16:28) and 48th (16:29), respectively. Senior Andrew Tankersley (50th, 16:39), freshman Will Kitzhaber (52nd, 16:42), classmate Ryan Ioanidis (53rd, 16:42), junior Marshall Wheeler (58th, 16:53), sophomore Aric Kedge (62nd, 17:01), freshman Luke Nolley (63rd, 17:03), classmate Matt Zacharias (65th, 17:11), sophomore Drew Lester (68th, 17:17) and the freshmen contingent of Frank Rossi (72nd, 17:34), Joseph Wittig (73rd, 17:36), Adam Kedge (75th, 17:41), Garrett Blenkush (76th, 17:44) and Chris Floyd (77th, 17:48) also opened the season in Cheyenne.
Air Force returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 15, when the team travels to Lincoln, Neb., for the annual Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational.
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