Air Force Celebrates 2019 Season at Annual Banquet
12/4/2019 10:58:00 AM | Cross Country
Teri Brady and Justin Weber were named MVP of their respective teams.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force cross country team celebrated the 2019 season last night (Dec. 3), as it held its annual award banquet at the Falcon Club. Seniors Teri Brady and Justin Weber claimed the MVP award for their respective squads, while eight additional Falcons were also honored for their performance and dedication this season.
The women capped their best Division I season on record two weeks ago, as they finished eighth at the NCAA Championships. Making just their second team appearance ever at the national meet, the Falcons finished four spots ahead of their program-best ranking (No. 12) and bettered four top-10 teams, including one listed in the top five, during their eighth-place performance in the 31-team event.
Placing within the top 40 of the 254-runner championship race, juniors Maria Mettler (36th) and Mahala Norris (39th) captured All-America honors – doubling the Academy's number of Division I women to hold that distinction. Senior Lindsey Blanks (61st) and sophomore Mikayla Gallagher (71st) added top-75 finishes and senior Teri Brady (138th) completed the scoring lineup, as the women accounted for the best NCAA finish of any Air Force women's team at the Division I level – and tied for the program's best DI cross country finish (men or women) since 1967.
In addition to finishing within the top 10 of a sport that features more than 330 Division I women's teams, Air Force accounted for the highest national finish ever by a women's service academy squad.
Mettler and Norris shined for the Falcons throughout the postseason, as they also accounted for first-team all-conference and all-region accolades. The pair, who finished third and fourth, respectively, to lead Air Force to a runner-up finish at the conference meet, collected top-10 marks at the NCAA Mountain Regional (eighth for Mettler, 10th for Norris) to pace the Falcons to a third-place team finish.
In addition, Blanks (ninth) and Gallagher (12th) nabbed second-team all-MW honors at the conference meet, as the team accounted for the most all-conference accolades in women's history (four) and matched the most by either squad since the 2012 championship meet.
The squad's conference and regional finishes are tied for the best in program history at the Division I level. Senior Swathi Samuel (26th) was the Falcons' No. 5 runner at the Mountain West meet, while Brady (28th), Gallagher (29th) and Blanks (32nd) joined Mettler and Norris as the top-five finishers at the Mountain Regional.
Air Force also accounted for strong team finishes in its two other scoring meets of 2019, while Mettler (first, Air Force Open) and sophomore Sarah Deresky (third, UCCS Open) posted team-leading placements at the two non-scoring meets. A sixth-place finish from Gallagher led the Falcons to a third-place finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational – a finish that led to the program's first top 20 ranking, while a 22nd-place finish from Norris paced Air Force to an eighth-place finish at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational – and the women's first top 15 ranking in Academy history.
Women's Award Winners
Most Valuable Athlete: Teri Brady
Most Improved Athlete: Lindsey Blanks
Newcomer of the Year: Maddie Edwards
Comeback Award: Mahala Norris
Character and Leadership Award: Maria Mettler
The men finished fifth at the Mountain West Championships, with sophomore Will Kitzhaber and freshman Ryan Johnson earning accolades from the conference office. Kitzhaber, who finished fourth in the 71-runner 8K and equaled the program's best individual finish in five years, captured first-team all-conference honors and was the only underclassmen among the conference's top 13 finishers. Johnson became the first Air Force runner to earn the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year award, as he accounted for the best finish by a true freshman (41st) at the conference championship.
Kitzhaber was one of seven runners to lead Air Force in 2019, as the squad accounted for a different No. 1 runner in each meet. Junior Scott Johnson easily won the season-opening Air Force Open in late August, while freshman Ethan Marshall (19th, Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational), senior Justin Weber (40th, Bill Dellinger Invitational), junior Konrad Steck (second, UCCS Open), junior Alec Schrank (93rd, Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational) and junior Hunter Boyer (48th, NCAA Mountain Regional) also accounted for team-leading finishes.
Despite the different lineups, which accounted for a fourth-place finish at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational, a ninth-place finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Mountain Regional, and a 21st-place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational, Air Force ran in tight packs all season. Less than 40 seconds separated the scoring runners in every competition of the 2019 season, while four races saw spreads between just 10-14 seconds.
Men's Award Winners
Most Valuable Athlete: Justin Weber
Most Improved Athlete: Will Kitzhaber
Newcomer of the Year: Sam Gilman
Comeback Award: Alec Schrank
Character and Leadership Award: Scott Johnson
The women capped their best Division I season on record two weeks ago, as they finished eighth at the NCAA Championships. Making just their second team appearance ever at the national meet, the Falcons finished four spots ahead of their program-best ranking (No. 12) and bettered four top-10 teams, including one listed in the top five, during their eighth-place performance in the 31-team event.
Placing within the top 40 of the 254-runner championship race, juniors Maria Mettler (36th) and Mahala Norris (39th) captured All-America honors – doubling the Academy's number of Division I women to hold that distinction. Senior Lindsey Blanks (61st) and sophomore Mikayla Gallagher (71st) added top-75 finishes and senior Teri Brady (138th) completed the scoring lineup, as the women accounted for the best NCAA finish of any Air Force women's team at the Division I level – and tied for the program's best DI cross country finish (men or women) since 1967.
In addition to finishing within the top 10 of a sport that features more than 330 Division I women's teams, Air Force accounted for the highest national finish ever by a women's service academy squad.
Mettler and Norris shined for the Falcons throughout the postseason, as they also accounted for first-team all-conference and all-region accolades. The pair, who finished third and fourth, respectively, to lead Air Force to a runner-up finish at the conference meet, collected top-10 marks at the NCAA Mountain Regional (eighth for Mettler, 10th for Norris) to pace the Falcons to a third-place team finish.
In addition, Blanks (ninth) and Gallagher (12th) nabbed second-team all-MW honors at the conference meet, as the team accounted for the most all-conference accolades in women's history (four) and matched the most by either squad since the 2012 championship meet.
The squad's conference and regional finishes are tied for the best in program history at the Division I level. Senior Swathi Samuel (26th) was the Falcons' No. 5 runner at the Mountain West meet, while Brady (28th), Gallagher (29th) and Blanks (32nd) joined Mettler and Norris as the top-five finishers at the Mountain Regional.
Air Force also accounted for strong team finishes in its two other scoring meets of 2019, while Mettler (first, Air Force Open) and sophomore Sarah Deresky (third, UCCS Open) posted team-leading placements at the two non-scoring meets. A sixth-place finish from Gallagher led the Falcons to a third-place finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational – a finish that led to the program's first top 20 ranking, while a 22nd-place finish from Norris paced Air Force to an eighth-place finish at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational – and the women's first top 15 ranking in Academy history.
Women's Award Winners
Most Valuable Athlete: Teri Brady
Most Improved Athlete: Lindsey Blanks
Newcomer of the Year: Maddie Edwards
Comeback Award: Mahala Norris
Character and Leadership Award: Maria Mettler
The men finished fifth at the Mountain West Championships, with sophomore Will Kitzhaber and freshman Ryan Johnson earning accolades from the conference office. Kitzhaber, who finished fourth in the 71-runner 8K and equaled the program's best individual finish in five years, captured first-team all-conference honors and was the only underclassmen among the conference's top 13 finishers. Johnson became the first Air Force runner to earn the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year award, as he accounted for the best finish by a true freshman (41st) at the conference championship.
Kitzhaber was one of seven runners to lead Air Force in 2019, as the squad accounted for a different No. 1 runner in each meet. Junior Scott Johnson easily won the season-opening Air Force Open in late August, while freshman Ethan Marshall (19th, Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational), senior Justin Weber (40th, Bill Dellinger Invitational), junior Konrad Steck (second, UCCS Open), junior Alec Schrank (93rd, Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational) and junior Hunter Boyer (48th, NCAA Mountain Regional) also accounted for team-leading finishes.
Despite the different lineups, which accounted for a fourth-place finish at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational, a ninth-place finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Mountain Regional, and a 21st-place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational, Air Force ran in tight packs all season. Less than 40 seconds separated the scoring runners in every competition of the 2019 season, while four races saw spreads between just 10-14 seconds.
Men's Award Winners
Most Valuable Athlete: Justin Weber
Most Improved Athlete: Will Kitzhaber
Newcomer of the Year: Sam Gilman
Comeback Award: Alec Schrank
Character and Leadership Award: Scott Johnson
Players Mentioned
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