Saturday, February 23
Albuquerque, N.M.
10:00 a.m. MT
Air Force Academy
at
MW Championships
Photo by: Josh Armstrong
Air Force Claims Six Titles on Final Day of Mountain West Meet
2/23/2019 6:08:00 PM | Track and Field
Michael Rhoads broke the Academy Record and set a new Championships Meet mark during his 800m win.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Air Force track and field team claimed six conference titles during the final day of competition at the 2019 Mountain West Indoor Championships, which wrapped up this afternoon (Feb. 23) in Albuquerque. Highlighted by four 1-2 finishes, the men won over half of the 11 events contested on Championship Saturday at the ABQ Convention Center.
The men claimed the top two spots on the podium in the 60-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles and pole vault, while collecting 25 top-eight finishes.
Sophomore Zachary Dicken registered the third-fastest 400-meter time in Academy history to win his first conference title – and the Falcons' second-straight in that event. Crossing the finish line in a time of 47.10, Dicken paced Air Force to three of the top-four finishes, as senior Sedacy Walden placed second (47.88) and sophomore Luke Zuluaga finished fourth (48.91).
Seniors David Collins and Micah Fontaine posted matching marks of 8.02 sweep the top spots of the 60-meter hurdles. With a tie-breaker of 8.017, Collins claimed his first conference title – and the Academy's fourth straight – while Fontaine took second with an extended time of 8.020.
Dicken and Collins collected their second gold medal of the day in the final championship event, as they joined Walden and Zuluaga to win the 4x400-meter relay. The quartet combined for a wire-to-wire winning time of 3:13.04 to capture the program's second-straight title by more than two seconds.
Senior Miguel Molas became a back-to-back champion in the 60-meter dash, as he won his second-straight championship in that event with a time of 6.80. Junior Terrell Bradford completed the Falcons' 1-2 punch with a runner-up time of 6.84, while sophomore George Brown added points for Air Force with a sixth-place time of 6.95.
Backed by a conference title from junior Connor Stevens, the Falcons earned another 1-2 finish in the pole vault and marked the ninth time in 10 years that Air Force has sent multiple athletes to the award podium. Stevens, who also scored for the Falcons in the heptathlon during the first two days of the meet, recorded a personal-best clearance of 17'0¾" to become the program's ninth conference champion in that event. Sophomore Mitch Lipe earned runner-up honors with a career-best height of 16'8¾", while senior Sam Hinegardner and junior Logan Grizzle also registered points for the Falcons after finishing fifth (16'0¾") and eighth (15'9"), respectively.
An Academy and Championship Meet Record highlighted Michael Rhoads' title run at 800 meters. The junior posted an actual time of 1:47.82 – the second-fastest time in Mountain West history – to win the race and better the Meet Record by more than one second. Rhoads also broke the Academy record in that event, as his altitude-converted time of 1:47.22 took 0.35 off of the mark that had stood since 1984.
In addition to their 1-2 finish in the 60-meter dash, Bradford and Molas also combined for half of the top-four spots and impacted the program's all-time standings in the 200-meter dash. Bradford clocked the fifth-fastest time in Academy history (21.23) to finish second in the eight-man final, while Molas accounted for the program's eighth-fastest mark (21.50) to finish fourth.
The Falcons collected a pair of scoring finishes in the triple jump, as junior Anthony Davis finished fifth (career-best 47'6¼") and freshman Lashawn Taylor placed seventh (44'10¼"). Senior Garrett Coalson earned a scoring finish for the Falcons in the shot put, as he posted a distance of 53'11¼" to finish fourth.
Seniors Gordon Kowalkowski and Preston Roche joined Rhoads among the top-eight of the 800-meter run, as the pair finished fifth (1:52.17) and sixth (1:52.56), respectively, while classmate Jacob Bilvado, who won the 5000-meter run last night, posted a time of 8:17.80 to finish second out of 38 runners in the 3000-meter run this afternoon. Air Force also accounted for a trio of top-eight finishers in the mile. Sophomore Scott Johnson and senior Noah Riley finished third (4:12.91) and fourth (4:13.70), respectively, in the first race of the day, while senior Josh Wojciechowski placed seventh with a time of 4:16.85.
Highlighted by an Academy record for senior Jaci Smith, the women impacted the program's all-time standings four times over the final two events of Championship Saturday. Smith, who finished third in the 3000-meter run with an time of 9:14.79 – a raw mark that bettered her previous best time – shattered her own program standard when taking the altitude of Albuquerque into account. With a converted time of 9:01.13, the senior took more than 13 seconds off of the program standard she set earlier this winter.
Smith was one of three Falcons to rewrite the Academy's all-time standings in the 3000-meter run, as sophomore Maria Mettler and junior Swathi Samuel debuted on the top 10 list. Mettler, one day removed from her conference-winning run at 5000 meters, posted a raw time of 9:45.50 to finish eighth in the 44-runner event, while Samuel clocked an actual time of 10:01.38 to finish 14th. With altitude conversions, Mettler's time of 9:31.08 is the fourth-fastest mark in Academy history – and a new Sophomore Class Record – while Samuel's converted time of 9:46.57 is the 10th-fastest mark in program history.
In the final event of the day, the 4x400-meter relay quartet of senior Aryn Maxwell, junior Megan Irvine, classmate Kelsey Owens and freshman Brid O'Connell combined for the fourth-fastest time in program history, as they finished sixth with a time of 3:50.31 – a mark that took nearly two seconds off of the previous season-best time that they ran earlier this season.
The Falcons also collected two scoring finishes from sophomore Kathleen Medill and freshman Ari Martinez, as the pair tied for eighth in the high jump with matching career-best marks of 5'5¾".
Air Force, which finished second (men) and 10th (women), will see the indoor season come to a close over the March 8-9 weekend, when select individuals travel to Birmingham, Ala., for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. A complete list of national qualifiers will be announced next week.
The men claimed the top two spots on the podium in the 60-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles and pole vault, while collecting 25 top-eight finishes.
Sophomore Zachary Dicken registered the third-fastest 400-meter time in Academy history to win his first conference title – and the Falcons' second-straight in that event. Crossing the finish line in a time of 47.10, Dicken paced Air Force to three of the top-four finishes, as senior Sedacy Walden placed second (47.88) and sophomore Luke Zuluaga finished fourth (48.91).
Seniors David Collins and Micah Fontaine posted matching marks of 8.02 sweep the top spots of the 60-meter hurdles. With a tie-breaker of 8.017, Collins claimed his first conference title – and the Academy's fourth straight – while Fontaine took second with an extended time of 8.020.
Dicken and Collins collected their second gold medal of the day in the final championship event, as they joined Walden and Zuluaga to win the 4x400-meter relay. The quartet combined for a wire-to-wire winning time of 3:13.04 to capture the program's second-straight title by more than two seconds.
Senior Miguel Molas became a back-to-back champion in the 60-meter dash, as he won his second-straight championship in that event with a time of 6.80. Junior Terrell Bradford completed the Falcons' 1-2 punch with a runner-up time of 6.84, while sophomore George Brown added points for Air Force with a sixth-place time of 6.95.
Backed by a conference title from junior Connor Stevens, the Falcons earned another 1-2 finish in the pole vault and marked the ninth time in 10 years that Air Force has sent multiple athletes to the award podium. Stevens, who also scored for the Falcons in the heptathlon during the first two days of the meet, recorded a personal-best clearance of 17'0¾" to become the program's ninth conference champion in that event. Sophomore Mitch Lipe earned runner-up honors with a career-best height of 16'8¾", while senior Sam Hinegardner and junior Logan Grizzle also registered points for the Falcons after finishing fifth (16'0¾") and eighth (15'9"), respectively.
An Academy and Championship Meet Record highlighted Michael Rhoads' title run at 800 meters. The junior posted an actual time of 1:47.82 – the second-fastest time in Mountain West history – to win the race and better the Meet Record by more than one second. Rhoads also broke the Academy record in that event, as his altitude-converted time of 1:47.22 took 0.35 off of the mark that had stood since 1984.
In addition to their 1-2 finish in the 60-meter dash, Bradford and Molas also combined for half of the top-four spots and impacted the program's all-time standings in the 200-meter dash. Bradford clocked the fifth-fastest time in Academy history (21.23) to finish second in the eight-man final, while Molas accounted for the program's eighth-fastest mark (21.50) to finish fourth.
The Falcons collected a pair of scoring finishes in the triple jump, as junior Anthony Davis finished fifth (career-best 47'6¼") and freshman Lashawn Taylor placed seventh (44'10¼"). Senior Garrett Coalson earned a scoring finish for the Falcons in the shot put, as he posted a distance of 53'11¼" to finish fourth.
Seniors Gordon Kowalkowski and Preston Roche joined Rhoads among the top-eight of the 800-meter run, as the pair finished fifth (1:52.17) and sixth (1:52.56), respectively, while classmate Jacob Bilvado, who won the 5000-meter run last night, posted a time of 8:17.80 to finish second out of 38 runners in the 3000-meter run this afternoon. Air Force also accounted for a trio of top-eight finishers in the mile. Sophomore Scott Johnson and senior Noah Riley finished third (4:12.91) and fourth (4:13.70), respectively, in the first race of the day, while senior Josh Wojciechowski placed seventh with a time of 4:16.85.
Highlighted by an Academy record for senior Jaci Smith, the women impacted the program's all-time standings four times over the final two events of Championship Saturday. Smith, who finished third in the 3000-meter run with an time of 9:14.79 – a raw mark that bettered her previous best time – shattered her own program standard when taking the altitude of Albuquerque into account. With a converted time of 9:01.13, the senior took more than 13 seconds off of the program standard she set earlier this winter.
Smith was one of three Falcons to rewrite the Academy's all-time standings in the 3000-meter run, as sophomore Maria Mettler and junior Swathi Samuel debuted on the top 10 list. Mettler, one day removed from her conference-winning run at 5000 meters, posted a raw time of 9:45.50 to finish eighth in the 44-runner event, while Samuel clocked an actual time of 10:01.38 to finish 14th. With altitude conversions, Mettler's time of 9:31.08 is the fourth-fastest mark in Academy history – and a new Sophomore Class Record – while Samuel's converted time of 9:46.57 is the 10th-fastest mark in program history.
In the final event of the day, the 4x400-meter relay quartet of senior Aryn Maxwell, junior Megan Irvine, classmate Kelsey Owens and freshman Brid O'Connell combined for the fourth-fastest time in program history, as they finished sixth with a time of 3:50.31 – a mark that took nearly two seconds off of the previous season-best time that they ran earlier this season.
The Falcons also collected two scoring finishes from sophomore Kathleen Medill and freshman Ari Martinez, as the pair tied for eighth in the high jump with matching career-best marks of 5'5¾".
Air Force, which finished second (men) and 10th (women), will see the indoor season come to a close over the March 8-9 weekend, when select individuals travel to Birmingham, Ala., for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. A complete list of national qualifiers will be announced next week.
Players Mentioned
5000m / 10,000m
/ Track and Field
100m / 200m
/ Track and Field
100m / Long Jump
/ Track and Field
Shot Put / Discus
/ Track and Field
400m Hurdles / 110m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Triple Jump
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / 200m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
High Jump / Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
1500m
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
400m Hurdles / 400m
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
100m / 200m
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
1500m
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
5000m / 10,000m
/ Track and Field
Decathlon / Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Triple Jump
/ Track and Field
400m / 200m
/ Track and Field
1500m
/ Track and Field
400m / 200m
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