Saturday, April 20
Long Beach, Calif.
10:00 a.m. MT
Air Force Academy
at
Beach Invitational
Michael Rhoads Shatters 800-Meter Record
4/20/2019 10:51:00 PM | Track and Field
The junior took 1.52 seconds off of the 11-year-old record and ran the second-fastest time in MW history.
TORRANCE, Calif. – Junior Michael Rhoads crushed the Academy's 800-meter record this afternoon (April 20), as members of the Air Force track and field team wrapped up its Southern California road swing with a pair of meets. Rhoads was one of three Falcons to impact the program's all-time standings, as senior Logan Feasline and sophomore Kathleen Medill debuted in the top-five of the discus throw and high jump, respectively.
Clocking a time of 1:47.10 to finish fifth in the Invitational section of the 800-meter run at the Mt SAC Relays, Rhoads deleted more than one-and-a-half seconds from the previous Academy standard that had stood for 11 years. Taking more than two seconds off of his previous best outdoor time from 2017, Rhoads finished third amongst collegiate runners in the race and accounted for the second-fastest time in Mountain West history.
Feasline had a strong afternoon in the discus circle at the Mt SAC Relays, impacting the Academy record book three times during the six-throw series. The senior, who entered the meet with a career-best mark of 175'8", improved that distance to 177'9" on his second throw and debuted in sixth on the program's all-time standings. He bettered that mark on the next attempt (179'1") to move up one spot on the Academy's list, before unleashing a toss of 182'6" on his final attempt. In addition to moving into fourth in the program's record book – and becoming just the second thrower in six years to impact the all-time standings of that event – Feasline won the discus throw by nearly four feet.
Medill, who had been sitting in 11th on the program's all-time standings after tallying a (then) career-best clearance of 5'5¾" three times in the last four meets, improved her overall height to 5'7" this afternoon at the Beach Invitational and vaulted into a tie for fifth in the Academy record book. With that clearance, which came on her second attempt of that height, the sophomore finished eighth in the 50-jumper field.
Medill was one of two Falcons to place within the top-15 of the 50-competitor high jump at the Beach Invitational, as freshman Ari Martinez recorded a clearance of 5'5" to finish 14th. Backed by a seventh-place, season-best height of 13'9¾" from senior Kathryn Tomczak, four Falcons finished within the top half of the 82-athlete pole vault at that meet. Freshman Erika Willis tied for 28th with a clearance of 12'4", while senior Jerni Self and freshman Corey Friedenbach finished 37th and 40th, respectively, behind matching marks of 11'10". On the track, senior Aryn Maxwell registered a time of 1:03.95 to finish 27th out of 55 runners in the 400-meter hurdles.
The men also accounted for four top-40 finishers in the pole vault at Long Beach, as senior Sam Hinegardner recorded a career-high 16'11½" to tie for 13th out of 72 athletes in that event. Junior Logan Grizzle added a personal-best clearance of 16'5½" to finish 16th, while sophomore Mitch Lipe tied for 27th (15'11¾") and freshman Ethan Gardner tied for 39th (15'5¾"). Senior Micah Fontaine paced the Falcons' lineup on the track, as he registered a season-best time of 14.56 to finish 15th out of 66 athletes in the 110-meter hurdles.
The Falcons return to action next weekend, when the squad splits for a pair of meets. Part of the squad will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, for the 110th-Drake Relays, while the rest of the team returns to Fort Collins for the Jack Christiansen Invitational.
Clocking a time of 1:47.10 to finish fifth in the Invitational section of the 800-meter run at the Mt SAC Relays, Rhoads deleted more than one-and-a-half seconds from the previous Academy standard that had stood for 11 years. Taking more than two seconds off of his previous best outdoor time from 2017, Rhoads finished third amongst collegiate runners in the race and accounted for the second-fastest time in Mountain West history.
Feasline had a strong afternoon in the discus circle at the Mt SAC Relays, impacting the Academy record book three times during the six-throw series. The senior, who entered the meet with a career-best mark of 175'8", improved that distance to 177'9" on his second throw and debuted in sixth on the program's all-time standings. He bettered that mark on the next attempt (179'1") to move up one spot on the Academy's list, before unleashing a toss of 182'6" on his final attempt. In addition to moving into fourth in the program's record book – and becoming just the second thrower in six years to impact the all-time standings of that event – Feasline won the discus throw by nearly four feet.
Medill, who had been sitting in 11th on the program's all-time standings after tallying a (then) career-best clearance of 5'5¾" three times in the last four meets, improved her overall height to 5'7" this afternoon at the Beach Invitational and vaulted into a tie for fifth in the Academy record book. With that clearance, which came on her second attempt of that height, the sophomore finished eighth in the 50-jumper field.
Medill was one of two Falcons to place within the top-15 of the 50-competitor high jump at the Beach Invitational, as freshman Ari Martinez recorded a clearance of 5'5" to finish 14th. Backed by a seventh-place, season-best height of 13'9¾" from senior Kathryn Tomczak, four Falcons finished within the top half of the 82-athlete pole vault at that meet. Freshman Erika Willis tied for 28th with a clearance of 12'4", while senior Jerni Self and freshman Corey Friedenbach finished 37th and 40th, respectively, behind matching marks of 11'10". On the track, senior Aryn Maxwell registered a time of 1:03.95 to finish 27th out of 55 runners in the 400-meter hurdles.
The men also accounted for four top-40 finishers in the pole vault at Long Beach, as senior Sam Hinegardner recorded a career-high 16'11½" to tie for 13th out of 72 athletes in that event. Junior Logan Grizzle added a personal-best clearance of 16'5½" to finish 16th, while sophomore Mitch Lipe tied for 27th (15'11¾") and freshman Ethan Gardner tied for 39th (15'5¾"). Senior Micah Fontaine paced the Falcons' lineup on the track, as he registered a season-best time of 14.56 to finish 15th out of 66 athletes in the 110-meter hurdles.
The Falcons return to action next weekend, when the squad splits for a pair of meets. Part of the squad will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, for the 110th-Drake Relays, while the rest of the team returns to Fort Collins for the Jack Christiansen Invitational.
Players Mentioned
Discus / Javelin
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / 200m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
High Jump / Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
400m Hurdles / 400m
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
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