Falcons Wrap up Action at Jack Christiansen Invitational

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Backed by two first-place finishes and the sixth-best high jump clearance in Academy history, members of the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the Jack Christiansen Invitational this afternoon (April 27) in Fort Collins.

With a clearance of 6'11", senior Sam Hinegardner equaled his career-best mark in the high jump to finish as the top collegiate in that event. Hinegardner, who first accounted for the Academy's No. 6 height at the NoCo Challenge last spring, matched that mark today to place second in the full 14-jumper field.

Backed by a season-best clearance of 16'11", sophomore Greg Skage won the 14-competitor pole vault and paced the Falcons to a sweep of the top-four spots. Junior Logan Grizzle and sophomore Mitch Lipe finished second and third, respectively, behind matching clearances of 16'5¼", while freshman Calvin Ciganik cleared a career-best 14'11½" to take fourth.

The men also claimed three of the top-five finishes in the 5000-meter run, as the trio of Air Force competitors all placed within the top-half of the field. Freshman Will Kitzhaber tallied an altitude-adjusted time of 15:04.26 to finish third in the 10-runner event, while sophomore Drew Lester and freshman Joseph Wittig placed fourth (15:15.57a) and fifth (debut 15:22.31a), respectively.

Senior Trevor Siniscalchi posted an altitude-adjusted time of 9:10.00 to win the Falcon-heavy 3000-meter steeplechase, while sophomore Hunter Boyer finished second behind an adjusted time of 9:31.75. Freshman La'akea Aiu and senior David Collins finished fourth (career-best 54.03) and fifth (season-best 54.11), respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles, while senior Garrett Coalson placed seventh (154'6") and freshman Jarod Pankau took ninth (151'0") in the discus throw.

The Falcons saw four other athletes finish within the top half of their respective events. Freshman Frank Rossi posted a career-best time of 1:54.91 to finish third in the 800-meter run, while classmate Carter Kuehl picked up a personal-best, fifth-place time of 22.07 in the 200-meter dash. Junior Victor Osinloye earned the same placement in the hammer throw (168'11"), while senior Josh Wojciechowski posted a season-best, altitude-adjusted time of 3:52.62 to finish sixth in the 1500-meter run.

Backed by a career-best clearance of 5'6", freshman Ari Martinez paced the women's lineup with runner-up honors in the high jump. Classmate Erika Willis posted a height of 12'0" to finish third in the pole vault, while sophomore Addyson Smith recorded a distance of 42'8" to finish fifth in the shot put.

The Falcons close out the regular season next Friday (May 3), when they host the annual Air Force Twilight Open at the Cadet Outdoor Track and Field Complex. Action is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. (MT).

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