Michael Rhoads Advances to NCAA Championships

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Air Force junior Michael Rhoads secured a trip to Austin for the final rounds of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this evening (May 24), as eight Falcons wrapped up the second day of action at the NCAA West Preliminary in Sacramento. Rhoads, who earned All-America honors at 800 meters during the indoor season, earned an automatic bid to Texas in his signature event during tonight's race at Hornet Stadium.

Rhoads, competing in the final heat of today's three 800-meter quarterfinal races, earned an automatic qualifying spot into the final NCAA site by clocking a time of 1:48.09 to finish third. With the top three finishers from each heat automatically earning a spot to Austin, Rhoads sat in third for the majority of the race. After being challenged for the final "auto" spot near the final curve, Rhoads retook the position and held on to secure third – and his first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships – by 0.29 seconds.

Senior Kathryn Tomczak closed out her stellar Academy career with a 14th-place finish in the pole vault. After passing on the opening height, Tomczak was perfect on first-attempt clearances during the next three bars, easily clearing 12'10¼", 13'4¼" and 13'8¼" on her first try, while the competition dwindled around her. Unable to surpass a would-be season-best clearance of 14'0", Tomczak exited the competition and finished just two spots shy of the final 12 qualifiers that advanced to Austin.

During the Falcons' first event of the day, out on throws field, junior Parker Spearman collected a top-20 finish in the javelin. With each competitor only receiving three throws at the Prelim site, Spearman recorded a distance of 215'3" to finish 18th in the full 48-thrower field. Classmate Bailey Ishler recorded the second-best throw of his career – 200-feet even – to finish 31st in his first NCAA Championship meet.

The Falcons were represented in both the men's and women's 3000-meter steeplechase this evening, as senior Trevor Siniscalchi closed out his collegiate career with a 32nd-place time of 9:03.07 in the men's event and junior Lindsey Blanks recorded a time of 10:27.76 in the women's event to finish 39th in her first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Senior Logan Feasline finished 44th in his final discus competition (166'2") and classmate Micah Fontaine closed out his senior season with a 34th-place finish in the first round of the 110-meter hurdles (14.30).

Air Force closes out competition at the NCAA West Preliminary tomorrow (May 25) night, beginning with the men's high jump at 4:00 p.m., and continuing through a pair of 5000-meter races at 8:00 p.m. (PT).

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