Men Take Fourth at Greeno/Dirksen Invitational

LINCOLN, Neb. – Backed by a top-20 finish from freshman Ethan Marshall, members of the 26th-ranked Air Force men's cross country team finished fourth at the 31st-annual Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational this morning (Sept. 21) in Lincoln. Marshall paced all five of the Falcons' scoring runners to top-45 finishes in the 237-runner event.

"This meet is always a strong competitive opportunity for our developmental group," head coach Ryan Cole said. "Some freshmen had a positive start in their first 8K and overall, the returners that raced showed positive developments in their performance level. This group will go back to work and continue building for the races ahead."

Marshall, one of the Falcons running in their first 8K, clocked a time of 25:30.1 to finish 19th overall – and 17th among collegiate finishers – to lead Air Force this morning on the course at Mahoney Golf Club. Sophomore Matt Zacharias finished 28th overall (26th among collegiate scorers) behind a time of 25:38.0, while junior Drew Lester and senior Marshall Wheeler finished 36th (25:50.5, 34th among scoring runners) and 38th (25:53.3, 36th), respectively. Freshman Scott Maison completed the Falcons' scoring lineup, as he clocked an 8K debut of 25:58.8 to finish 43rd overall and 40th in the collegiate scoring field.

Air Force combined for 153 points to finish fourth in the 18-team event. Iowa won the team title with 47 points, while Kansas State (79) and host Nebraska (90) finished second and third, respectively. Air Force, which posted the best finish by a school not in a Power 5 conference, edged Cloud County by two points to finish fourth and earn its highest Greeno/Dirksen finish in two years.

Five additional members of the Air Force squad also competed at Mahoney Golf Course this morning, with sophomore Luke Nolley and freshman Niko Fraser both finishing within the top 50. Nolley clocked an 8K time of 25:59.9 to finish 44th overall, while Fraser posted a debut time of 26:03.0. Junior Aric Kedge crossed the finish line in a time of 26:24.1 to finish 65th, while his brother, sophomore AJ Kedge, timed in at 26:45.8 to finish 86th. Fellow sophomore Ryan Ioanidis rounded out the Falcons' list of runners, as he finished 120th with a time of 27:20.3.

The Falcons return to action next Saturday (Sept. 28), when they head to Oregon, for the Bill Dellinger Invitational. The meet, which will be held at Pine Ridge Golf Club, is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. (PT).

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