Saturday, September 28
Springfield, OR
11:30 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
Dellinger Invitational
Photo by: Gary Breedlove
Women Finish Third at Bill Dellinger Invitational
9/28/2019 8:37:00 PM | Cross Country
Mikayla Gallagher's sixth-place finish paced the women to wins over five nationally-mentioned teams.
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Backed by a sixth-place finish from sophomore Mikayla Gallagher, the Air Force women's cross country team bettered several nationally-ranked squads this morning (Sept. 28), during a third-place performance at the Bill Dellinger Invitational this morning in Oregon. The 27th-ranked men finished ninth in their race, while the women, who are receiving vote in the latest USTFCCCA poll, finished ahead of one top-10 team, two other nationally-ranked squads and a pair of teams earning votes.
"We competed tough against national-caliber fields today," head coach Ryan Cole said. "We wanted to use this meet to gauge where we're at to really begin our competitive season."
Crossing the finish line in a time of 19:58.5 to finish sixth out of 141 runners, Gallagher became just the third Academy female to break the 20-minute mark in a 6K race (any altitude).
All five of the Falcons' scoring runners placed within the top 55 of the of field, with senior Teri Brady, junior Mahala Norris and senior Lindsey Blanks joining Gallagher among the top 25 of the overall field. Brady posted a time of 20:20.5 to place 15th, while Norris finished just two spots back with a time of 20:23.0. Blanks added a time of 20:30.3 to finish 23rd, while sophomore Jenna Kill completed the team's scoring lineup with a 55th-place time of 20:57.4 during her first race of the season.
Sixth-ranked BYU won the meet with 35 points, while No. 13 Boise State finished second with 81 points. Air Force easily distanced itself from ninth-ranked Oregon, which finished fourth with 143 points. The Falcons also finished ahead of nationally-mentioned squads from Oregon State (RV/fifth, 172), 15th-ranked Furman (sixth, 184), Texas (RV/seventh, 184) and 27th-ranked UCLA (ninth, 184).
Three other Falcons also completed the course at Pine Ridge this morning. Freshman Maddie Edwards registered a time of 21:35.5 to finish 98th in her first collegiate 6K, while sophomore Andi Almodovar and Sarah Deresky finished 106th (21:46.3) and 111th (21:52.2), respectively.
"The women stepped up really well with two key people out of the lineup," Cole said. "Our top four girls ran extremely strong and I'm optimistic we'll have our full squad back at our next competition."
On the men's side, just 11 seconds separated the Falcons' five scoring runners, who all finished within the top 55 of the 143-runner event. Senior Justin Weber clocked a team-leading 8K time of 24:21.4 to place 40th, while junior Scott Johnson and sophomore Will Kitzhaber finished close behind to finish 42nd (24:22.4) and 43rd (24:24.5), respectively. Freshman Sam Gilman placed 51st in his collegiate debut, following a 24:30.8 performance, and junior Colin Dwyer completed the Falcons' five-man scoring lineup with a 55th-place time of 24:32.4.
The men, ranked 27th in the latest USTFCCCA poll, combined for 206 points to finish ninth out of 14 teams in their first appearance at the Bill Dellinger Invitational. No. 11 Oregon won its own meet with 54 points, while second-ranked BYU (60) edged No. 24 UCLA (62) to finish second and third, respectively.
Air Force placed five more runners within the top 75 of the overall field. Senior Patrick Sullivan clocked an 8K mark of 24:33.0 to finish 56th, while juniors Alec Schrank and Konrad Steck placed 63rd (24:42.3) and 64th (24:44.7), respectively. Sophomore Joseph Wittig finished 70th with a time of 24:52.4, while freshman Ryan Johnson finished 74th (24:55.4) and junior Hunter Boyer rounded out the Falcons' contingent with a time of 25:57.1 (127th).
"Our men grouped up well, as we thought we could, but we had some just-misses on defeating a few key teams from other regions," Cole added. "We'll get another opportunity to build our resume for the end of the year in a few weeks."
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Oct. 12, when select members of the squad travel to Kansas for the annual Tiger Open at Fort Hays State.
"We competed tough against national-caliber fields today," head coach Ryan Cole said. "We wanted to use this meet to gauge where we're at to really begin our competitive season."
Crossing the finish line in a time of 19:58.5 to finish sixth out of 141 runners, Gallagher became just the third Academy female to break the 20-minute mark in a 6K race (any altitude).
All five of the Falcons' scoring runners placed within the top 55 of the of field, with senior Teri Brady, junior Mahala Norris and senior Lindsey Blanks joining Gallagher among the top 25 of the overall field. Brady posted a time of 20:20.5 to place 15th, while Norris finished just two spots back with a time of 20:23.0. Blanks added a time of 20:30.3 to finish 23rd, while sophomore Jenna Kill completed the team's scoring lineup with a 55th-place time of 20:57.4 during her first race of the season.
Sixth-ranked BYU won the meet with 35 points, while No. 13 Boise State finished second with 81 points. Air Force easily distanced itself from ninth-ranked Oregon, which finished fourth with 143 points. The Falcons also finished ahead of nationally-mentioned squads from Oregon State (RV/fifth, 172), 15th-ranked Furman (sixth, 184), Texas (RV/seventh, 184) and 27th-ranked UCLA (ninth, 184).
Three other Falcons also completed the course at Pine Ridge this morning. Freshman Maddie Edwards registered a time of 21:35.5 to finish 98th in her first collegiate 6K, while sophomore Andi Almodovar and Sarah Deresky finished 106th (21:46.3) and 111th (21:52.2), respectively.
"The women stepped up really well with two key people out of the lineup," Cole said. "Our top four girls ran extremely strong and I'm optimistic we'll have our full squad back at our next competition."
On the men's side, just 11 seconds separated the Falcons' five scoring runners, who all finished within the top 55 of the 143-runner event. Senior Justin Weber clocked a team-leading 8K time of 24:21.4 to place 40th, while junior Scott Johnson and sophomore Will Kitzhaber finished close behind to finish 42nd (24:22.4) and 43rd (24:24.5), respectively. Freshman Sam Gilman placed 51st in his collegiate debut, following a 24:30.8 performance, and junior Colin Dwyer completed the Falcons' five-man scoring lineup with a 55th-place time of 24:32.4.
The men, ranked 27th in the latest USTFCCCA poll, combined for 206 points to finish ninth out of 14 teams in their first appearance at the Bill Dellinger Invitational. No. 11 Oregon won its own meet with 54 points, while second-ranked BYU (60) edged No. 24 UCLA (62) to finish second and third, respectively.
Air Force placed five more runners within the top 75 of the overall field. Senior Patrick Sullivan clocked an 8K mark of 24:33.0 to finish 56th, while juniors Alec Schrank and Konrad Steck placed 63rd (24:42.3) and 64th (24:44.7), respectively. Sophomore Joseph Wittig finished 70th with a time of 24:52.4, while freshman Ryan Johnson finished 74th (24:55.4) and junior Hunter Boyer rounded out the Falcons' contingent with a time of 25:57.1 (127th).
"Our men grouped up well, as we thought we could, but we had some just-misses on defeating a few key teams from other regions," Cole added. "We'll get another opportunity to build our resume for the end of the year in a few weeks."
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Oct. 12, when select members of the squad travel to Kansas for the annual Tiger Open at Fort Hays State.
Players Mentioned
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