Saturday, January 18
USAFA
11:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
vs
Air Force Invitational
Photo by: Trevor Cokley
Track and Field Men Win Air Force Invitational
1/18/2020 6:54:00 PM | Track and Field
The Falcons claimed three first-place finishes and made two additions to the all-time standings.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force men's track and field team won the 30th-annual Air Force Invitational this afternoon (Jan. 18), as it wrapped up a busy weekend of action at the Cadet Field House. The men collected three first-place finishes and accounted for 22 scoring finishes to better the Division I teams by nearly 20 points.
The Falcons also made a pair of improvements to the program's all-time standings during Saturday's action, as juniors Maria Mettler and Mitch Lipe impacted the Academy record book during their respective events. Mettler accounted for the fifth-fastest mile in program history (4:52.28, adjusted for altitude) after clocking an actual time of 5:03.75 to win that event by more than 10 seconds, and Lipe posted a career-best pole vault clearance of 17'6½" to debut in ninth on the Academy's all-time standings.
Lipe, who finished second in the 17-jumper pole vault, was one of three Falcons to score for Air Force in that event, as sophomore Ethan Gardner and senior Connor Stevens finished fifth and sixth, respectively, with matching clearances of 16'0¾" (career-best for Gardner, season-debut for Stevens). The men's vertical jump team also accounted for a pair of top-three marks in the high jump, as sophomore Jake Hall and junior Addison Brown recorded matching heights of 6'6 ¾" (career-best matching for Brown) to finish second and third, respectively, in that event.
Freshman Aden Baughman, junior Scott Johnson and classmate Hunter Boyer picked up victories in the three longest races of the night, as the Falcons accounted for 13 scoring finishes in the three longest races of the weekend. Baughman posted a time of 1:55.89 to win the 800-meter run, leading Air Force to a sweep of the top-two spots (sophomore Frank Rossi, 1:56.91) – and three of the top-four finishes overall (sophomore Garrett Blenkush, fourth in 2:00.61). Johnson paced the Falcons to five scorning finishes in the mile after posting a time of 4:18.24. Classmate Konrad Steck and senior Patrick Sullivan finished fourth (4:23.15) and fifth (4:23.96), respectively, while junior Colin Dwyer finished sixth (4:24.41) and freshman Aiden Boyle placed eighth among scoring runners (ninth overall) behind a time of 4:25.28. Boyer won an Air Force-dominated 3000-meter event, as he clocked a time of 8:48.60 to lead the Falcons to five of the top-six times. Sophomore Ryan Ioanidis (8:51.32, second) and freshman Nico Fraser (8:52.43, third) joined Boyer among the top-three, while senior Justin Weber and junior Drew Lester finished fifth (8:54.09) and sixth (9:00.91), respectively.
Juniors Luke Zuluaga and Terrell Davis contributed to a pair of scoring finishes for the Falcons this afternoon, as they earned individual scoring finishes in the 400-meter dash and joined classmate Zachary Dicken and sophomore Sean Geither in the mile relay that earned runner-up honors behind a time of 3:16.97. Senior Michael Rhoads finished third in the open 400 with a time of 48.67, while Zuluaga (49.20, fourth) and Davis (49.64, fifth) helped Air Force take three of the five scoring finishes in the final.
The men combined for 150 points to win the Air Force Invitational for the second-straight year. BYU finished second with 131 points, while conference foes Colorado State and Wyoming finished third (104.5) and fourth (96), respectively. The full team field also included athletes from Colorado (25), UCCS (22.5) and Northern Colorado (15).
Mettler paced the women to three top-five finishes in the mile, as senior Swathi Samuel and sophomore Sarah Deresky finished fourth (5:20.81 raw) and fifth (5:26.48), respectively. Backed by a top collegiate finish from sophomore Brid O'Connell, the Falcons also accounted for three scoring finishes in the 800-meter run. O'Connell posted a time of 2:22.69 (actual) to finish second in the overall standings, while freshmen Stephanie Gregerson and Cat Cavinder placed sixth (2:26.04) and eighth (2:28.43), respectively.
O'Connell and Gregerson also ran the final two legs of the mile relay that finished fourth with a time of 4:00.39. The pair was joined on the relay by sophomore Grace Proesch, who debuted in 10th on the program's 200-meter standings yesterday, and senior Kelsey Owens, who scored for the Falcons in the 400-meter run (fourth, 57.77). The senior was one of two top-eight finishers in the 400-meter race, as junior Aubrey Ridgeway finished eighth with a time of 1:02.35.
The women added multiple scoring finishes in three additional events during Saturday's competition. Sophomores Erika Willis (career-best 12'3½"fifth) and Frankie Porambo (season-best 11'5¾") finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the pole vault, while sophomore Andi Almodovar (11:04.57, sixth) and freshman Maddie Edwards (11:09.63, seventh) earned top-eight finishes in the 3000-meter run. Sophomore Ari Martinez cleared 5'5" to finish fourth in the collegiate standings of the high jump (eighth overall), while classmate Kendra Martinez finished eighth in scoring (11th overall) with a mark of 5'3".
Freshman Ira Frazier rounded out the Falcons' list of scoring finishes, as she recorded a personal-best distance of 35'8¾" to finish seventh in the triple jump.
The women combined for 66.5 points to finish sixth in the team standings. BYU won the meet with 137 points, while Colorado State (97.5) and Wyoming (84.5) rounded out the top three.
History was made in the Cadet Field House this afternoon, as Air Force alumni Kyle Pater (Class of 2017) posted a WORLD-LEADING clearance of 19'1" to easily win the pole vault competition. A member of the Air Force World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), Pater bettered the 17-vaulter field by nearly one foot and broke a Facility Record that had stood since 1998.
The current group of Falcons compete outside of Colorado for the first time next weekend, when they travel to Lubbock, Texas, for the Red Raider Invitational on Friday, Jan. 24.
The Falcons also made a pair of improvements to the program's all-time standings during Saturday's action, as juniors Maria Mettler and Mitch Lipe impacted the Academy record book during their respective events. Mettler accounted for the fifth-fastest mile in program history (4:52.28, adjusted for altitude) after clocking an actual time of 5:03.75 to win that event by more than 10 seconds, and Lipe posted a career-best pole vault clearance of 17'6½" to debut in ninth on the Academy's all-time standings.
Lipe, who finished second in the 17-jumper pole vault, was one of three Falcons to score for Air Force in that event, as sophomore Ethan Gardner and senior Connor Stevens finished fifth and sixth, respectively, with matching clearances of 16'0¾" (career-best for Gardner, season-debut for Stevens). The men's vertical jump team also accounted for a pair of top-three marks in the high jump, as sophomore Jake Hall and junior Addison Brown recorded matching heights of 6'6 ¾" (career-best matching for Brown) to finish second and third, respectively, in that event.
Freshman Aden Baughman, junior Scott Johnson and classmate Hunter Boyer picked up victories in the three longest races of the night, as the Falcons accounted for 13 scoring finishes in the three longest races of the weekend. Baughman posted a time of 1:55.89 to win the 800-meter run, leading Air Force to a sweep of the top-two spots (sophomore Frank Rossi, 1:56.91) – and three of the top-four finishes overall (sophomore Garrett Blenkush, fourth in 2:00.61). Johnson paced the Falcons to five scorning finishes in the mile after posting a time of 4:18.24. Classmate Konrad Steck and senior Patrick Sullivan finished fourth (4:23.15) and fifth (4:23.96), respectively, while junior Colin Dwyer finished sixth (4:24.41) and freshman Aiden Boyle placed eighth among scoring runners (ninth overall) behind a time of 4:25.28. Boyer won an Air Force-dominated 3000-meter event, as he clocked a time of 8:48.60 to lead the Falcons to five of the top-six times. Sophomore Ryan Ioanidis (8:51.32, second) and freshman Nico Fraser (8:52.43, third) joined Boyer among the top-three, while senior Justin Weber and junior Drew Lester finished fifth (8:54.09) and sixth (9:00.91), respectively.
Juniors Luke Zuluaga and Terrell Davis contributed to a pair of scoring finishes for the Falcons this afternoon, as they earned individual scoring finishes in the 400-meter dash and joined classmate Zachary Dicken and sophomore Sean Geither in the mile relay that earned runner-up honors behind a time of 3:16.97. Senior Michael Rhoads finished third in the open 400 with a time of 48.67, while Zuluaga (49.20, fourth) and Davis (49.64, fifth) helped Air Force take three of the five scoring finishes in the final.
The men combined for 150 points to win the Air Force Invitational for the second-straight year. BYU finished second with 131 points, while conference foes Colorado State and Wyoming finished third (104.5) and fourth (96), respectively. The full team field also included athletes from Colorado (25), UCCS (22.5) and Northern Colorado (15).
Mettler paced the women to three top-five finishes in the mile, as senior Swathi Samuel and sophomore Sarah Deresky finished fourth (5:20.81 raw) and fifth (5:26.48), respectively. Backed by a top collegiate finish from sophomore Brid O'Connell, the Falcons also accounted for three scoring finishes in the 800-meter run. O'Connell posted a time of 2:22.69 (actual) to finish second in the overall standings, while freshmen Stephanie Gregerson and Cat Cavinder placed sixth (2:26.04) and eighth (2:28.43), respectively.
O'Connell and Gregerson also ran the final two legs of the mile relay that finished fourth with a time of 4:00.39. The pair was joined on the relay by sophomore Grace Proesch, who debuted in 10th on the program's 200-meter standings yesterday, and senior Kelsey Owens, who scored for the Falcons in the 400-meter run (fourth, 57.77). The senior was one of two top-eight finishers in the 400-meter race, as junior Aubrey Ridgeway finished eighth with a time of 1:02.35.
The women added multiple scoring finishes in three additional events during Saturday's competition. Sophomores Erika Willis (career-best 12'3½"fifth) and Frankie Porambo (season-best 11'5¾") finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the pole vault, while sophomore Andi Almodovar (11:04.57, sixth) and freshman Maddie Edwards (11:09.63, seventh) earned top-eight finishes in the 3000-meter run. Sophomore Ari Martinez cleared 5'5" to finish fourth in the collegiate standings of the high jump (eighth overall), while classmate Kendra Martinez finished eighth in scoring (11th overall) with a mark of 5'3".
Freshman Ira Frazier rounded out the Falcons' list of scoring finishes, as she recorded a personal-best distance of 35'8¾" to finish seventh in the triple jump.
The women combined for 66.5 points to finish sixth in the team standings. BYU won the meet with 137 points, while Colorado State (97.5) and Wyoming (84.5) rounded out the top three.
History was made in the Cadet Field House this afternoon, as Air Force alumni Kyle Pater (Class of 2017) posted a WORLD-LEADING clearance of 19'1" to easily win the pole vault competition. A member of the Air Force World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), Pater bettered the 17-vaulter field by nearly one foot and broke a Facility Record that had stood since 1998.
The current group of Falcons compete outside of Colorado for the first time next weekend, when they travel to Lubbock, Texas, for the Red Raider Invitational on Friday, Jan. 24.
Players Mentioned
800m
/ Track and Field
800m / 1500m
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
3000m Steeplechase
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
400m / 200m
/ Track and Field
5000m
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
800m / 1500m
/ Track and Field
Triple Jump / 200m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
1500m
/ Track and Field
1500m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
100m / 200m
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
400m / 200m
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
1500m
/ Track and Field
Decathlon / Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
3000m Steeplechase / 5000m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
400m / 200m
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