Falcons Split for a Pair of Meets

The Air Force track and field team splits up for a pair of meets this weekend. The majority of the squad will travel to Albuquerque, N.M., for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational on Thursday and Friday (Feb. 13-14), while a select number of middle distance and distance runners will head to Ames, Iowa, for the annual Iowa State Classic on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 14-15).

MEET INFORMATION | DON KIRBY INVITATIONAL
The Don Kirby Elite Invitational will be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center – site of the upcoming Mountain West and NCAA Indoor Championship meets – on Feb. 13-14. Air Force's action will get underway at 1:00 p.m., on Thursday (a list of Air Force's scheduled events is listed below). FloTrack will be streaming the meet's running events through its subscription service. Direct links to the video, as well as live results (once announced) will be available on the Falcons' schedule page.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (AIR FORCE ONLY)
THURSDAY – 1:00 p.m.: Men's Pole Vault, Women's Pole Vault; 1:30 p.m.: Women's High Jump; 2:00 p.m.: Men's High Jump; 2:00 p.m.: Men's Long Jump; 2:30 p.m.: Men's 400-Meter Dash; 3:00 p.m.: Women's 400-Meter Dash; 4:45 p.m.: Men's 200-Meter Dash; 5:30 p.m.: Women's 200-Meter Dash; FRIDAY: 9:00 a.m.: Men's Pole Vault (seeded); 10:00 a.m.: Men's Triple Jump; 10:00 a.m.: Men's 60-Meter Hurdles (qualifying); 11:15 a.m.: Men's 60-Meter Hurdles (semifinal); 11:40 a.m.: Men's 60-Meter Dash (semifinal); 1:00 p.m.: Men's 400-meter Dash (seeded); 1:45 p.m.: Men's 800-Meter Run; 1:55 p.m.: Women's 800-Meter Run; 2:10 p.m.: Men's 4x400-Meter Relay; 2:30 p.m.: Women's 4x400-Meter Relay

MEET INFORMATION | IOWA STATE CLASSIC
The Iowa State Classic will take place at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center on the ISU campus. Air Force is scheduled to have runners compete in four different events, but sections/seeding have not been announced yet. The 3000-meter and 5000-meter races will take place on Friday, while the 800-meter and mile races will be held on Saturday. The meet, which is free of charge to spectators, will be streamed live on FloTrack, through its subscription service, while live results will be available via Prime Time Timing.

LOOKING AROUND THE NATION
Four Falcons are currently ranked among the nation's top 25. Maria Mettler leads the quartet with a pair of top-20 marks, as she is ranked 12th at 5000 meters (16:01.36) and 18th at 3000 meters (9:19.05a). Mitch Lipe and Greg Skage are tied for 19th in the pole vault behind matching clearances of 17'6½", while Michael Rhoads is listed 22nd in the 800-meter run (1:49.54a).

SQUAD GOALS
The Feb 10 edition of the USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings features four Air Force groups listed within the nation's top 25. The men's pole vault lineup continues to hold at No. 3, while the men's 5000-meter is listed 16th. The men's triple jump went from unranked to No. 18, while the men's mile moved up 18 spots to sit at No. 25 in the NCAA. The #EventSquad rankings are determined by using the cumulative season-best qualifying marks from a team's top-four athletes on the national descending order list.

COMING UP
The Falcons close out the home portion of their indoor season next Friday (Feb. 21), when they host the Air Force Collegiate Open at the Cadet Field House. The meet will serve as a final tune-up for the squad, before they return to Albuquerque for the Mountain West Indoor Championships on Feb. 27-29.

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Players Mentioned

Mitch Lipe

Maria Mettler

Michael Rhoads

Greg Skage

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