Distance Medley Relays Shine on Opening Day of MW Championships

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Air Force track and field team kicked off the 2020 Mountain West Indoor Championships this afternoon (Feb. 27) with two medals and the fourth-fastest women's distance medley relay in Academy history.

The DMR squad of senior Swathi Samuel, sophomore Grace Proesch, sophomore Brid O'Connell and senior Lindsey Blanks accounted for an altitude-adjusted time of 11:38.54 (11:49.27 actual) to debut in fourth on the program's all-time standings and earn a spot on the podium, as Blanks used a strong finish to move the Falcons into a third-place finish in the 10-team final.

The men's distance medley relay also accounted for a podium finish on Thursday, as juniors Konrad Steck, Terrell Davis, Aric Kedge and Scott Johnson combined for a time of 9:58.06 to take second in the only men's final of the day.

In addition to the distance medley relay, the first four events of the heptathlon took place today at the ABQ Convention Center. Sophomore Wyatt Murphy, who earned first-place points in three of the four contested events, finished the opening day of competition in second with 2910 points – a new personal-best first-day total. Murphy earned the top point-totals in the 60-meter hurdles (career-best 6.93), long jump (21'11¾") and high jump (6'4"), while posting a career-best distance of 34'8¼" to finish fourth in the shot put.

Sophomore Ethan Gardner and senior Chris Doerr, who made their heptathlon debut today at the conference meet, are in fifth (1997) and sixth (1696), respectively, after the opening day of competition. Gardner earned fifth-place marks in all four events, while Doerr finished fourth in the 60-meter dash and sixth in the remaining three events.

Murphy, Gardner and Doerr return to the ABQ Convention Center tomorrow morning (Feb. 28) for the final three events of the heptathlon, while individual events are scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. (MT),

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