Friday, February 28
Albuquerque, N.M.
10:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
MW Championships
Wyatt Murphy, Mitch Lipe Claim MW Titles
2/28/2020 7:28:00 PM | Track and Field
The men picked up six podium finishes during Friday's action at the conference meet.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Mountain West titles from sophomore Wyatt Murphy and junior Mitch Lipe highlighted the Air Force track and field team's second day of action at the MW Indoor Championships in Albuquerque. The pair paced the Falcons during an impressive day of action that included six podium finishes and numerous qualifiers into the finals.
Murphy accounted for the seventh-highest heptathlon total in Academy history this afternoon, as he amassed 5170 points to become the program's first MW heptathlon champion in 14 years – and just the third overall. Improving his own career total by 390 points to break the program's seven-year-old Sophomore Class Record, Murphy tallied career-best marks in the 60-meter hurdles (8.45) and 1000-meter run (2:46.97), while matching his personal-best clearance of 12'9½" in the pole vault.
Lipe collected the program's 10th Mountain West title in the indoor pole vault, as he cleared 16'10¾" to win his first conference title and pace the Falcons to a sweep of the podium finishes – and five of the top-six spots. Senior Connor Stevens finished second with a height of 16'6¾", while sophomore Ethan Gardner placed third with a clearance of 16'2¾". In addition, senior Chris Doerr and sophomore Ryan Brown scored for the Falcons after finishing fifth (15'9") and sixth (15'3"), respectively.
Air Force also accounted for two podium finishes in the high jump, as the Falcons capped off the night with career-best performances from junior Addison Brown and sophomore Jake Hall. After forcing a jump-off to end the night, Brown finished second with a clearance of 6'9", while Hall used the same height to tie with the 2019 champion.
In addition to scoring for the Falcons in the pole vault, Gardner and Doerr collected points for Air Force in the heptathlon. Backed by a one-two finish in the event's pole vault, the pair finished fifth (3160) and sixth (2857), respectively, in their first collegiate combined events competition.
Jaret Prete broke his own Freshman Class Record in weight throw three times today, as he captured a fourth-place finish after recording a distance of 57'3½" in his first conference meet, and the Falcons also accounted for scoring finishes in both the men's and women's 5000-meter events. Senior Teri Brady picked up a fourth-place finish in the 23-runner women's event (17:12.28), while sophomore Ryan Ioanidis clocked an eighth-place time of 14:46.44 in the men's race.
Several qualifying races were contested today at the ABQ Convention Center, with the Falcons advancing eight into tomorrow's finals.
The men collected three qualifying spots in the mile, as freshman Sam Gilman (4:16.34), junior Scott Johnson (3:17.64) and classmate Colin Dwyer (4:19.57) all advanced on time. Senior Terrell Bradford advanced out of the preliminary round in a pair of events, as he earned an automatic bid in the 60-meter dash (6.83) and advanced on time in the 200-meter dash (21.67). Senior Michael Rhoads earned an automatic place in the finals of the 800-meter run after clocking the second-fastest qualifying time (1:54.26) and junior Zach Dicken claimed a place in the 400-meter finals after posting the third-fastest time during the preliminary round (48.19).
On the women's side, junior Mahala Norris and senior Swathi Samuel advanced into tomorrow's final of the mile, as the pair earned automatic bids into the championship round. Norris clocked a time of 4:56.90 to finish fourth in the 25-runner preliminary, while Samuel finished eighth with a time of 5:02.48.
In addition, two members of the women's team impacted the Academy Record Book during today's preliminary round. Senior Kelsey Owens clocked the seventh-fastest 400-meter time in Academy history (57.07), while Aubrey Ridgeway posted a 200-meter time of 24.81 to equal the Junior Class Record that Gail Conway initially set in 1983.
After two days of competition, the men have accounted for 75.50 points to lead the seven-team field, while the women have 11 points to sit at sixth in the in the 11-team meet.
The Falcons return to the ABQ Convention Center tomorrow morning (Feb. 29) for Championship Saturday at the 2020 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships. Action begins with the women's high jump at 9:30 a.m. (MT).
Murphy accounted for the seventh-highest heptathlon total in Academy history this afternoon, as he amassed 5170 points to become the program's first MW heptathlon champion in 14 years – and just the third overall. Improving his own career total by 390 points to break the program's seven-year-old Sophomore Class Record, Murphy tallied career-best marks in the 60-meter hurdles (8.45) and 1000-meter run (2:46.97), while matching his personal-best clearance of 12'9½" in the pole vault.
Lipe collected the program's 10th Mountain West title in the indoor pole vault, as he cleared 16'10¾" to win his first conference title and pace the Falcons to a sweep of the podium finishes – and five of the top-six spots. Senior Connor Stevens finished second with a height of 16'6¾", while sophomore Ethan Gardner placed third with a clearance of 16'2¾". In addition, senior Chris Doerr and sophomore Ryan Brown scored for the Falcons after finishing fifth (15'9") and sixth (15'3"), respectively.
Air Force also accounted for two podium finishes in the high jump, as the Falcons capped off the night with career-best performances from junior Addison Brown and sophomore Jake Hall. After forcing a jump-off to end the night, Brown finished second with a clearance of 6'9", while Hall used the same height to tie with the 2019 champion.
In addition to scoring for the Falcons in the pole vault, Gardner and Doerr collected points for Air Force in the heptathlon. Backed by a one-two finish in the event's pole vault, the pair finished fifth (3160) and sixth (2857), respectively, in their first collegiate combined events competition.
Jaret Prete broke his own Freshman Class Record in weight throw three times today, as he captured a fourth-place finish after recording a distance of 57'3½" in his first conference meet, and the Falcons also accounted for scoring finishes in both the men's and women's 5000-meter events. Senior Teri Brady picked up a fourth-place finish in the 23-runner women's event (17:12.28), while sophomore Ryan Ioanidis clocked an eighth-place time of 14:46.44 in the men's race.
Several qualifying races were contested today at the ABQ Convention Center, with the Falcons advancing eight into tomorrow's finals.
The men collected three qualifying spots in the mile, as freshman Sam Gilman (4:16.34), junior Scott Johnson (3:17.64) and classmate Colin Dwyer (4:19.57) all advanced on time. Senior Terrell Bradford advanced out of the preliminary round in a pair of events, as he earned an automatic bid in the 60-meter dash (6.83) and advanced on time in the 200-meter dash (21.67). Senior Michael Rhoads earned an automatic place in the finals of the 800-meter run after clocking the second-fastest qualifying time (1:54.26) and junior Zach Dicken claimed a place in the 400-meter finals after posting the third-fastest time during the preliminary round (48.19).
On the women's side, junior Mahala Norris and senior Swathi Samuel advanced into tomorrow's final of the mile, as the pair earned automatic bids into the championship round. Norris clocked a time of 4:56.90 to finish fourth in the 25-runner preliminary, while Samuel finished eighth with a time of 5:02.48.
In addition, two members of the women's team impacted the Academy Record Book during today's preliminary round. Senior Kelsey Owens clocked the seventh-fastest 400-meter time in Academy history (57.07), while Aubrey Ridgeway posted a 200-meter time of 24.81 to equal the Junior Class Record that Gail Conway initially set in 1983.
After two days of competition, the men have accounted for 75.50 points to lead the seven-team field, while the women have 11 points to sit at sixth in the in the 11-team meet.
The Falcons return to the ABQ Convention Center tomorrow morning (Feb. 29) for Championship Saturday at the 2020 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships. Action begins with the women's high jump at 9:30 a.m. (MT).
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10,000m / 5000m
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Pole Vault
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800m
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800m / 1500m / 5000m
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High Jump
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1500m / 5000m
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Decathlon
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800m / 1500m
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400m
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Hammer / Discus / Shot Put
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400m / 200m
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1500m / 5000m
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Decathlon / Pole Vault
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