Saturday, January 23
USAFA
9:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
vs
Air Force Invitational
Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos
Men Claim Team Title at Air Force Invitational
1/23/2021 9:58:00 PM | Track and Field
The men captured three distance titles on Saturday, while the women added two.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Backed by five first-place finishes and the men's team title, the Air Force track and field squad wrapped up competition at its home invitational this afternoon (Jan. 23). The men claimed event titles in the three longest races of the meet, while the women earned a pair of first-place marks from two of their distance runners.
Freshman Cole Lindhorst had an impressive collegiate debut in the 800-meter run, as he clocked a time of 1:53.11 to easily win the race and lead Air Force to three of the top-five finishes in the 20-runner event. Junior Frank Rossi added a time of 1:55.27 to finish third, while classmate Garrett Blenkush picked up a fifth-place finish after posting a time of 1:58.19. Freshman Alex Patton also scored for the Falcons during his collegiate debut, as he added a seventh-place time of 1:58.66.
Backed by first-place finishes from sophomore Sam Gilman and senior Drew Lester, Air Force also accounted for multiple scoring finishes in the mile and 3000-meter run. Gilman took first in the mile after posting a time of 4:22.45 – and edging sophomore teammate Scott Maison (4:22.59) by just 0.14 seconds, while Luke Combs and sophomore Ben Leicht finished third (4:25.23) and fourth (4:26.79), respectively, and fellow sophomore Ryan Johnson placed sixth with a time of 4:28.24. Lester's winning time of 8:51.94 led Air Force to a sweep of the top-five times in the 3000-meter run, as juniors Joseph Wittig (8:56.73), AJ Kedge (9:02.78) and Matt Zacharias (9:09.69) went 2-3-4, and freshman Jett Knight finished fifth (9:16.35) in his first collegiate race.
Junior LaShawn Taylor recorded a career-best distance of 49'7¼" to finish second in the triple jump – and move into eighth on the program's all-time standings – while senior Mitch Lipe placed second amongst collegiate/scoring athletes in the pole vault (17'0¾"). Senior Zachary Dicken used a time of 6.94 to finish third in the 60-meter dash and teamed up with junior La'akea Aiu, junior Sean Geither and senior Luke Zuluaga to earn the same placement in the mile relay (3:17.2).
Geither and Zuluaga, who ran the final two legs on the relay, also scored for the Falcons in the 400-meter dash, as they finished fourth (48.74) and fifth (49.01), respectively. Lipe, who finished third in the overall 17-member pole vault field, was one of four Falcons to score in that event, as Air Force earned a fourth-place clearance from senior Greg Skage (16'6¾") and a pair of seventh-place marks from junior Ethan Gardner and freshman Caiden Macktinger (15'7" for both). Sophomore Cameron Harris rounded out Saturday's scoring finishers for the men, as he clocked a time of 8.74 to finish seventh in the hurdles.
Senior Mahala Norris and sophomore Maddie Edwards picked up first-place finishes for the women, while leading several Falcons to scoring finishes in the mile and 3000-meter run, respectively. Norris clocked a time of 5:08.35 to win the 12-member mile and lead freshman Rachel Crytser (5:30.09 collegiate debut), freshman Rebecca Wusinich (5:31.72 collegiate debut) and sophomore Stephanie Gregerson (5:33.36 event debut) to a 3-4-5 finish, while Edwards posted a time of 10:57.74 to pace freshmen Caitlin McConnell (11:27.01) and Rayna Fruchey (11:45.94) to a sweep of the top-three placements in the 3000-meter run.
Junior Grace Proesh, who scored for Air Force in the 400-meter dash (58.87, eighth), anchored classmate Michelle Roca, senior Aubrey Ridgeway and freshman Zoe Iwu to a third-place finish in the mile relay (3:57.87), while senior Addyson Smith finished sixth in the 22-thrower shot put (43'7") and junior Ari Martinez earned that same placement in the collegiate standings of the high jump (5'7") to round out the Falcons' lineup of scorers.
The men accounted for 159.5 points to win the 10-team meet and capture the Air Force Invitational team title for the third-straight year. BYU finished second with 101 points, while conference foes Colorado State and Wyoming placed third (89) and fourth (60), respectively, and Weber State rounded out the top five with 46 points. The women registered 68 points – a tally less than 10 points out of second – to finish fourth in their field 12 that included the top-three finishers from California (86.5), UNLV (77) and BYU (75).
"I'm very pleased with our efforts, if mildly disappointed with some performances," head coach Ralph Lindeman said. "We seem to be in a training session, lacking the competitive instincts and emotional intensity that I trust will grow over the coming weeks. Much of that comes from 47 weeks without a race or competition of any kind, not to mention the last three weeks of inconsistent training, due to ROM and then construction on our indoor track. But ... I am SO proud of our teams for working so hard to help our officials and help with all of our COVID-related requirements and restrictions. Our team of cadet managers was absolutely amazing."
Air Force heads out on the road next weekend, when it travels to Lubbock for the Texas Tech Invitational on Jan. 29-30. In addition, members of the Falcons' distance squad will also kick off the abbreviated cross country season on Monday, Feb. 1, in Las Vegas.
Freshman Cole Lindhorst had an impressive collegiate debut in the 800-meter run, as he clocked a time of 1:53.11 to easily win the race and lead Air Force to three of the top-five finishes in the 20-runner event. Junior Frank Rossi added a time of 1:55.27 to finish third, while classmate Garrett Blenkush picked up a fifth-place finish after posting a time of 1:58.19. Freshman Alex Patton also scored for the Falcons during his collegiate debut, as he added a seventh-place time of 1:58.66.
Backed by first-place finishes from sophomore Sam Gilman and senior Drew Lester, Air Force also accounted for multiple scoring finishes in the mile and 3000-meter run. Gilman took first in the mile after posting a time of 4:22.45 – and edging sophomore teammate Scott Maison (4:22.59) by just 0.14 seconds, while Luke Combs and sophomore Ben Leicht finished third (4:25.23) and fourth (4:26.79), respectively, and fellow sophomore Ryan Johnson placed sixth with a time of 4:28.24. Lester's winning time of 8:51.94 led Air Force to a sweep of the top-five times in the 3000-meter run, as juniors Joseph Wittig (8:56.73), AJ Kedge (9:02.78) and Matt Zacharias (9:09.69) went 2-3-4, and freshman Jett Knight finished fifth (9:16.35) in his first collegiate race.
Junior LaShawn Taylor recorded a career-best distance of 49'7¼" to finish second in the triple jump – and move into eighth on the program's all-time standings – while senior Mitch Lipe placed second amongst collegiate/scoring athletes in the pole vault (17'0¾"). Senior Zachary Dicken used a time of 6.94 to finish third in the 60-meter dash and teamed up with junior La'akea Aiu, junior Sean Geither and senior Luke Zuluaga to earn the same placement in the mile relay (3:17.2).
Geither and Zuluaga, who ran the final two legs on the relay, also scored for the Falcons in the 400-meter dash, as they finished fourth (48.74) and fifth (49.01), respectively. Lipe, who finished third in the overall 17-member pole vault field, was one of four Falcons to score in that event, as Air Force earned a fourth-place clearance from senior Greg Skage (16'6¾") and a pair of seventh-place marks from junior Ethan Gardner and freshman Caiden Macktinger (15'7" for both). Sophomore Cameron Harris rounded out Saturday's scoring finishers for the men, as he clocked a time of 8.74 to finish seventh in the hurdles.
Senior Mahala Norris and sophomore Maddie Edwards picked up first-place finishes for the women, while leading several Falcons to scoring finishes in the mile and 3000-meter run, respectively. Norris clocked a time of 5:08.35 to win the 12-member mile and lead freshman Rachel Crytser (5:30.09 collegiate debut), freshman Rebecca Wusinich (5:31.72 collegiate debut) and sophomore Stephanie Gregerson (5:33.36 event debut) to a 3-4-5 finish, while Edwards posted a time of 10:57.74 to pace freshmen Caitlin McConnell (11:27.01) and Rayna Fruchey (11:45.94) to a sweep of the top-three placements in the 3000-meter run.
Junior Grace Proesh, who scored for Air Force in the 400-meter dash (58.87, eighth), anchored classmate Michelle Roca, senior Aubrey Ridgeway and freshman Zoe Iwu to a third-place finish in the mile relay (3:57.87), while senior Addyson Smith finished sixth in the 22-thrower shot put (43'7") and junior Ari Martinez earned that same placement in the collegiate standings of the high jump (5'7") to round out the Falcons' lineup of scorers.
The men accounted for 159.5 points to win the 10-team meet and capture the Air Force Invitational team title for the third-straight year. BYU finished second with 101 points, while conference foes Colorado State and Wyoming placed third (89) and fourth (60), respectively, and Weber State rounded out the top five with 46 points. The women registered 68 points – a tally less than 10 points out of second – to finish fourth in their field 12 that included the top-three finishers from California (86.5), UNLV (77) and BYU (75).
"I'm very pleased with our efforts, if mildly disappointed with some performances," head coach Ralph Lindeman said. "We seem to be in a training session, lacking the competitive instincts and emotional intensity that I trust will grow over the coming weeks. Much of that comes from 47 weeks without a race or competition of any kind, not to mention the last three weeks of inconsistent training, due to ROM and then construction on our indoor track. But ... I am SO proud of our teams for working so hard to help our officials and help with all of our COVID-related requirements and restrictions. Our team of cadet managers was absolutely amazing."
Air Force heads out on the road next weekend, when it travels to Lubbock for the Texas Tech Invitational on Jan. 29-30. In addition, members of the Falcons' distance squad will also kick off the abbreviated cross country season on Monday, Feb. 1, in Las Vegas.
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1500m / 5000m
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Pole Vault
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