Friday, October 29
Albuquerque, NM
10:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
MW Championships
Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos
Air Force Men Repeat as Mountain West Champions
10/29/2021 3:37:00 PM | Cross Country
The men became the first conference team in seven years to successfully defend their title.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In true TEAM fashion, the Air Force men captured the 2021 Mountain West Cross Country title this morning (Oct. 29) at the UNM North Golf Course in Albuquerque. With the win, the Falcons became the first men's team since 2013-14 to defend their conference title in back-to-back years.
Backed by a 2-3 finish from junior Sam Gilman (second, 23:31.1) and senior Ryan Ioanidis (third, 23:35.1), the men dominated the top of the 8K leaderboard, claiming eight of the first 13 spots. Senior Will Kitzhaber and junior Scott Maison finished sixth (23:38.4) and seventh (23:39.5), respectively, while sophomore Luke Combs (23:45.4), classmate Sean Maison (23:49.6) and junior Ryan Johnson (23:50.1) crossed the finish line in consecutive spots to finish ninth, 10th and 11th. Junior Ethan Marshall added a time of 23:52.2 to finish 13th in the 76-runner field, as just over 20 seconds separated the top eight finishers. Sophomore Nick Scheller recorded a top-25 finish (25th, 24:17.4) and senior AJ Kedge rounded out the men's championship lineup with a 30th-place time of 24:27.9.
The men tallied just 27 points – the conference's lowest winning total since 2014 – to claim its second-straight championship by a 37-point margin. It is the fourth Mountain West title overall for the Falcons, who also won conference titles in 2003, 2015 and 2020. Boise State, ranked 23rd in the latest USTFCCCA standings, finished second with 64 points, while No. 21 Utah State (79 points) edged No. 19 Colorado State by one point. Wyoming completed the top five with 166 points and squads from Nevada (sixth, 168 points), New Mexico (seventh, 175), Fresno State (eighth, 243) and San Jose State (ninth, 278) rounded out the overall men's field.
"I'm proud of the poise and purpose our guys showed today," head coach Ryan Cole said. "When you're the favorite – or defending champ, people may start to think being successful is easy. Including our team. In general, being successful is not easy. It's always a challenge. Our group has handled that challenge really well. Not just the race today, but seeing how well they can perform collectively on any given day and staying relentless in their pursuit of being an elite team."
The women also had an impressive turn around UNM North Golf Course this morning, as freshman Halle Hamilton led the team to a fourth-place finish in the team standings. Hamilton clocked a time of 20:20.0 to finish 15th in the 97-runner championship – the best finish by any freshman in this year's race. Classmate Lindsey Peters finished 22nd with a time of 20:36.1, while sophomore Rayna Fruchey and senior Jenna Kill also placed within the Top 30 behind times of 20:37.5 (25th) and 20:42.8 (28th), respectively. Junior Stephanie Gregersen rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup with a 36th-place time of 20:56.9, as all five scorers finished within the Top 40.
Air Force accumulated 114 points to finish fourth in the 11-team field – easily bettering one team that was receiving votes in the latest coaches' poll. Top-ranked New Mexico dominated the team standings, tallying just the third perfect score (15) in Mountain West history, while No. 28 Utah State finished second with 73 points and – like the men's race – edged No. 12 Colorado State by mere points (76). Boise State, who was receiving votes, finished fifth behind Air Force with 141 points, while Wyoming (sixth, 165), Nevada (seventh, 208), San Diego State (eighth, 261), San Jose State (294), UNLV (10th, 297) and Fresno State (11th, 317) completed the field.
Five additional Falcons also completed the 6K course today. Freshman Tiaree Towler and junior Maddie Edwards finished back-to-back in 42nd (21:05.8) and 43rd (21:10.4), respectively, while freshmen Ally Peterson placed 50th (21:25.8) and Sydney Weaber finished just three spots back (53rd, 21:31.7). Sophomore Rebecca Wusinich rounded out the Falcons' contingent with a 59th-place time of 21:55.0.
"Our women also took another positive step in the season and for the future," Cole said. "This group is still growing and there are a few areas that we can continue improving this season. But, we're getting close to begin a highly competitive team. This was our best showing of the year and we still have a few more opportunities this fall."
The Falcons' next opportunity is Friday, Nov. 12, when they travel to Provo, Utah, for the NCAA Mountain Regional.
Backed by a 2-3 finish from junior Sam Gilman (second, 23:31.1) and senior Ryan Ioanidis (third, 23:35.1), the men dominated the top of the 8K leaderboard, claiming eight of the first 13 spots. Senior Will Kitzhaber and junior Scott Maison finished sixth (23:38.4) and seventh (23:39.5), respectively, while sophomore Luke Combs (23:45.4), classmate Sean Maison (23:49.6) and junior Ryan Johnson (23:50.1) crossed the finish line in consecutive spots to finish ninth, 10th and 11th. Junior Ethan Marshall added a time of 23:52.2 to finish 13th in the 76-runner field, as just over 20 seconds separated the top eight finishers. Sophomore Nick Scheller recorded a top-25 finish (25th, 24:17.4) and senior AJ Kedge rounded out the men's championship lineup with a 30th-place time of 24:27.9.
The men tallied just 27 points – the conference's lowest winning total since 2014 – to claim its second-straight championship by a 37-point margin. It is the fourth Mountain West title overall for the Falcons, who also won conference titles in 2003, 2015 and 2020. Boise State, ranked 23rd in the latest USTFCCCA standings, finished second with 64 points, while No. 21 Utah State (79 points) edged No. 19 Colorado State by one point. Wyoming completed the top five with 166 points and squads from Nevada (sixth, 168 points), New Mexico (seventh, 175), Fresno State (eighth, 243) and San Jose State (ninth, 278) rounded out the overall men's field.
"I'm proud of the poise and purpose our guys showed today," head coach Ryan Cole said. "When you're the favorite – or defending champ, people may start to think being successful is easy. Including our team. In general, being successful is not easy. It's always a challenge. Our group has handled that challenge really well. Not just the race today, but seeing how well they can perform collectively on any given day and staying relentless in their pursuit of being an elite team."
The women also had an impressive turn around UNM North Golf Course this morning, as freshman Halle Hamilton led the team to a fourth-place finish in the team standings. Hamilton clocked a time of 20:20.0 to finish 15th in the 97-runner championship – the best finish by any freshman in this year's race. Classmate Lindsey Peters finished 22nd with a time of 20:36.1, while sophomore Rayna Fruchey and senior Jenna Kill also placed within the Top 30 behind times of 20:37.5 (25th) and 20:42.8 (28th), respectively. Junior Stephanie Gregersen rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup with a 36th-place time of 20:56.9, as all five scorers finished within the Top 40.
Air Force accumulated 114 points to finish fourth in the 11-team field – easily bettering one team that was receiving votes in the latest coaches' poll. Top-ranked New Mexico dominated the team standings, tallying just the third perfect score (15) in Mountain West history, while No. 28 Utah State finished second with 73 points and – like the men's race – edged No. 12 Colorado State by mere points (76). Boise State, who was receiving votes, finished fifth behind Air Force with 141 points, while Wyoming (sixth, 165), Nevada (seventh, 208), San Diego State (eighth, 261), San Jose State (294), UNLV (10th, 297) and Fresno State (11th, 317) completed the field.
Five additional Falcons also completed the 6K course today. Freshman Tiaree Towler and junior Maddie Edwards finished back-to-back in 42nd (21:05.8) and 43rd (21:10.4), respectively, while freshmen Ally Peterson placed 50th (21:25.8) and Sydney Weaber finished just three spots back (53rd, 21:31.7). Sophomore Rebecca Wusinich rounded out the Falcons' contingent with a 59th-place time of 21:55.0.
"Our women also took another positive step in the season and for the future," Cole said. "This group is still growing and there are a few areas that we can continue improving this season. But, we're getting close to begin a highly competitive team. This was our best showing of the year and we still have a few more opportunities this fall."
The Falcons' next opportunity is Friday, Nov. 12, when they travel to Provo, Utah, for the NCAA Mountain Regional.
Players Mentioned
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