Men Place Fourth at Mountain Regional

PROVO, Utah – Backed by three all-region performers, the 11th-ranked Air Force men's cross country team claimed an impressive fourth-place finish at the NCAA Mountain Regional this afternoon (Nov. 12) in Provo, Utah. With their depth on display due to a late illness, the men recorded the program's best regional finish since 2004, while a young women's squad claimed an impressive 10th-place finish in their race against the nation's elite.

Junior Ryan Johnson claimed the Falcons' best regional finish since 2017, as he clocked a 10K time of 30:15.8 to finish 18th out of 129 runners and lead the entire scoring lineup to top-40 performances. With the program's third fastest time ever on the 10K circuit at Timpanogos Golf Course, Johnson was followed closely by classmate Scott Maison, who finished one spot back (19th) with a time of 30:17.4. Senior Ryan Ioanidis joined the pair on the all-region (top-25) team after posting a time of 30:21.5 to finish 22nd. Junior Sam Gilman clocked a time of 30:39.0 to finish 34th, while sophomore Luke Combs rounded out the scoring lineup with a 37th-place time of 30:56.1. Fellow sophomore Sean Maison added a 67th-place time of 31:57.9 and senior AJ Kedge completed the Air Force contingent with a time of 32:48.8 (89th).

The men accounted for 130 points to finish fourth in a regional meet that included the nation's top-two teams. Host BYU, ranked eighth in the latest USTFCCCA standings, tallied 42 points to upset top-ranked Northern Arizona (second, 57) and second-ranked Colorado (third, 83), while the Falcons used a 40-second spread to earn a 22-point advantage over the fifth-place team (No. 26 Southern Utah) and the rest of the 17-team field.

With five of the seven runners making their first appearance in a regional meet, a young women's squad captured a 10th-place finish (253.5 points) in a loaded regional field that included three of the nation's top-four teams. Second-ranked New Mexico won the meet with 59.5 points, while third-ranked Colorado and fourth-ranked BYU finished second (81.5) and third (102), respectively, in the meet. The Falcons, who finished second amongst teams not in the current USTFCCCA listings, provided a 68.5-point gap between themselves and remaining nine teams in the regional field.

Freshman Lindsey Peters clocked a 6K time of 21:15.0 to finish 32nd out of 130 runners in the women's race and lead Air Force to a six finishes within the top half of the field and a 50-second spread between the five scoring finishers. Senior Jenna Kill, who raced at a regional meet as a freshman, crossed the finish line in 21:34.2 to finish 47th overall and as the Falcons' No. 2 runner. Just two places separated freshmen Ally Peterson (55th, 21:46.4) and Halle Hamilton (57th, 21:50.9), while sophomore Rayna Fruchey rounded out the top five with a 62nd-place time of 21:59.9. Junior Maddie Edwards, competing in her second regional meet, was close on Fruchey's heels with a 64th-place time of 22:02.5 and classmate Stephanie Gregersen completed the Falcons' field with a 69th-place time of 22:12.7.

The complete list of NCAA qualifiers will be announced tomorrow (Nov. 13) and the 2021 cross country season will come to a close at the NCAA Championships next Saturday (Nov. 20) in Tallahassee, Florida.

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Players Mentioned

Luke Combs

Maddie Edwards

Rayna Fruchey

Sam Gilman

Stephanie Gregersen

Halle Hamilton

Ryan Ioanidis

Ryan Johnson

AJ Kedge

Jenna Kill

Scott Maison

Sean Maison

Lindsey Peters

Ally Peterson

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