Two Academy Records Highlight Season Opener

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Highlighted by the first 20-foot long jump in Academy women's history, the 2021-22 Air Force track and field season got off to a stellar start this evening (Dec. 3) at the annual Holiday Open. In all, two program records fell at the Cadet Field House Indoor Track, while another pair of top-10 marks were set.

Katie Thompson shined in the first meet of her sophomore season, shattering her own Academy Record with a long jump distance of 20'3". Thompson, who became the program's first 19-foot jumper in this meet last year, improved her distance by more than one foot today to easily win the competition. After opening the meet with a (then) program-best mark of 19'10¾", she improved her jump to the record-setting distance of 20'3" on her next attempt – a mark more than a foot better than the rest of the 18-jumper field. The long jump wasn't the only improvement Thompson made to the Academy standings on Friday, as she also recorded the third-fastest time in the 60-meter hurdles with a career-best mark of 8.72.

Senior Charles Dimnwaobi added his name to the top of the Air Force leaderboard in the 300-meter dash, as he equaled the program standard of 34.37 that Zach Johnson initially set in 2017. The senior was one of three Falcons to finish within the top five of the 33-runner event, as classmate Sean Geither finished second with a time of 34.59 and freshman Darek Hackett placed fifth after crossing the finish line in 35.06.

Freshman Collin Schulz joined Thompson and Dimnwaobi as event winners that also made an impact to the program's all-time standings, as he registered a 6'10¾" clearance in the high jump to equal the 10th-best height in Air Force history. Also like Dimnwaobi, Schulz led a trio of teammates to top-five finishes in the event. Senior Jake Hall cleared 6'8¾" to finish third, while sophomore Philip Hundl added a fifth-place clearance of 6'6¾".

The Falcons earned three more first-place finishes on Friday night, as sophomore Caiden Macktinger, freshman Travon Stevens-Long and junior Cameron Harris led Air Force to multiple top-five finishes in their respective events. Macktinger cleared 16'0¾" to win the pole vault, while senior Ryan Brown finished second with the same clearance and the duo of senior Calvin Ciganik and freshman Robert Postell tied for fifth after using matching series to clear the 15'1" bar. Stevens-Long recorded a debut distance of 23'4" to lead Air Force to a 1-2 finish in the long jump, as sophomore John Colizzi posted a career-best distance of 23'1¼" to finish second, and Harris matched his career-best hurdles time of 8.07 to win that event and lead the Falcons to a pair of top-five marks (Hundl, fifth in 8.25).

Senior Michelle Roca accounted for runner-up finish in the 300-meter dash (40.14), while the women earned a pair of third-place marks in the vertical jumps – senior Ari Martinez (high jump, 5'7"), freshman Katie Schlather (pole vault, 11'11¾").

Junior Hayden Bullock capped the night with a runner-up finish in the shot put (53'4¼"), while seniors Wyatt Murphy and Frank Rossi earned the same placements in a pair of running events. Murphy clocked a career-best time of 6.78 – a mark just 0.01 shy of the program's top-10 – to post the top collegiate finish in the 60-meter dash, while Rossi clocked a 600-meter time of 1:21.14 to finish second in that event and lead Air Force to three top-five finishes – sophomore Alex Patton (fourth, 1:22.42), senior Garrett Blenkush (fifth, 1:23.42). The Falcons earned two additional top-five finishes from their athletes on Friday, as senior LaShawn Taylor registered a distance of 49'6¼" to take third in the triple jump and junior Jaret Prete posted a throw of 55'11¼" to finish fourth in the weight throw.

The opening weekend of action continues tomorrow (Dec. 4), when a pair of Falcons travel to Boston, Mass., for the annual Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at the BU Track and Tennis Center.

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Players Mentioned

Garrett Blenkush

Ryan Brown

Hayden Bullock

Calvin Ciganik

John Colizzi

Charles Dimnwaobi

Sean Geither

Darek Hackett

Jake Hall

Cameron Harris

Philip Hundl

Caiden Macktinger

Ari Martinez

Wyatt Murphy

Alex Patton

Robert Postell

Jaret Prete

Michelle Roca

Frank Rossi

Katie Schlather

Collin Schulz

Travon Stevens-Long

LaShawn Taylor

Katie Thompson

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