Friday, March 5
Las Vegas, NV
10:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
MW Championships
Air Force Men, Mahala Norris Capture MW Titles
3/5/2021 2:06:00 PM | Cross Country
It is the third men's team title, while Norris is the program's first female cross country champion.
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Air Force had a stellar run at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships this morning (March 5) in North Las Vegas, as the 23rd-ranked men captured the program's third MW team title and senior Mahala Norris became the Academy's first-ever female individual conference champion in cross country.
With all five scoring finishers placing within the top nine, the men dominated the top of the leaderboard in the 8K championship final. Sophomore Sam Gilman clocked a time of 23:39.2 to finish second in the 67-runner field and account for the Academy's best individual finish at the conference meet since 2015. Sophomore Ryan Johnson, freshman Luke Combs and senior Scott Johnson crossed the finish line in consecutive spots to place fifth (23:49.8), sixth (23:51.5) and seventh (23:52.9), respectively, while sophomore Scott Maison rounded out the Falcons' dominant list of scorers with a ninth-place time of 23:56.7. Two more Falcons were close behind, as juniors Ryan Ioanidis and Will Kitzhaber finished 11th (24:01.6) and 13th (24:05.2) to give Air Force seven of the top 13 finishes in the race.
The 23-ranked men tallied just 29 points – the lowest conference-winning total in seven years – to win its third Mountain West title in program history, edging No. 19 Utah State by four points (33). Boise State and Colorado State, teams that are receiving votes in the latest poll, finished third (87) and fourth (109), respectively, while New Mexico rounded out the top five (132), and Wyoming (155, sixth), Nevada (214, seventh) and Fresno State (246, eighth) completed the men's team standings.
"We always say cross country is a team sport," head coach Ryan Cole said. "The men exemplified that today, as our entire group ran for each other, competed together and succeeded together. To have all nine guys in the top 26 and all five scorers in the top 10 was tremendous. But the dynamic is really special within that group and their preparation has been very diligent. None of this would be possible without our upperclassmen leadership. I'm very happy to see those guys get to share such a special experience together and there are also a lot of guys back at USAFA that contributed significantly to this outcome today."
Norris became the Academy's first-ever female conference champion in cross country – and just the second MW champion in program history – after clocking a 6K time of 19:57.7 to win the 86-runner championship by more than five seconds. Norris, the first Falcon to break the 20-minute mark in a conference 6K, was in the main pack from the starting gun. Picking her way through the leaders, the senior moved from eighth at the 1K split to fifth (2K) to second (3K). In a rematch of the mile final from the 2020 MW Indoor Championships, Norris and New Mexico's Adva Cohen, separated themselves from the field in the later stages of the race and traded the lead throughout the final leg, before Norris used a strong kick to take control of the race and cruise to the victory.
Freshman Rebecca Wusinich was the Falcons' No. 2 scorer, clocking a time of 21:37.4 to finish 42nd in her first conference meet. Junior Jenna Kill, in her first race (cross country or track) since last November, placed 46th with a time of 21:51.7, while sophomore Stephanie Gregersen and freshman Rayna Fruchey rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup in back-to-back placements – 49th (21:57.2), 50th (21:58.5) – in their first conference championship meet.
"I am very proud of the competitive efforts from both groups today," Cole continued. "We've had some injury issues on the women's side and had to count on many of our younger athletes for scoring positions this year. The women have done everything they can to help our cause and we competed to the best of our ability, given the situation today. And to be led by Mahala winning the conference title was just awesome. That's a historical first and we've had some very competitive distance women over the last few years. She just ran a truly great race."
The women squad tallied 155 points to finish fifth in the conference team standings. New Mexico, ranked third in the most recent USTFCCCA Coaches' poll, claimed its 13th-straight Mountain West title with 29 points, while No. 11 Boise State finished second with 52 points, while Colorado State (84), Utah State (104) and Air Force (155) rounding out the top five. Wyoming finished sixth with a two-point lead over Nevada (172-174), while San Diego State (229, eighth) and UNLV (295, ninth) completed the overall nine-team standings of the 2020-21 meet (Fresno State did not score, San Jose State did not compete).
Freshman Sean Maison and senior Drew Lester also competed in the men's 8K, finishing 20th (24:23.7) and 26th (24:40.4), respectively, while four Falcons – freshman Caitlin McConnell (54th, 22:14.1), freshman Rachel Crytser (63rd, 22:41.9), sophomore Maddie Edwards (67th, 22:51.3) and junior Mikayla Gallagher (77th, 23:59.1) – also raced in the women's 6K.
The unique 2020-21 cross country season comes to a close on Monday, March 15, when the nation's top teams converge on Stillwater, Okla., for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The complete list of participants will be announced during the NCAA selection show on Sunday, March 7.
With all five scoring finishers placing within the top nine, the men dominated the top of the leaderboard in the 8K championship final. Sophomore Sam Gilman clocked a time of 23:39.2 to finish second in the 67-runner field and account for the Academy's best individual finish at the conference meet since 2015. Sophomore Ryan Johnson, freshman Luke Combs and senior Scott Johnson crossed the finish line in consecutive spots to place fifth (23:49.8), sixth (23:51.5) and seventh (23:52.9), respectively, while sophomore Scott Maison rounded out the Falcons' dominant list of scorers with a ninth-place time of 23:56.7. Two more Falcons were close behind, as juniors Ryan Ioanidis and Will Kitzhaber finished 11th (24:01.6) and 13th (24:05.2) to give Air Force seven of the top 13 finishes in the race.
The 23-ranked men tallied just 29 points – the lowest conference-winning total in seven years – to win its third Mountain West title in program history, edging No. 19 Utah State by four points (33). Boise State and Colorado State, teams that are receiving votes in the latest poll, finished third (87) and fourth (109), respectively, while New Mexico rounded out the top five (132), and Wyoming (155, sixth), Nevada (214, seventh) and Fresno State (246, eighth) completed the men's team standings.
"We always say cross country is a team sport," head coach Ryan Cole said. "The men exemplified that today, as our entire group ran for each other, competed together and succeeded together. To have all nine guys in the top 26 and all five scorers in the top 10 was tremendous. But the dynamic is really special within that group and their preparation has been very diligent. None of this would be possible without our upperclassmen leadership. I'm very happy to see those guys get to share such a special experience together and there are also a lot of guys back at USAFA that contributed significantly to this outcome today."
Norris became the Academy's first-ever female conference champion in cross country – and just the second MW champion in program history – after clocking a 6K time of 19:57.7 to win the 86-runner championship by more than five seconds. Norris, the first Falcon to break the 20-minute mark in a conference 6K, was in the main pack from the starting gun. Picking her way through the leaders, the senior moved from eighth at the 1K split to fifth (2K) to second (3K). In a rematch of the mile final from the 2020 MW Indoor Championships, Norris and New Mexico's Adva Cohen, separated themselves from the field in the later stages of the race and traded the lead throughout the final leg, before Norris used a strong kick to take control of the race and cruise to the victory.
Freshman Rebecca Wusinich was the Falcons' No. 2 scorer, clocking a time of 21:37.4 to finish 42nd in her first conference meet. Junior Jenna Kill, in her first race (cross country or track) since last November, placed 46th with a time of 21:51.7, while sophomore Stephanie Gregersen and freshman Rayna Fruchey rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup in back-to-back placements – 49th (21:57.2), 50th (21:58.5) – in their first conference championship meet.
"I am very proud of the competitive efforts from both groups today," Cole continued. "We've had some injury issues on the women's side and had to count on many of our younger athletes for scoring positions this year. The women have done everything they can to help our cause and we competed to the best of our ability, given the situation today. And to be led by Mahala winning the conference title was just awesome. That's a historical first and we've had some very competitive distance women over the last few years. She just ran a truly great race."
The women squad tallied 155 points to finish fifth in the conference team standings. New Mexico, ranked third in the most recent USTFCCCA Coaches' poll, claimed its 13th-straight Mountain West title with 29 points, while No. 11 Boise State finished second with 52 points, while Colorado State (84), Utah State (104) and Air Force (155) rounding out the top five. Wyoming finished sixth with a two-point lead over Nevada (172-174), while San Diego State (229, eighth) and UNLV (295, ninth) completed the overall nine-team standings of the 2020-21 meet (Fresno State did not score, San Jose State did not compete).
Freshman Sean Maison and senior Drew Lester also competed in the men's 8K, finishing 20th (24:23.7) and 26th (24:40.4), respectively, while four Falcons – freshman Caitlin McConnell (54th, 22:14.1), freshman Rachel Crytser (63rd, 22:41.9), sophomore Maddie Edwards (67th, 22:51.3) and junior Mikayla Gallagher (77th, 23:59.1) – also raced in the women's 6K.
The unique 2020-21 cross country season comes to a close on Monday, March 15, when the nation's top teams converge on Stillwater, Okla., for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The complete list of participants will be announced during the NCAA selection show on Sunday, March 7.
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