Saturday, April 17
Eugene, Ore.
1:30 pm MT
Air Force Academy
at
West Coast Classic (D/T)
Michelle Roca Shatters Record in 400m Hurdles
4/17/2021 11:54:00 PM | Track and Field
The men finished third in a dual-location meet with their counterparts from the Pac-12.
EUGENE, Ore. – Highlighted by one Academy Record, four other all-time improvements, three first-place finishes and a pair of 1-2 sweeps, the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the West Coast Classic this evening (April 17) in Tucson, Ariz. (sprints/jumps) and Eugene, Ore. (distances/throws). Facing off against six of their counterparts from the Pac-12 – a lineup that included several nationally-ranked squads, the men finished third and the women placed seventh.
Junior Michelle Roca shattered the Academy's Record in the 400-meter hurdles during the Arizona-portion of the meet on Saturday, as she crossed the finish line in a third-place time of 60.01. Taking 1.1 seconds off the previous program standard that had stood for the last five years, Roca also easily reset the Junior Class Record of 61.23 that she initially set at the beginning of April.
For the second time in as many meets, sophomore Sam Gilman used a furious push late on the final lap to win a 1500-meter race – and lead freshman Cole Lindhorst to an Air Force sweep of the top two spots. Clocking the third-fastest time in program history (3:41.86), Gilman raced around his competition to claim first-place honors, while Lindhorst added the Academy's fourth-fastest time (3:42.25) to complete the Falcons' 18-point sweep and take nearly four seconds off the eight-year-old Freshman Class Record.
Gilman accounted for one of three first-place finishes for Air Force across the two competition sites. Junior Will Kitzhaber clocked a time of 29:57.79 to win his 10,000-meter debut during the last event at Oregon, while senior Greg Skage capped the overall competition with a victory in the pole vault at Arizona. Skage, who cleared a season-best 16'10¾" to win 13-vaulter meet, led Air Force to a sweep of the top-two spots, as junior Ryan Brown recorded that same clearance (a career-best) to finish second in the final standings.
With Skage and Brown combining for the 18 of the 31 points in the pole vault – the final event of the dual-location meet, Air Force secured the third-place finish in the men's team standings. Sixth-ranked Oregon won the meet with 134 points, while No. 13 Arizona edged Air Force by just 10 points (104) for second. Air Force finished nine points ahead of Stanford (fourth, 85) and 11 points ahead of 22nd-ranked Arizona State (fifth, 83) after out-scoring both the Cardinal and Sun Devils in the final event, while UCLA (74) and California (40) rounded out the team standings.
"Our hope was (for the men) to finish within the middle of the six Pac-12 teams," head coach Ralph Lindeman said. "But I never imagined we could (finish third) without scoring a point in either sprint relay, which were both decimated by injuries."
Backed by the 1-2 sweeps in the 1500-meter run and pole vault, the men earned multiple scoring finishes in five events on Saturday. Junior Jake Hall and senior Addison Brown earned top-six finishes in the high jump at Arizona, as Hall placed third with a clearance of 6'9" and Brown equaled his personal-best height of 6'7" to take fifth. Sophomores Aidan Boyle (career-best 9:07.33, fifth) and Ryan Johnson (debut 9:10.10, sixth) both scored in the 3000-meter steeplechase on the track at Oregon, while juniors Nick Oesterling (197'3", second) and Jarod Pankau (154'11", third) combined for 14 points on the infield.
Two more Falcons recorded scoring finishes at Hayward Field, as sophomore Hayden Bullock posted a career-best distance of 172'1" to finish fifth in the discus throw and junior Garrett Blenkush took sixth in the 800-meter run after clocking a time of 1:52.42. Junior LaShawn Taylor used a career-best distance of 47'11¼" to earn runner-up honors in the triple jump at Drachman Stadium, while classmate La'akea Aiu and senior Zachary Dicken recorded scoring finishes in their respective 400-meter events. Aiu posted a time of 53.48 to finish third in the hurdles, while Dicken posted a fourth-place time of 48.01 in his first dash of the season at that distance. Sophomore Cameron Harris rounded out the Falcons' scoring finishes, as he posted a personal-best time of 14.44 to finish fifth in the 110-meter hurdles.
In addition to Roca's third-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, senior Mahala Norris and junior Brid O'Connell added scoring finishes for the women at their respective meets on Saturday. Norris clocked a 1500-meter time of 4:20.62 to finish third out of 23 runners at Oregon, while O'Connell posted a career-best 800-meter time of 2:12.06 – the 11th-fastest time in program history – to finish fourth in that race at Arizona.
The women accounted for 18 points to finish seventh in the meet against their counterparts from the Pac-12. Oregon, ranked 21st in the national standings, won the meet with 138 points, while less than 10 points separated the next three teams – No. 20 Arizona State (102), No. 18 Arizona (97) and UCLA (94.5). California and Stanford finished fifth (79) and sixth (72.5), respectively, while Air Force rounded out the team standings.
Senior Addyson Smith continued to rewrite the all-time standings of the Academy's throwing events, as she made a pair of upgrades during today's competition in Oregon. After improving her personal distance in the hammer throw by 10 feet to debut in eighth on the program's top 10 list (168'3"), Smith moved up two more spots in the shot put standings (sixth) with a throw of 46'1½".
Air Force will split for a pair of meets next week, as part of the squad heads to Des Moines, Iowa, for the 111th edition of the Drake Relays on April 22-24, and the rest remain in Colorado for the Jack Christiansen Invitational in Fort Collins on April 24.
Junior Michelle Roca shattered the Academy's Record in the 400-meter hurdles during the Arizona-portion of the meet on Saturday, as she crossed the finish line in a third-place time of 60.01. Taking 1.1 seconds off the previous program standard that had stood for the last five years, Roca also easily reset the Junior Class Record of 61.23 that she initially set at the beginning of April.
For the second time in as many meets, sophomore Sam Gilman used a furious push late on the final lap to win a 1500-meter race – and lead freshman Cole Lindhorst to an Air Force sweep of the top two spots. Clocking the third-fastest time in program history (3:41.86), Gilman raced around his competition to claim first-place honors, while Lindhorst added the Academy's fourth-fastest time (3:42.25) to complete the Falcons' 18-point sweep and take nearly four seconds off the eight-year-old Freshman Class Record.
Gilman accounted for one of three first-place finishes for Air Force across the two competition sites. Junior Will Kitzhaber clocked a time of 29:57.79 to win his 10,000-meter debut during the last event at Oregon, while senior Greg Skage capped the overall competition with a victory in the pole vault at Arizona. Skage, who cleared a season-best 16'10¾" to win 13-vaulter meet, led Air Force to a sweep of the top-two spots, as junior Ryan Brown recorded that same clearance (a career-best) to finish second in the final standings.
With Skage and Brown combining for the 18 of the 31 points in the pole vault – the final event of the dual-location meet, Air Force secured the third-place finish in the men's team standings. Sixth-ranked Oregon won the meet with 134 points, while No. 13 Arizona edged Air Force by just 10 points (104) for second. Air Force finished nine points ahead of Stanford (fourth, 85) and 11 points ahead of 22nd-ranked Arizona State (fifth, 83) after out-scoring both the Cardinal and Sun Devils in the final event, while UCLA (74) and California (40) rounded out the team standings.
"Our hope was (for the men) to finish within the middle of the six Pac-12 teams," head coach Ralph Lindeman said. "But I never imagined we could (finish third) without scoring a point in either sprint relay, which were both decimated by injuries."
Backed by the 1-2 sweeps in the 1500-meter run and pole vault, the men earned multiple scoring finishes in five events on Saturday. Junior Jake Hall and senior Addison Brown earned top-six finishes in the high jump at Arizona, as Hall placed third with a clearance of 6'9" and Brown equaled his personal-best height of 6'7" to take fifth. Sophomores Aidan Boyle (career-best 9:07.33, fifth) and Ryan Johnson (debut 9:10.10, sixth) both scored in the 3000-meter steeplechase on the track at Oregon, while juniors Nick Oesterling (197'3", second) and Jarod Pankau (154'11", third) combined for 14 points on the infield.
Two more Falcons recorded scoring finishes at Hayward Field, as sophomore Hayden Bullock posted a career-best distance of 172'1" to finish fifth in the discus throw and junior Garrett Blenkush took sixth in the 800-meter run after clocking a time of 1:52.42. Junior LaShawn Taylor used a career-best distance of 47'11¼" to earn runner-up honors in the triple jump at Drachman Stadium, while classmate La'akea Aiu and senior Zachary Dicken recorded scoring finishes in their respective 400-meter events. Aiu posted a time of 53.48 to finish third in the hurdles, while Dicken posted a fourth-place time of 48.01 in his first dash of the season at that distance. Sophomore Cameron Harris rounded out the Falcons' scoring finishes, as he posted a personal-best time of 14.44 to finish fifth in the 110-meter hurdles.
In addition to Roca's third-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, senior Mahala Norris and junior Brid O'Connell added scoring finishes for the women at their respective meets on Saturday. Norris clocked a 1500-meter time of 4:20.62 to finish third out of 23 runners at Oregon, while O'Connell posted a career-best 800-meter time of 2:12.06 – the 11th-fastest time in program history – to finish fourth in that race at Arizona.
The women accounted for 18 points to finish seventh in the meet against their counterparts from the Pac-12. Oregon, ranked 21st in the national standings, won the meet with 138 points, while less than 10 points separated the next three teams – No. 20 Arizona State (102), No. 18 Arizona (97) and UCLA (94.5). California and Stanford finished fifth (79) and sixth (72.5), respectively, while Air Force rounded out the team standings.
Senior Addyson Smith continued to rewrite the all-time standings of the Academy's throwing events, as she made a pair of upgrades during today's competition in Oregon. After improving her personal distance in the hammer throw by 10 feet to debut in eighth on the program's top 10 list (168'3"), Smith moved up two more spots in the shot put standings (sixth) with a throw of 46'1½".
Air Force will split for a pair of meets next week, as part of the squad heads to Des Moines, Iowa, for the 111th edition of the Drake Relays on April 22-24, and the rest remain in Colorado for the Jack Christiansen Invitational in Fort Collins on April 24.
Players Mentioned
110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
800m / 1500m
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Discus / Shot Put
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
800m / 1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
1500m
/ Track and Field
800m / 1500m
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
Discus / Javelin
/ Track and Field
400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Discus / Shot Put / Hammer
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