Falcons Open Action at Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas – Senior Michelle Roca clocked the fifth-fastest 400-meter time in Air Force history this evening (Jan. 28), as several members of the track and field team kicked off action at the Texas Tech Open in Lubbock. Overall, Roca was one of three Falcons to improve the Academy Record Book on Friday night.

AIR FORCE TOP-10 MARKS
Women's 400-Meter Dash: Michelle Roca, 56.69 (No. 5 all-time)

Roca crossed the 400-meter finish line in a career-best time of 56.69 to win her heat and finish 16th in the full 44-runner field. That time – a 0.05-second improvement from her previous best set just last week – moved the senior from seventh to fifth on the program's all-time list and made Roca the first runner in five years to impact the Top 5 of the program's all-time standings.

Freshman Taylor Rioux also had a strong showing in the 400-meter dash on Friday, as she posted a career-best time of 57.86 to move into 17th on the Academy's Top 25 list. With a 0.36-second improvement to her career time, Rioux finished second in her heat and 21st overall. Fellow freshman Katie Schlather moved into the same placement on the program's all-time pole vault standings, as she cleared 12'0½" for the first 12-foot vault of her collegiate career. Schlather and senior Frankie Porambo both posted that clearance, with Porambo clearing that season-best mark on her first attempt to tie for fifth.

The Falcons opened the day with three runners advancing out of the opening round of the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomore Katie Thompson clocked an 8.81 to finish 15th out of 37 athletes in the women's preliminary round, while classmate Philip Hundl and junior Cameron Harris posted matching times of 8.20 to tie for 21st in the 43-runner qualifying round. Thompson clocked a time of 8.73 – a mark just 0.01 shy of her own No. 3 mark on the all-time standings – to finish 13th in the women's semifinals, while Harris finished just 0.01 off his career-best time to finish 14th in the men's second round.

Thompson also placed within the top half of the field in the long jump, as she registered a distance of 18'11¼" to finish 12th in the 27-jumper event. Classmate John Colizzi earned the same placement in the men's long jump, as he recorded a distance of 21'9½" on his opening attempt. The men also placed two within the top half of a large field of quarter milers, as seniors Sean Geither and La'a Aiu finished 19th (48.87) and 25th (49.32), respectively, in the 400-meter dash.

The Falcons return to the Sports Performance Center tomorrow (Jan. 29) for the final day of competition at the Texas Tech Open, while several additional runners travel to Boulder for the Colorado Invitational.

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Players Mentioned

John Colizzi

Sean Geither

Cameron Harris

Philip Hundl

Frankie Porambo

Taylor Rioux

Michelle Roca

Katie Schlather

Katie Thompson

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