Photo by: Marty France
AFXC Men Claim First Top-Five National Ranking
10/18/2022 12:02:00 PM | Cross Country
The men captured a program-best No. 5 ranking, while the women are receiving votes.
NEW ORLEANS – The Air Force men's cross country team captured the first Top-Five national ranking in program history this afternoon (Oct. 18), as they were tabbed No. 5 in the latest edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Division I National Coaches' Poll.
Backed by a stellar fourth-place finish at last week's Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, the men (288 points) vaulted up seven spots in this week's poll to record the highest national ranking in Academy history. The ranking, which marked the sixth time since 1998 that the Falcons have been listed among the nation's top-10, easily bettered the program's previous best of No. 8 from the 2003 season.
Air Force, the first team to have its top seven runners cross the finish line at Wisconsin, was led by a top-10 finish from senior Sam Gilman (10th). The Falcons' other four scorers – junior Luke Combs (29th) and the senior trio of Ethan Marshall (31st), Ryan Johnson (39th) and Scott Maison (40th) – all placed within the top 40 of the 239-runner event, while junior Sean Maison finished 49th, sophomore Bryce Lentz placed 76th, and junior Eli Bennett finished 93rd to complete the squad's full lineup.
It is the 44th-straight poll where the men have been listed in the national conversation (either as a ranked team or one that is receiving votes) – a program-best streak that dates to the opening of the 2017 season.
The women, who finished ahead of three Top 30 teams and four others mentioned (RV) in the national conversation during a 23rd-place performance at Wisconsin last weekend, are receiving votes in the USTFCCCA standings for the second time this season. Backed by top-25 finishes from sophomores Lindsey Peters and Halle Hamilton, the Falcons earned 20 points in this week's coaches' poll – a tally that places them at No. 31 nationally and just six points shy of the Top 30.
In addition, the men claimed a program-best No. 3 placement in the Mountain Region, while the women matched their highest regional ranking of the season with a No. 8 standing. The men's No. 3 mark bettered the previous best of No. 4 – a regional ranking they have reached 14 times previously.
The younger members of the Falcons' team will race at the UCCS Open in Colorado Springs this Friday (Oct. 21), while the rest of the squad prepares for next week's Mountain West Championships in Laramie.
Backed by a stellar fourth-place finish at last week's Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, the men (288 points) vaulted up seven spots in this week's poll to record the highest national ranking in Academy history. The ranking, which marked the sixth time since 1998 that the Falcons have been listed among the nation's top-10, easily bettered the program's previous best of No. 8 from the 2003 season.
Air Force, the first team to have its top seven runners cross the finish line at Wisconsin, was led by a top-10 finish from senior Sam Gilman (10th). The Falcons' other four scorers – junior Luke Combs (29th) and the senior trio of Ethan Marshall (31st), Ryan Johnson (39th) and Scott Maison (40th) – all placed within the top 40 of the 239-runner event, while junior Sean Maison finished 49th, sophomore Bryce Lentz placed 76th, and junior Eli Bennett finished 93rd to complete the squad's full lineup.
It is the 44th-straight poll where the men have been listed in the national conversation (either as a ranked team or one that is receiving votes) – a program-best streak that dates to the opening of the 2017 season.
The women, who finished ahead of three Top 30 teams and four others mentioned (RV) in the national conversation during a 23rd-place performance at Wisconsin last weekend, are receiving votes in the USTFCCCA standings for the second time this season. Backed by top-25 finishes from sophomores Lindsey Peters and Halle Hamilton, the Falcons earned 20 points in this week's coaches' poll – a tally that places them at No. 31 nationally and just six points shy of the Top 30.
In addition, the men claimed a program-best No. 3 placement in the Mountain Region, while the women matched their highest regional ranking of the season with a No. 8 standing. The men's No. 3 mark bettered the previous best of No. 4 – a regional ranking they have reached 14 times previously.
The younger members of the Falcons' team will race at the UCCS Open in Colorado Springs this Friday (Oct. 21), while the rest of the squad prepares for next week's Mountain West Championships in Laramie.
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