Friday, October 28
Laramie, WY
10:15 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
MW Championships
Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos
Falcons Ready to Run at MW Championships
10/26/2022 3:23:00 PM | Cross Country
The Falcons travel to Laramie, Wyo., this Friday (Oct. 28) for the conference meet.
The postseason begins for the Air Force cross country program this Friday (Oct. 28), when the team travels to Laramie, Wyo., for the 2022 Mountain West Cross Country Championships. The Falcons' lineup, which includes the fifth-ranked men and a women's squad that is receiving votes in the latest coaches' poll, will line up against their conference counterparts at Jacoby Golf Course, beginning at 10:15 a.m. (MT).
MEET INFORMATION
The Mountain West Cross Country Championships will be contested at Jacoby Golf Course (3501 Willett Drive) in Laramie. The women will kick off this year's championship meet with a 6K race at 10:15 a.m. (MT), while the men will follow with an 8K championship 45 minutes later. The Mountain West Network will broadcast the meet live, with Adam Diehl and Eric Schultz on the call, while live results will be available via Record Timing (direct links to both are available on the team's schedule page at GoAirForceFalcons.com). The championship will also be available on the Mountain West App (available on Android, IOS, Apple TC, Roku, and Android TV).
COURSE INFORMATION
Jacoby Golf Course is at an elevation of 7220 feet. The championship course is a mixture of golf course grass and dirt cart crossings. The women will run a 3000-meter loop twice and the men will run two 3000-meter loops and an additional 2000-meter loop.
WEATHER WATCH
The projected forecast for Friday in Laramie is sunny, with a high of 53 and a low of 17.
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE
The Mountain West Championships will feature 11 women's teams and nine men's programs. The women's field includes two nationally ranked teams (No. 2 New Mexico, No. 20 Colorado State), four that are receiving votes in the latest coaches' poll (Air Force, Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming) and squads from Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State and UNLV. The men's lineup features ranked teams from Air Force (No. 5), Utah State (No. 24) and Colorado State (No. 28), as well as teams from Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming.
MEN PICKED AS PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP FAVORITES
The men, winners of back-to-back conference titles, received the top spot in the conference's annual pre-championship poll, which was released on Oct. 26. The Falcons collected eight first-place votes and 64 points from the league coaches, while the women earned 77 points to place third in the pre-championship projections.
CONFERENCE HISTORY
Six different schools have captured the men's team title at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships. Former conference opponent BYU tallied nine trophies (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) during their time in the league, while New Mexico (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), Air Force (2003, 2015, 2020, 2021), Boise State (2016, 2018), Colorado State (2017) and Utah State (2019) have also collected MW titles. On the women's side, New Mexico (14-straight from 2008-2021) and BYU (eight-straight from 1999-2006) have combined for 22 of the last 23 titles, while Colorado State won the remaining title in 2007.
AIR FORCE HISTORY, PART I
Highlighted by four team championships (2003, 2015, 2020, 2021) and 10 runner-up finishes, the men have finished within the top three of the Mountain West 21 times in the last 23 years. The women, who have claimed runner-up honors twice (2016, 2019), have placed within the top three nine times – and finished within the top half of the field 18 times in 23 conference meets.
AIR FORCE HISTORY, PART II
Since the Mountain West was formed in 1999, the men have seen 46 runners combine for 79 all-conference awards, including one individual champion and 36 first-team selections. Isaiah Bragg became the program's first MW champion in 2013, while Ben Payne is the Academy's only four-time all-MW honoree. On the women's side, 15 Falcons have combined for 22 all-conference honors, including Mahala Norris, who captured the women's first MW title at the 2020 championship.
FAST FACT
Air Force has accounted for the top finish by a true freshman in each of the last three championship meets – Ryan Johnson (2019 men), Luke Combs (2020 men) and Halle Hamilton (2021 women).
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
In addition to their success in the Mountain West, the men also captured three team titles and three individual championships as members of the Western Athletic Conference. The men won the WAC team titles in 1991, 1994 and 1996, while Chris Nelson (1990, 1991) and Eric Mack (1995) claimed individual championships.
THE NEXT COURSE
The postseason continues for Air Force on Friday, Nov. 11, when the team travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for the NCAA Mountain Regional.
MEET INFORMATION
The Mountain West Cross Country Championships will be contested at Jacoby Golf Course (3501 Willett Drive) in Laramie. The women will kick off this year's championship meet with a 6K race at 10:15 a.m. (MT), while the men will follow with an 8K championship 45 minutes later. The Mountain West Network will broadcast the meet live, with Adam Diehl and Eric Schultz on the call, while live results will be available via Record Timing (direct links to both are available on the team's schedule page at GoAirForceFalcons.com). The championship will also be available on the Mountain West App (available on Android, IOS, Apple TC, Roku, and Android TV).
COURSE INFORMATION
Jacoby Golf Course is at an elevation of 7220 feet. The championship course is a mixture of golf course grass and dirt cart crossings. The women will run a 3000-meter loop twice and the men will run two 3000-meter loops and an additional 2000-meter loop.
WEATHER WATCH
The projected forecast for Friday in Laramie is sunny, with a high of 53 and a low of 17.
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE
The Mountain West Championships will feature 11 women's teams and nine men's programs. The women's field includes two nationally ranked teams (No. 2 New Mexico, No. 20 Colorado State), four that are receiving votes in the latest coaches' poll (Air Force, Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming) and squads from Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State and UNLV. The men's lineup features ranked teams from Air Force (No. 5), Utah State (No. 24) and Colorado State (No. 28), as well as teams from Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming.
MEN PICKED AS PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP FAVORITES
The men, winners of back-to-back conference titles, received the top spot in the conference's annual pre-championship poll, which was released on Oct. 26. The Falcons collected eight first-place votes and 64 points from the league coaches, while the women earned 77 points to place third in the pre-championship projections.
CONFERENCE HISTORY
Six different schools have captured the men's team title at the Mountain West Cross Country Championships. Former conference opponent BYU tallied nine trophies (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) during their time in the league, while New Mexico (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), Air Force (2003, 2015, 2020, 2021), Boise State (2016, 2018), Colorado State (2017) and Utah State (2019) have also collected MW titles. On the women's side, New Mexico (14-straight from 2008-2021) and BYU (eight-straight from 1999-2006) have combined for 22 of the last 23 titles, while Colorado State won the remaining title in 2007.
AIR FORCE HISTORY, PART I
Highlighted by four team championships (2003, 2015, 2020, 2021) and 10 runner-up finishes, the men have finished within the top three of the Mountain West 21 times in the last 23 years. The women, who have claimed runner-up honors twice (2016, 2019), have placed within the top three nine times – and finished within the top half of the field 18 times in 23 conference meets.
AIR FORCE HISTORY, PART II
Since the Mountain West was formed in 1999, the men have seen 46 runners combine for 79 all-conference awards, including one individual champion and 36 first-team selections. Isaiah Bragg became the program's first MW champion in 2013, while Ben Payne is the Academy's only four-time all-MW honoree. On the women's side, 15 Falcons have combined for 22 all-conference honors, including Mahala Norris, who captured the women's first MW title at the 2020 championship.
FAST FACT
Air Force has accounted for the top finish by a true freshman in each of the last three championship meets – Ryan Johnson (2019 men), Luke Combs (2020 men) and Halle Hamilton (2021 women).
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
In addition to their success in the Mountain West, the men also captured three team titles and three individual championships as members of the Western Athletic Conference. The men won the WAC team titles in 1991, 1994 and 1996, while Chris Nelson (1990, 1991) and Eric Mack (1995) claimed individual championships.
THE NEXT COURSE
The postseason continues for Air Force on Friday, Nov. 11, when the team travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for the NCAA Mountain Regional.
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