Falcons Rewrite 5000-Meter All-Time Standings

BOSTON, Mass. – The top 10 of the Academy's 5000-meter rankings received a major upgrade this evening (Dec. 3), as members of the Air Force distance squad wrapped up the opening weekend of the season at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston.

ACADEMY TOP 10 MARKS
No. 3 – Halle Hamilton, 5000-Meter Run (15:51.39)
No. 3 – Eli Bennett, 5000-Meter Run (13:44.32)
No. 4 – Ryan Johnson, 5000-Meter Run (13:45.33)
No. 9 – Sean Maison, 5000-Meter Run (13:57.49)
No. 10 – Ethan Marshall, 5000-Meter Run (13:58.86)

Sophomore Halle Hamilton had a stellar day on the oval at Boston's Track and Tennis Center – becoming just the fourth female in Air Force history to run a sub-16 in the 5000-meter run. Knocking more than a half minute off her previous best time, Hamilton crossed the finish line in a time of 15:51.39 – the third-fastest time in Academy history and a mark that improved the program's Sophomore Class Record by nearly 15 seconds. The sophomore picked her way through the field to get into the top five at the eight-minute mark and then closed into the top three. By claiming third in her section of 24, Hamilton's time was 27th among the 147 runners that started the event over six different sections.

A quartet of men rewrote the program's 5000-meter top 10 during three different sections on Saturday, while senior Sam Gilman knocked nearly six seconds off the previous Senior Class Record. Gilman, competing in the top section, crossed the finish line in a time of 13:25.64 – a season-opening time that was just 0.47 off his own Academy standard that he set at last year's meet. Classmates Ryan Johnson and Ethan Marshall ran two sections later, clocking career-best times of 13:45.33 and 13:58.86, respectively. Junior Eli Bennett, running in the fifth section, used an impressive finishing kick to win his race and post a time of 13:44.32, while classmate Sean Maison capped the night one section later with a time of 13:57.49.

When all was said and done, five of the 10-fastest men in Air Force history had raced on Boston's famed track. Bennett, competing in his first indoor 5K, debuted in the No. 3 spot on the program's all-time list, while Johnson remained in the top-four after deleting five seconds off his previous time to stay at No. 4. Maison, also competing in his first 5000-meter indoor race, debuted at No. 9, while Marshall knocked 12 seconds off his previous time to move from 17th to 10th on the all-time standings.

Overall, Gilman paced the group with a 16th-place finish in a race that saw more than 220 runners at the starting line throughout 10 different sections. Bennett (44th) and Johnson (46th) both placed within the top-50, while Maison (73rd) and Marshall (75th) earned top-75 finishes.

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