Men Claim Three Conference Titles on Friday

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An Academy Record title in the weight throw and a 1-2-3 sweep in the 5000-meter run bookended a successful day of action for the Air Force track and field team, as it continued competition at the 2022 Mountain West Indoor Championships in Albuquerque. The men claimed three titles and 12 scoring finishes on Friday (Feb. 25), while the program advanced 10 into the finals.

Junior Jaret Prete kicked off the day, as he unleashed an Academy Record throw of 65'8" to win the MW title in the weight throw. Prete, who took the lead with (then) career-best 62'10" on his second attempt, secured the title on his next throw, as his 65'8" bettered the field by more than two feet. That distance added nearly two feet to the program-standard of 63'10¼" that Malachi Sparling registered during his own MW title-winning run in 2017.

While Prete's title started the day, a 1-2-3 championship sweep by seniors Ryan Ioanidis, Ryan Johnson and Will Kitzhaber ended it in impressive, record-setting fashion. In race where the majority of the lead changes came from the three runners wearing Air Force on their chest, Ioanidis claimed the title in a Championship Meet Record time of 14:09.55 – a time that bettered the previous standard that former Falcon Justin Tyner had held since 2011. Johnson (14:11.84) and Kitzhaber (14:12.81) also went under the previous record to finish second and third, respectively, as Air Force claimed its first conference podium sweep in that event. In addition to updating the MW Record Book, the trio also made three major changes to the Air Force Record Book, as their altitude-converted marks were the third- (13:47.08a), fourth- (13:49.31a) and fifth- (13:50.26a) fastest times in program history.

Bookended by those two titles was senior Ethan Gardner's championship in the pole vault. Clearing 16'2¾", the senior marked the ninth time in 10 years that a member of the Falcons' pole vault squad has stood atop the conference podium at the indoor meet. Gardner, who earned this third-straight podium in the pole vault, paced the Falcons to four of the six scoring finishes. Freshman Robert Postell medaled in his first conference meet after clearing 15'9" to finish third, while sophomore Caiden Macktinger and senior Calvin Ciganik posted matching heights of 15'3" to finish fifth and sixth, respectively.

Highlighted by a podium finish from sophomore John Colizzi, the men also earned multiple scoring finishes in the long jump. Colizzi recorded a distance of 23'3½" to finish third in the 18-jumper event, while freshman Travon Stevens-Long finished sixth with a mark of 23'0" and junior Cameron Harris placed eighth with a leap of 22'10½".

Senior Wyatt Murphy earned runner-up honors in the heptathlon, as he amassed 5227 points to finish second following two days of competition. Entering the day in third, Murphy posted a time of 8.49 in the 60-meter hurdles, a pole vault clearance of 12'11½" and a 1000-meter mark of 2:48.05.

The women claimed a scoring finish from senior Ari Martinez during today's high jump and an Air Force Top 10 all-time mark from Halle Hamilton in the 5000-meter run. Martinez recorded a season-best clearance of 5'7¾" to tie for fourth in the 15-jumper event, while Hamilton's altitude-adjusted 5000-meter time of 16:38.36a is the seventh-fastest time in Air Force history and a new Freshman Class Record.

In addition to the championship finals, several preliminary races were contested, with Air Force advancing 10 into tomorrow's finals.

The men claimed multiple spots in the championships of both 60-meter events – Murphy (6.92) and junior Zac Larrier (6.95) advanced in the dash, while Harris (8.04) and sophomore Philip Hundl (8.06) qualified in the hurdles. Harris and Hundl also impacted the Air Force Record Book during the preliminary round, as Harris' time is 17th on the all-time standings and Hundl equaled the 19th-best time in program history.

Larrier returned to the track later in the day to post the fastest qualifying time in the 200-meter dash – and move into sixth on the Academy's all-time list with a 21.27 performance. Classmate Sam Gilman automatically qualified in the mile with a 4:09.70 performance, while senior Frank Rossi advanced to the 800-meter finals on time (1:52.54).

The women advanced three to tomorrow's finals. Senior Michelle Roca clocked the third-fastest 400-meter time in Air Force history (55.44) to advance into the finals of that event, while classmate Jenna Kill moved into No. 20 on the all-time standings of the mile with a qualifying 5:03.25 performance. Fellow senior Brid O'Connell advanced to the 800-meter finals on time, after recording a time of 2:12.02.

Three other Falcons impacted the women's all-time standings during today's qualifying round, including senior Grace Proesch and sophomore Zoe Iwu joined Roca on the program's Top 25. Proesch tallied the eighth-fastest time in Air Force history with a 56.81 performance and Iwu registered the 22nd-fastest time at 58.31. In the mile, freshman Sydney Weaber posted an altitude-converted time of 4:58.90 to move into 23rd on the all-time list.

After six events, the men are in first with 85 points – a 40-point margin over the rest of the field, as Colorado State (45), Wyoming (31), Utah State (29), New Mexico (15), San Jose State (13) and Boise State (10) round out the field. The women are currently in 10th with 10.50 points - but less than five points out of sixth with 11 events remaining.

Air Force closes out the conference meet tomorrow (Feb. 25) on Championship Saturday. Action begins with the men's high jump at 9:30 a.m. (MT) and will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Calvin Ciganik

John Colizzi

Ethan Gardner

Sam Gilman

Halle Hamilton

Cameron Harris

Philip Hundl

Ryan Ioanidis

Zoe Iwu

Ryan Johnson

Jenna Kill

Will Kitzhaber

Zac Larrier

Caiden Macktinger

Ari Martinez

Wyatt Murphy

Brid O'Connell

Robert Postell

Jaret Prete

Grace Proesch

Michelle Roca

Frank Rossi

Travon Stevens-Long

Sydney Weaber

Footer