Saturday, February 26
Albuquerque, NM
9:30 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
MW Championships
Air Force Men Win Mountain West Title
2/26/2022 7:49:00 PM | Track and Field
Backed by four individual titles, the Falcons claimed their ninth conference title of the decade.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Backed by four individual titles and an "every point matters" mentality, the Air Force men's track and field team captured the 2022 Mountain West Indoor title – its ninth conference title in the last decade – this afternoon (Feb. 26) at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The Falcons have now claimed four indoor (2012, 2016, 2018, 2022) and five outdoor (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) championships since the beginning of the 2012 season, while the distance program has also accounted for three MW cross country titles during the span (2015, 2020, 2021).
Air Force, which had started each day of the meet with a conference title, continued that tradition on Saturday during an epic high jump competition. The Falcons, who entered the meet with six seven-foot jumpers in program history, bolstered that number to eight in the span of a few jumps. Freshman Collin Schulz cleared 7'0¼" – the seventh-best jump in Air Force history – on his first attempt to secure his first Mountain West title, while senior Jake Hall matched that mark two jumps later to finish third and join Schulz at No. 7 on the program's all-time list.
Claiming four of the top-five finishes, the Falcons racked up 25 points in the high jump. In addition to podium finishes from Schulz and Hall, freshman Jalan Rivers cleared a career-best 6'11" – the 11th-best mark in program history – to place third, while sophomore Philip Hundl posted a personal-best height of 6'9¾" – No. 21 all-time at Air Force – to finish fifth and complete the Falcons' dominant performance.
Junior Sam Gilman followed up the performance of his high jump teammates with a victory in the mile. The junior, who anchored the distance medley relay to the team's first title on Thursday, clocked a time of 4:03.29 to win the mile by nearly two seconds.
Classmate Zac Larrier, the reigning outdoor champion at 200 meters, added an indoor title at that distance to his bio, as he used a strong closing kick to claim the conference title. Clocking the second-fastest time in Academy history (20.95), Larrier fought for the narrow 0.02-second victory.
Colorado State had closed the scoring gap during the day and took a seven-point lead (158-151) into the final two events … but senior Ryan Ioanidis and the Air Force distance crew stepped onto the track and successfully closed the door on a Rams' comeback with a thrilling penultimate event. Using the same pack running that served them well during the cross country season, the Falcons stayed together and picked off the competition. Boise State had built themselves a sizeable lead, but on the final straightaway, Ioanidis and sophomore Luke Combs charged down the track to overtake their final challenge for the 1-2 Air Force finish. Ioanidis, just one day removed from leading an Air Force sweep in the 5000-meter run, clocked the sixth-fastest time in program history (7:57.11a, 8:09.15 raw), to win his second title of the meet, while Combs finished just 0.07 back (7:57.18a, 8:09.23 raw) for second. Senior Ryan Johnson, the runner-up in last night's 5000-meter run, added a fourth-place finish following the seventh-fastest time in Air Force history (8:00.51a, 8:12.64 raw) and classmate Will Kitzhaber, the bronze medalist at 5000 meters, added an eighth-place finish of 8:07.01a (8:19.30) – a time that is No. 21 on the all-time list.
In addition to his title at 200 meters, Larrier added a scoring finish in the 60-meter dash (fifth, 7.04) and ran the third leg of the 4x400-meter relay that finished fourth with the 12th-fastest time in program history (3:13.23). Larrier, who was joined on the relay by senior La'akea Aiu, freshman Darek Hackett and senior Sean Geither, was one of two Falcons to score in the dash, as senior Wyatt Murphy, the silver medalist in the heptathlon, captured third-place honors with a time of 6.93.
Hundl also scored the Falcons in multiple events, as he was one of two Falcons in the final of the 60-meter hurdles. Junior Cameron Harris finished sixth in the meet with a time of 8.10, while Hundle added an eighth-place mark of 8.14. Two seniors also registered points for the Falcons on Saturday, as LaShawn Taylor recorded a distance of 47'4¼" to finish fifth in the triple jump and Frank Rossi posted a time of 1:51.99 to take sixth in the 800-meter run.
The men tallied 180 points during its championship-winning run, as the 3000-meter finish secured the Falcons' victory over Colorado State, who took second with 171 points. Utah State finished third with 73 points, while just four points separated Wyoming (fourth, 70), San Jose State (fifth, 67 points), and New Mexico (sixth, 66 points). Boise State rounded out the seven-team men's championship with 28 points.
The women collected six scoring finishes on Saturday, including the 4x400-meter relay that accounted for the second-fastest time in Air Force history. Seniors Grace Proesch, Brid O'Connell and Michelle Roca joined freshman Taylor Rioux to cross the finish line in a fifth-place time of 3:44.52 – a mark just 0.05 off the Academy Record. The relay was the second event of the day for Roca and O'Connell, who both scored for the Falcons in their individual events. Roca improved her own No. 3 standing on the program's all-time list in the 400-meter run, as she clocked a career-best time of 55.17 to finish seventh in the final, while O'Connell, who suffered a fall on the final turn, got back up and scored for the Falcons by finishing eighth.
Air Force earned a pair of scoring finishes in the pole vault, as well as one top-eight placement in the mile. Freshman Katie Schlather recorded a clearance of 12'8¼" to tie for fifth in her first conference championship, while senior Erika Willis added a height of 12'2½" to finish seventh.
In addition to the scoring finishes, the women also saw a pair of freshmen impact the Top 10 of the program's all-time standings in the 3000-meter run. Lindsey Peters, who anchored the Falcons to a third-place finish in the distance medley relay on Thursday, raced the third-fastest 3000-meter time in program history and broke her own Freshman Class Record in 16:38.36a (17:05.48 raw), while Hamilton, one day removed from setting a Class Record in the 5000-meter run, accounted for the eighth-fastest 3000-meter time with a 9:36.23a finish (9:50.78 raw).
The women collected 25 points to finish 10th in a women's competition where only 20 points separated the final seven teams.
The indoor season comes to a close next on March 11-12, when the top 16 athletes in every event converge on the Birmingham SportsPlex in Alabama for the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The Falcons have now claimed four indoor (2012, 2016, 2018, 2022) and five outdoor (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) championships since the beginning of the 2012 season, while the distance program has also accounted for three MW cross country titles during the span (2015, 2020, 2021).
Air Force, which had started each day of the meet with a conference title, continued that tradition on Saturday during an epic high jump competition. The Falcons, who entered the meet with six seven-foot jumpers in program history, bolstered that number to eight in the span of a few jumps. Freshman Collin Schulz cleared 7'0¼" – the seventh-best jump in Air Force history – on his first attempt to secure his first Mountain West title, while senior Jake Hall matched that mark two jumps later to finish third and join Schulz at No. 7 on the program's all-time list.
Claiming four of the top-five finishes, the Falcons racked up 25 points in the high jump. In addition to podium finishes from Schulz and Hall, freshman Jalan Rivers cleared a career-best 6'11" – the 11th-best mark in program history – to place third, while sophomore Philip Hundl posted a personal-best height of 6'9¾" – No. 21 all-time at Air Force – to finish fifth and complete the Falcons' dominant performance.
Junior Sam Gilman followed up the performance of his high jump teammates with a victory in the mile. The junior, who anchored the distance medley relay to the team's first title on Thursday, clocked a time of 4:03.29 to win the mile by nearly two seconds.
Classmate Zac Larrier, the reigning outdoor champion at 200 meters, added an indoor title at that distance to his bio, as he used a strong closing kick to claim the conference title. Clocking the second-fastest time in Academy history (20.95), Larrier fought for the narrow 0.02-second victory.
Colorado State had closed the scoring gap during the day and took a seven-point lead (158-151) into the final two events … but senior Ryan Ioanidis and the Air Force distance crew stepped onto the track and successfully closed the door on a Rams' comeback with a thrilling penultimate event. Using the same pack running that served them well during the cross country season, the Falcons stayed together and picked off the competition. Boise State had built themselves a sizeable lead, but on the final straightaway, Ioanidis and sophomore Luke Combs charged down the track to overtake their final challenge for the 1-2 Air Force finish. Ioanidis, just one day removed from leading an Air Force sweep in the 5000-meter run, clocked the sixth-fastest time in program history (7:57.11a, 8:09.15 raw), to win his second title of the meet, while Combs finished just 0.07 back (7:57.18a, 8:09.23 raw) for second. Senior Ryan Johnson, the runner-up in last night's 5000-meter run, added a fourth-place finish following the seventh-fastest time in Air Force history (8:00.51a, 8:12.64 raw) and classmate Will Kitzhaber, the bronze medalist at 5000 meters, added an eighth-place finish of 8:07.01a (8:19.30) – a time that is No. 21 on the all-time list.
In addition to his title at 200 meters, Larrier added a scoring finish in the 60-meter dash (fifth, 7.04) and ran the third leg of the 4x400-meter relay that finished fourth with the 12th-fastest time in program history (3:13.23). Larrier, who was joined on the relay by senior La'akea Aiu, freshman Darek Hackett and senior Sean Geither, was one of two Falcons to score in the dash, as senior Wyatt Murphy, the silver medalist in the heptathlon, captured third-place honors with a time of 6.93.
Hundl also scored the Falcons in multiple events, as he was one of two Falcons in the final of the 60-meter hurdles. Junior Cameron Harris finished sixth in the meet with a time of 8.10, while Hundle added an eighth-place mark of 8.14. Two seniors also registered points for the Falcons on Saturday, as LaShawn Taylor recorded a distance of 47'4¼" to finish fifth in the triple jump and Frank Rossi posted a time of 1:51.99 to take sixth in the 800-meter run.
The men tallied 180 points during its championship-winning run, as the 3000-meter finish secured the Falcons' victory over Colorado State, who took second with 171 points. Utah State finished third with 73 points, while just four points separated Wyoming (fourth, 70), San Jose State (fifth, 67 points), and New Mexico (sixth, 66 points). Boise State rounded out the seven-team men's championship with 28 points.
The women collected six scoring finishes on Saturday, including the 4x400-meter relay that accounted for the second-fastest time in Air Force history. Seniors Grace Proesch, Brid O'Connell and Michelle Roca joined freshman Taylor Rioux to cross the finish line in a fifth-place time of 3:44.52 – a mark just 0.05 off the Academy Record. The relay was the second event of the day for Roca and O'Connell, who both scored for the Falcons in their individual events. Roca improved her own No. 3 standing on the program's all-time list in the 400-meter run, as she clocked a career-best time of 55.17 to finish seventh in the final, while O'Connell, who suffered a fall on the final turn, got back up and scored for the Falcons by finishing eighth.
Air Force earned a pair of scoring finishes in the pole vault, as well as one top-eight placement in the mile. Freshman Katie Schlather recorded a clearance of 12'8¼" to tie for fifth in her first conference championship, while senior Erika Willis added a height of 12'2½" to finish seventh.
In addition to the scoring finishes, the women also saw a pair of freshmen impact the Top 10 of the program's all-time standings in the 3000-meter run. Lindsey Peters, who anchored the Falcons to a third-place finish in the distance medley relay on Thursday, raced the third-fastest 3000-meter time in program history and broke her own Freshman Class Record in 16:38.36a (17:05.48 raw), while Hamilton, one day removed from setting a Class Record in the 5000-meter run, accounted for the eighth-fastest 3000-meter time with a 9:36.23a finish (9:50.78 raw).
The women collected 25 points to finish 10th in a women's competition where only 20 points separated the final seven teams.
The indoor season comes to a close next on March 11-12, when the top 16 athletes in every event converge on the Birmingham SportsPlex in Alabama for the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Players Mentioned
110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
400m / 200m
/ Track and Field
1500m / 800m
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / High Jump
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
3000m Steeplechase
/ Track and Field
5000m / 10,000m
/ Track and Field
200m / 400m
/ Track and Field
Decathlon / 100m / Long Jump
/ Track and Field
800m / 400m
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
200m / 400m
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
800m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
Triple Jump / Long Jump
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and FieldRyan Cole Interview - August 26th, 2025
Tuesday, August 26
Ryan Cole Interview March 11, 2025
Tuesday, March 11
Ryan Cole Interview May 20, 2024
Monday, May 20
Ryan Cole Interview - May 20, 2024
Monday, May 20
