Friday, April 15
Azusa, CA
11:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
Bryan Clay Invitational
Photo by: Kirby Lee, Associated Press
Sam Gilman Leads Falcons at Mt SAC Relays
4/15/2022 11:59:00 PM | Track and Field
Gilman clocked the second-fastest 5000-meter time in Air Force history to take down Elite field.
WALNUT, Calif. – Highlighted by a thrilling Invitational victory from junior Sam Gilman, members of the Air Force men's distance lineup accounted for five of the 16-fastest 5000-meter times in Academy history to cap another exciting day of competition in Southern California. With athletes spread across three different meets, the Falcons made 12 improvements to the program's all-time standings.
Bolstered by the second-fastest 5000-meter time in Air Force history (13:33.26), Gilman took down an elite field of professional and collegiate athletes in the Invitational section of the 5000-meter run. The junior stayed out of traffic near the back of the pack for the first several laps, before starting to work his way through the field. Leading the chase pack when the front-runners pulled away, Gilman continued to gain ground and joined the four leaders with two laps left. The top collegiate at this point, he moved into fourth during his final time on the backstretch, before moving from third to second to first on the final curve and holding off the two favorites down the straight. Gilman won the 16-competitor race by 0.30 seconds, while holding a 15-second advantage over the other three collegiates in the field.
Gilman wasn't the only Air Force runner to impact Air Force's all-time standings in the 5000-meter run at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on Friday, as four more Falcons made their marks on the list during the night's final two men's races. Junior Ryan Johnson, the lone Academy runner in his section, clocked the fourth-fastest time in program history – a 13:45.23 – to finish sixth in his section and sixth in the full 38-runner Collegiate race, while junior Scott Maison, sophomore Sean Maison, and junior Ethan Marshall found themselves separated by just two seconds in the other section. The Maison twins posted identical times of 14:00.14 to tie for 14th on the Academy's all-time standings and finish within the top-five of their section, while Marshall clocked an outdoor 5000-meter debut of 14:02.22 to enter the Air Force Record Book at No. 16.
Senior Ethan Gardner equaled his career-best pole vault clearance of 16'10¾" – the 18th-best height in program history – to win his section of the meet, while junior Cameron Harris improved his No. 19 standing on the Academy's all-time list of the 110-meter hurdles (14.42).
Freshman Katie Schlather became the 15th female in program history to clear 12 feet in the outdoor pole vault, as she registered a career-best clearance of 12'1½" – the 13th-best height in Academy history – to tie for 11th in her section. Senior Michelle Roca clocked a season-best time of 60.34 to rewrite her own Air Force Senior Class Record in the 400-meter hurdles for the third time in as many meets, while classmate Ari Martinez recorded a clearance of 5'7" to tie for sixth in the high jump.
The men's 4x100-meter lineup of freshman Darek Hackett, sophomore Jackson Connelly, senior Charles Dimnwaobi and junior Zac Larrier won their Invitational heat in a time of 40.76, while Larrier added a top-20 finish in the 200-meter dash (21.15, +2.7 m/s). Sophomore Caiden Macktinger improved his clearance in the pole vault by nearly a foot (16'0¾") to finish sixth in his section of the event, while senior Jake Hall cleared 6'8¾" to earn the same placement in the high jump and lead Air Force to a trio of top 10 finishes in that event. Sophomore Teagun Glenn recorded a season-best throw of 192'5" to earn a top-10 placement in the javelin throw, while junior Jaret Prete nearly matched his career-best throw in the hammer during two competitions today (197'3", 18th of 37 at the Mt SAC Relays, 198'8", 21st of 51 at the Beach Invitational).
Backed by three of the 12-fastest 1500-meter times in Air Force women's history, several Falcons also impacted the program's all-time standings during a short day on the track at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Senior Jenna Kill, racing in the Invitational round of races for the 1500-meter run, clocked a career-best time of 4:27.03 finish sixth in her section and vault into ninth on the program's all-time standings, while sophomore Sydney Weaber and junior Ava Gilliana both accounted for the No. 11 spot in Air Force's record book during their respective races in the "A" section. Weaber clocked a 10-second PR of 4:30.34 to debut in 11th on the all-time standings during a fifth-place finish in Section 3 – one race before Gilliana posted a career-best time of 4:30.08 – the new No. 11 time – to win Section 4 by a half second. Overall, the pair had a stellar outing, finishing 11th and 13th, respectively, in the 136-runner field.
On the men's side, sophomore Bryce Lentz raced to a career-best time of 3:48.47 to win his section and finish 13th out of 173 total runners in the overall field.
Earlier in the day, senior Grace Proesch improved her own No. 4 mark on the program's all-time standings at 200 meters, as she raced to a 24.91 finish – placing third in her heat and 36th in the full 130-sprinter event, and Connelly posted his fastest all-condition time in the 200-meter distance (21.80, +2.2 m/s) to finish third in his heat and 35th out of 114 total runners.
The Falcons close out their whirlwind weekend of competition tomorrow (April 16), as they head to Long Beach for a full day of action at the Beach Invitational. Action is slated to begin at 9:00 a.m. (PT).
Long-time Air Force head coach Ralph Lindeman (1951-2022), who served as the head coach of the track and field and cross country teams at Long Beach State from 1984-89, will be inducted into their Hall of Honor during a special ceremony for the Class of 2022 prior to the start of the running events.
Bolstered by the second-fastest 5000-meter time in Air Force history (13:33.26), Gilman took down an elite field of professional and collegiate athletes in the Invitational section of the 5000-meter run. The junior stayed out of traffic near the back of the pack for the first several laps, before starting to work his way through the field. Leading the chase pack when the front-runners pulled away, Gilman continued to gain ground and joined the four leaders with two laps left. The top collegiate at this point, he moved into fourth during his final time on the backstretch, before moving from third to second to first on the final curve and holding off the two favorites down the straight. Gilman won the 16-competitor race by 0.30 seconds, while holding a 15-second advantage over the other three collegiates in the field.
Gilman wasn't the only Air Force runner to impact Air Force's all-time standings in the 5000-meter run at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on Friday, as four more Falcons made their marks on the list during the night's final two men's races. Junior Ryan Johnson, the lone Academy runner in his section, clocked the fourth-fastest time in program history – a 13:45.23 – to finish sixth in his section and sixth in the full 38-runner Collegiate race, while junior Scott Maison, sophomore Sean Maison, and junior Ethan Marshall found themselves separated by just two seconds in the other section. The Maison twins posted identical times of 14:00.14 to tie for 14th on the Academy's all-time standings and finish within the top-five of their section, while Marshall clocked an outdoor 5000-meter debut of 14:02.22 to enter the Air Force Record Book at No. 16.
Senior Ethan Gardner equaled his career-best pole vault clearance of 16'10¾" – the 18th-best height in program history – to win his section of the meet, while junior Cameron Harris improved his No. 19 standing on the Academy's all-time list of the 110-meter hurdles (14.42).
Freshman Katie Schlather became the 15th female in program history to clear 12 feet in the outdoor pole vault, as she registered a career-best clearance of 12'1½" – the 13th-best height in Academy history – to tie for 11th in her section. Senior Michelle Roca clocked a season-best time of 60.34 to rewrite her own Air Force Senior Class Record in the 400-meter hurdles for the third time in as many meets, while classmate Ari Martinez recorded a clearance of 5'7" to tie for sixth in the high jump.
The men's 4x100-meter lineup of freshman Darek Hackett, sophomore Jackson Connelly, senior Charles Dimnwaobi and junior Zac Larrier won their Invitational heat in a time of 40.76, while Larrier added a top-20 finish in the 200-meter dash (21.15, +2.7 m/s). Sophomore Caiden Macktinger improved his clearance in the pole vault by nearly a foot (16'0¾") to finish sixth in his section of the event, while senior Jake Hall cleared 6'8¾" to earn the same placement in the high jump and lead Air Force to a trio of top 10 finishes in that event. Sophomore Teagun Glenn recorded a season-best throw of 192'5" to earn a top-10 placement in the javelin throw, while junior Jaret Prete nearly matched his career-best throw in the hammer during two competitions today (197'3", 18th of 37 at the Mt SAC Relays, 198'8", 21st of 51 at the Beach Invitational).
Backed by three of the 12-fastest 1500-meter times in Air Force women's history, several Falcons also impacted the program's all-time standings during a short day on the track at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Senior Jenna Kill, racing in the Invitational round of races for the 1500-meter run, clocked a career-best time of 4:27.03 finish sixth in her section and vault into ninth on the program's all-time standings, while sophomore Sydney Weaber and junior Ava Gilliana both accounted for the No. 11 spot in Air Force's record book during their respective races in the "A" section. Weaber clocked a 10-second PR of 4:30.34 to debut in 11th on the all-time standings during a fifth-place finish in Section 3 – one race before Gilliana posted a career-best time of 4:30.08 – the new No. 11 time – to win Section 4 by a half second. Overall, the pair had a stellar outing, finishing 11th and 13th, respectively, in the 136-runner field.
On the men's side, sophomore Bryce Lentz raced to a career-best time of 3:48.47 to win his section and finish 13th out of 173 total runners in the overall field.
Earlier in the day, senior Grace Proesch improved her own No. 4 mark on the program's all-time standings at 200 meters, as she raced to a 24.91 finish – placing third in her heat and 36th in the full 130-sprinter event, and Connelly posted his fastest all-condition time in the 200-meter distance (21.80, +2.2 m/s) to finish third in his heat and 35th out of 114 total runners.
The Falcons close out their whirlwind weekend of competition tomorrow (April 16), as they head to Long Beach for a full day of action at the Beach Invitational. Action is slated to begin at 9:00 a.m. (PT).
Long-time Air Force head coach Ralph Lindeman (1951-2022), who served as the head coach of the track and field and cross country teams at Long Beach State from 1984-89, will be inducted into their Hall of Honor during a special ceremony for the Class of 2022 prior to the start of the running events.
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Javelin / Discus / Shot Put
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110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
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Hammer / Discus / Shot Put
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