Saturday, May 14
Clovis, CA
3:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
at
MW Championships
Photo by: Ethan Mito, NCAA Photos
Air Force Men Capture Mountain West Title
5/14/2022 11:56:00 PM | Track and Field
Air Force the second-highest point total in program history (211.50) for the victory.
CLOVIS, Calif. – Accounting for the second-highest point total in program history, the Air Force men captured the 2022 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field title this evening (May 14) during Championship Saturday at the annual conference meet Clovis, California. It is the sixth MW Outdoor title for the Falcons and completed the Falcons' 2021-22 championship trifecta with team titles in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field.
The Falcons kicked off the running events with a championship title in the 4x100-meter relay, as senior Sean Geither, sophomore Jackson Connelly, senior Charles Dimnwaobi and senior Wyatt Murphy raced out to a 40.42 victory. It is the fifth time since 2015 that Air Force has won the conference title in the 4x100-meter relay.
Including Murphy's runner-up finish in the decathlon from earlier in the championships, the 4x1 quartet accounted for seven scoring finishes this weekend. Dimnwaobi earned two more trips to the medal podium on Saturday, as he finished second in the 100-meter dash (career-best 10.46) and third in the 200-meter dash (career-best 21.01). His 100-meter time matched the program's No. 3 time that Travis Picou set in 2006, while his 200-meter time – a mark just 0.001-seconds from silver – is the sixth-fastest time in Air Force history. Connelly also scored in both the 100-meter (fourth, career-best 10.57 – No. 9 all-time at Air Force) and 200-meter events (seventh, 21.79), while Geither placed fifth in the 400-meter dash (47.84) and eighth in the 200-meter dash. Junior Zac Larrier also scored for the Falcons in the 400-meter dash, as he raced to a sixth-place time of 48.02.
In a series of events reminiscent of the indoor championships, Colorado State cut into the Falcons' overall advantage during the day and took the lead heading into the final two events (195-182.50). But, just like the indoor meet, the distance runners shut down the Rams' comeback attempt – this time, placing five in the top-seven of the 5000-meter run for 24 crucial points that swung the lead back to Air Force (206.5-199). Junior Sam Gilman, who finished second in the 1500-meter run (3:48.55) earlier in the day, captured his second silver medal at 5000 meters, with a time of 13:54.52. Classmate Ryan Johnson registered a time of 13:57.58 to finish third, while freshman Bryce Lentz – last night's champion in the steeplechase – posted a time of 13:57.89 (No. 13 on the program's all-time standings) to finish fourth. Senior Ryan Ioanidis and sophomore Luke Combs completed the Falcons' domination at the top of the 28-runner leaderboard, by finishing sixth (13:58.26) and seventh (13:59.58), respectively.
The freshmen duo of Darek Hackett and Cameron Breier shined in their first outdoor championship, finishing second (51.88) and third (52.41), respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles and marking the first time in program history that Air Force has recorded multiple medalists in that event. The pair also joined Larrier and Dimnwaobi on the 4x400-meter relay (fourth, 3:13.31) that secured the title for the Falcons.
Backed by a career-best clearance of 16'9½" from sophomore Caiden Macktinger, the Falcons accounted for half of the scoring finishes in the pole vault. Macktinger used the 21st-best height in program history to place second, while senior Ethan Gardner finished third (16'2½"), freshman Ben Charlebois placed fifth (15'7") and sophomore Braeden Holcombe – the newly-crowned decathlon champion – took eighth with a height of 14'1¼".
Junior Cameron Harris led the men to three scoring finishes in the 110-meter hurdles, as just 0.005-seconds separated him (third, 14.075) from sophomore teammate Philip Hundl (fourth, 14.080). The matching 14.08s are career-bests for both Falcons and tied for the seventh-fastest marks in program history. Holcombe also scored for Air Force in the hurdles, adding an eighth-place time of 14.82.
Freshman Joe Nizich earned runner-up honors in the javelin, as he unleashed a career-best 220'7" – the fifth best mark in program history and a mark that reset his own Air Force Freshman Class Record, while sophomore Teagun Glenn claimed a fourth-place finish behind a toss of 191'6". Senior LaShawn Taylor captured a podium finish in the triple jump after recording a leap of 48'8¼" to finish third, while junior Hayden Bullock rounded out the Falcons' scoring with a fourth-place distance of 177'2" in the discus.
The men finished the meet with 211.50 points – their second-highest point total in program history – to claim the 4.50-point victory over Colorado State (207 pts). The two squads, which traded the lead during the final events, easily separated themselves over the rest of the field, as New Mexico rounded out the top three with 100 points.
Michelle Roca had a stellar day for the women, who tallied 35 points to finish ninth in the team standings. The senior became the program's first athlete to run sub-60 in the 400-meter hurdles, as she raced to a 59.81 finish – a time that broke her own Academy Record and reset the Senior Class Record for the fourth time this season. Roca also led off the 4x400-meter relay that accounted for fastest time in 38 seasons, as freshman Taylor Rioux and senior duo of Brid O'Connell and Grace Proesch completed the circuit in a fourth-place time of 3:42.14 – the second-fastest mark in Air Force history.
Senior Ari Martinez earned a podium finish in the high jump, as she cleared 5'8" to take third and become just the third member of the women's team to medal in the high jump.
Roca's relay teammates weren't done impacting the Record Book – or the team's point total – on Saturday. O'Connell clocked an 800-meter time of 2:09.42 to finish fifth in the meet and improve her own No. 5 standing on the program's all-time list, while Proesch and Rioux ran the first two legs of the 4x100-meter relay (with sophomores Zoe Iwu and Katie Thompson) that opened the day with a seventh-place time of 47.76 – the seventh-best time in Academy history.
Sophomore Alexxis Brown narrowly missed a medalist finish in the javelin, placing just two inches outside of the top three (143'5", fourth), while the women earned multiple scoring finishes in the 1500-meter run behind top-eight finishes from senior Jenna Kill (seventh, 4:29.36) and freshman Sydney Weaber (eighth, career-best 4:29.60 – the 11th-fastest time in program history). Fellow sophomore rounded out the program's scoring with a seventh-place finish in the 54-runner 5000-meter event (16:24.51).
The Falcons return to action on May 25-28, when select members of the team travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the West preliminary round of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. A complete list of qualifiers will be announced next week.
The Falcons kicked off the running events with a championship title in the 4x100-meter relay, as senior Sean Geither, sophomore Jackson Connelly, senior Charles Dimnwaobi and senior Wyatt Murphy raced out to a 40.42 victory. It is the fifth time since 2015 that Air Force has won the conference title in the 4x100-meter relay.
Including Murphy's runner-up finish in the decathlon from earlier in the championships, the 4x1 quartet accounted for seven scoring finishes this weekend. Dimnwaobi earned two more trips to the medal podium on Saturday, as he finished second in the 100-meter dash (career-best 10.46) and third in the 200-meter dash (career-best 21.01). His 100-meter time matched the program's No. 3 time that Travis Picou set in 2006, while his 200-meter time – a mark just 0.001-seconds from silver – is the sixth-fastest time in Air Force history. Connelly also scored in both the 100-meter (fourth, career-best 10.57 – No. 9 all-time at Air Force) and 200-meter events (seventh, 21.79), while Geither placed fifth in the 400-meter dash (47.84) and eighth in the 200-meter dash. Junior Zac Larrier also scored for the Falcons in the 400-meter dash, as he raced to a sixth-place time of 48.02.
In a series of events reminiscent of the indoor championships, Colorado State cut into the Falcons' overall advantage during the day and took the lead heading into the final two events (195-182.50). But, just like the indoor meet, the distance runners shut down the Rams' comeback attempt – this time, placing five in the top-seven of the 5000-meter run for 24 crucial points that swung the lead back to Air Force (206.5-199). Junior Sam Gilman, who finished second in the 1500-meter run (3:48.55) earlier in the day, captured his second silver medal at 5000 meters, with a time of 13:54.52. Classmate Ryan Johnson registered a time of 13:57.58 to finish third, while freshman Bryce Lentz – last night's champion in the steeplechase – posted a time of 13:57.89 (No. 13 on the program's all-time standings) to finish fourth. Senior Ryan Ioanidis and sophomore Luke Combs completed the Falcons' domination at the top of the 28-runner leaderboard, by finishing sixth (13:58.26) and seventh (13:59.58), respectively.
The freshmen duo of Darek Hackett and Cameron Breier shined in their first outdoor championship, finishing second (51.88) and third (52.41), respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles and marking the first time in program history that Air Force has recorded multiple medalists in that event. The pair also joined Larrier and Dimnwaobi on the 4x400-meter relay (fourth, 3:13.31) that secured the title for the Falcons.
Backed by a career-best clearance of 16'9½" from sophomore Caiden Macktinger, the Falcons accounted for half of the scoring finishes in the pole vault. Macktinger used the 21st-best height in program history to place second, while senior Ethan Gardner finished third (16'2½"), freshman Ben Charlebois placed fifth (15'7") and sophomore Braeden Holcombe – the newly-crowned decathlon champion – took eighth with a height of 14'1¼".
Junior Cameron Harris led the men to three scoring finishes in the 110-meter hurdles, as just 0.005-seconds separated him (third, 14.075) from sophomore teammate Philip Hundl (fourth, 14.080). The matching 14.08s are career-bests for both Falcons and tied for the seventh-fastest marks in program history. Holcombe also scored for Air Force in the hurdles, adding an eighth-place time of 14.82.
Freshman Joe Nizich earned runner-up honors in the javelin, as he unleashed a career-best 220'7" – the fifth best mark in program history and a mark that reset his own Air Force Freshman Class Record, while sophomore Teagun Glenn claimed a fourth-place finish behind a toss of 191'6". Senior LaShawn Taylor captured a podium finish in the triple jump after recording a leap of 48'8¼" to finish third, while junior Hayden Bullock rounded out the Falcons' scoring with a fourth-place distance of 177'2" in the discus.
The men finished the meet with 211.50 points – their second-highest point total in program history – to claim the 4.50-point victory over Colorado State (207 pts). The two squads, which traded the lead during the final events, easily separated themselves over the rest of the field, as New Mexico rounded out the top three with 100 points.
Michelle Roca had a stellar day for the women, who tallied 35 points to finish ninth in the team standings. The senior became the program's first athlete to run sub-60 in the 400-meter hurdles, as she raced to a 59.81 finish – a time that broke her own Academy Record and reset the Senior Class Record for the fourth time this season. Roca also led off the 4x400-meter relay that accounted for fastest time in 38 seasons, as freshman Taylor Rioux and senior duo of Brid O'Connell and Grace Proesch completed the circuit in a fourth-place time of 3:42.14 – the second-fastest mark in Air Force history.
Senior Ari Martinez earned a podium finish in the high jump, as she cleared 5'8" to take third and become just the third member of the women's team to medal in the high jump.
Roca's relay teammates weren't done impacting the Record Book – or the team's point total – on Saturday. O'Connell clocked an 800-meter time of 2:09.42 to finish fifth in the meet and improve her own No. 5 standing on the program's all-time list, while Proesch and Rioux ran the first two legs of the 4x100-meter relay (with sophomores Zoe Iwu and Katie Thompson) that opened the day with a seventh-place time of 47.76 – the seventh-best time in Academy history.
Sophomore Alexxis Brown narrowly missed a medalist finish in the javelin, placing just two inches outside of the top three (143'5", fourth), while the women earned multiple scoring finishes in the 1500-meter run behind top-eight finishes from senior Jenna Kill (seventh, 4:29.36) and freshman Sydney Weaber (eighth, career-best 4:29.60 – the 11th-fastest time in program history). Fellow sophomore rounded out the program's scoring with a seventh-place finish in the 54-runner 5000-meter event (16:24.51).
The Falcons return to action on May 25-28, when select members of the team travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the West preliminary round of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. A complete list of qualifiers will be announced next week.
Players Mentioned
400m / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon / Long Jump
/ Track and Field
Shot Put / Discus
/ Track and Field1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
100m / 200m
/ Track and Field
100m / 200m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
400m / 200m
/ Track and Field
1500m / 800m
/ Track and Field
Javelin / Discus / Shot Put
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Decathlon / Long Jump
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / High Jump
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
3000m Steeplechase
/ Track and Field
800m / 1500m
/ Track and Field
200m / 400m
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault / High Jump
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
Decathlon / 100m / Long Jump
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
800m / 400m
/ Track and Field
200m / 400m
/ Track and Field
400m
/ Track and Field
400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Triple Jump / Long Jump
/ Track and Field
Long Jump / 100m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
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