Falcons Earn 14 Bids to NCAA Championships

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Air Force track and field team earned 14 bids into the West Preliminary of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the national office announced today (May 19), with the release of its declared athletes. The Falcons, who qualified athletes in 11 different events, will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., next week (May 25-28) for the opening round of the national meet.

Based on their placement as one of the top 48 accepted athletes in each event, a total of 12 men and two women will compete in the NCAA West Preliminary at John McDonnell Field on the Arkansas campus.

The men qualified multiple athletes in three events, including the 5000-meter run (junior Sam Gilman, junior Ryan Johnson), 10,000-meter run (senior Ryan Ioanidis, senior Will Kitzhaber) and 110-meter hurdles (junior Cameron Harris, sophomore Philip Hundl), while Air Force will be represented in both the men's and women's high jump (senior Jake Hall, senior Ari Martinez) and javelin throw (freshman Joe Nizich, sophomore Alexxis Brown).

Freshmen Bryce Lentz (3000-meter steeplechase), classmate Darek Hackett (400-meter hurdles), sophomore Caiden Macktinger (pole vault), and junior Jaret Prete (hammer throw) round out the list of Air Force qualifiers to the opening round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with Lentz holding the Falcons' highest regional ranking at No. 10 in the steeplechase.

The four-day West Preliminary will run simultaneously with the East Preliminary in Bloomington, Indiana. The top 12 athletes in each event from both sites will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on June 8-11.

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Players Mentioned

Alexxis Brown

Sam Gilman

Darek Hackett

Jake Hall

Cameron Harris

Philip Hundl

Ryan Ioanidis

Ryan Johnson

Will Kitzhaber

Bryce Lentz

Caiden Macktinger

Ari Martinez

Joe Nizich

Jaret Prete

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