Friday, May 6
USAFA
3:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
Air Force Twilight Open
Photo by: Justin Pacheco
Falcons Shine in Regular Season Finale
5/6/2022 10:54:00 PM | Track and Field
Grace Proesch, Ari Martinez and Jaret Prete paced the Falcons at the Twilight Open.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Highlighted by the second-best marks in Academy history from senior Grace Proesch (100-meter dash), senior Ari Martinez (high jump) and junior Jaret Prete (hammer throw), the Air Force track and field team capped the regular season with a bang this evening (May 6) at its annual Twilight Open. In all, the Falcons made 19 improvements to the Academy's all-time standings at the Cadet Outdoor Track and Field Complex, while earning 11 event titles and accounting for 45 career-best marks.
Proesch had a stellar outing during her last meet at the Academy, accounting for the second-fastest 100-meter time (12.11) and third-fastest 200-meter time (24.63) in Air Force history, while resetting Morgan Malone's 17-year-old Senior Class Record at 100 meters. Proesch was one of three Falcons to move into the No. 2 position of their event standings in the Air Force Record Book on Friday, as Martinez improved her high jump clearance on back-to-back attempts to win the event with a 5'10" clearance and Prete unleashed a personal-best throw of 205'0" to easily win the hammer throw.
Highlighted by two additional Air Force Top 5 marks, Proesch led the Falcons' sprint squad to seven top-25 times in the program's combined 100- and 200-meter standings. Freshman Taylor Rioux finished just 0.01 behind Proesh in the 200-meter dash to move into fourth on the all-time standings (24.64) and break Aubrey Ridgeway's five-year-old Freshman Class Record, while senior Charles Dimnwaobi clocked the fifth-fastest time in men's history (10.52) to earn the top collegiate finish in the 100-meter dash. Dimnwaobi, who added a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash (21.20), was one of two Falcons to impact the men's 100-meter standings, as junior Zac Larrier debuted in a tie for 17th after posting a 10.67 in his first 'wind-legal' race at that distance. Senior Sean Geither and sophomore Jackson Connelly both impacted the all-time standings in the 200-meter dash, as Geither improved to time of 21.31 (11th all-time) and Connelly, after earning a top-five finish at 100 meters (10.66), clocked a 200-meter time of 21.39 to debut in a tie for 17th on the all-time standings.
Backed by two of the eight-fastest times in Air Force history, the men earned a 1-2-3 sweep in the 400-meter hurdles. Crossing the finish line in 51.59 – the sixth-fastest time in program history, Darek Hackett won the event and shattered the program's Freshman Class Record that Jim Bushe had held since 1985. Senior La'akea Aiu added a career-best time of 51.73 to finish second in the meet and move up to eighth on the program's all-time standings, while freshman Cameron Breier completed the sweep with a personal-best time of 52.07 – the No. 14 mark in Academy history.
The Falcons also accounted for multiple Air Force Top-25 marks in three additional events. Sophomore Sean Maison clocked a career-best, altitude-adjusted time of 3:45.09a to win the 1500-meter run and move into 12th on the program's all-time standings, while classmate Eli Bennett posted a time of 3:47.68a to finish second in the meet and debut at No. 24 on the all-time standings. The women used a one-two finish in the long jump to increase the Falcons' number of 17-foot athletes. Junior Aaliyah Ricketts posted a winning leap of 17'9½" to debut in a tie for 13th on the all-time standings, while classmate Katie Van Havel recorded a jump of 17'4¾" to finish second in the meet and debut at No. 17 in the record book.
Sophomore John Colizzi recorded a long jump distance of 23'1¾" to take second in the meet and improve his No. 21 mark on the all-time standings, while a pair of high hurdlers impacted the record book and helped Air Force to three of the top-five finishes. Sophomore Philip Hundl, finishing just 0.03 off his career best of 14.16, led the trio with a third-place finish, while freshman Seth Meador clocked a time of 14.29 to move into 18th on the all-time standings and classmate Darek Hackett debuted at No. 23 after posting a career-best time of 14.48.
Martinez paced the Falcons to a sweep of the vertical events on Friday, as classmate Jake Hall won the men's high jump and paced the Falcons to five of the top-seven finishes in the 12-jumper event. Hall cleared 6'8¾" on a first-attempt clearance for the event title, while freshman Jalan Rivers matched that height on his second attempt to take second. Fellow freshman Collin Schulz finished fourth with a height of 6'6¾", while senior Wyatt Murphy and Hundl finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with matching heights of 6'4¾" – a career-best for Murphy. Senior Erika Willis and sophomore Caiden Macktinger led the Falcons to 1-2-3 sweeps in the pole vault, as Willis won the women's event with a clearance of 12'0½" and Macktinger cleared 16'0¾" to finish first in the nine-vaulter men's event. Freshman Katie Schlather (12'0½") and senior Frankie Porambo (11'6½") rounded out the women's sweep, while senior Ethan Gardner (16'0¾") and freshman Ben Charlebois (15'7") finished second and third, respectively, on the men's side.
The women also earned a top-three sweep in the 1500-meter run, as sophomore Rebecca Wusinich won the 18-runner event with a time of 4:46.18 and freshman Lindsey Peters and sophomore Rachel Crytser finished second (4:49.09) and third (4:49.73), respectively, in their event debuts.
The men captured the top-three collegiate finishes in the javelin throw, while the women earned a one-two punch on their results. Sophomore Teagun Glenn recorded a career-best toss of 195'8" to earn the top collegiate finish – and take second overall – in the 10-thrower event, while sophomore Keith Oswald and senior Nick Oesterling finished third (career-best 185'8") and fourth (170'10"), respectively, overall. On the women's side, sophomore Alexxis Brown finished first out of 12 throwers, with a distance of 141'3", and senior Kristin Kerrigan recorded a career-best throw of 127'6" to take second.
Senior Michelle Roca won the 400-meter hurdles (60.78) and Air Force earned runner-up finishes in both the men's and women's 800-meter races (senior Frank Rossi, 1:53.13; junior Stephanie Gregersen, 2:20.43), while junior Hayden Bullock earned a third-place finish in the discus throw (158'9") and sophomore Brandon Lindner posted a career-best distance of 22'7¾" (fourth) to join Colizzi in the top-five of the long jump.
The Falcons accounted for four of the top-five finishes in the 29-runner 1500-meter event – and seven of the top nine overall, as seniors Matt Zacharias (fourth, career-best 3:58.75) and AJ Kedge (fifth, 4:00.08) shared top-five honors with Maison and Bennett.
With the regular season complete, Air Force turns its attention to the postseason – which begins next week (May 11-14) at the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Clovis, California.
Proesch had a stellar outing during her last meet at the Academy, accounting for the second-fastest 100-meter time (12.11) and third-fastest 200-meter time (24.63) in Air Force history, while resetting Morgan Malone's 17-year-old Senior Class Record at 100 meters. Proesch was one of three Falcons to move into the No. 2 position of their event standings in the Air Force Record Book on Friday, as Martinez improved her high jump clearance on back-to-back attempts to win the event with a 5'10" clearance and Prete unleashed a personal-best throw of 205'0" to easily win the hammer throw.
Highlighted by two additional Air Force Top 5 marks, Proesch led the Falcons' sprint squad to seven top-25 times in the program's combined 100- and 200-meter standings. Freshman Taylor Rioux finished just 0.01 behind Proesh in the 200-meter dash to move into fourth on the all-time standings (24.64) and break Aubrey Ridgeway's five-year-old Freshman Class Record, while senior Charles Dimnwaobi clocked the fifth-fastest time in men's history (10.52) to earn the top collegiate finish in the 100-meter dash. Dimnwaobi, who added a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash (21.20), was one of two Falcons to impact the men's 100-meter standings, as junior Zac Larrier debuted in a tie for 17th after posting a 10.67 in his first 'wind-legal' race at that distance. Senior Sean Geither and sophomore Jackson Connelly both impacted the all-time standings in the 200-meter dash, as Geither improved to time of 21.31 (11th all-time) and Connelly, after earning a top-five finish at 100 meters (10.66), clocked a 200-meter time of 21.39 to debut in a tie for 17th on the all-time standings.
Backed by two of the eight-fastest times in Air Force history, the men earned a 1-2-3 sweep in the 400-meter hurdles. Crossing the finish line in 51.59 – the sixth-fastest time in program history, Darek Hackett won the event and shattered the program's Freshman Class Record that Jim Bushe had held since 1985. Senior La'akea Aiu added a career-best time of 51.73 to finish second in the meet and move up to eighth on the program's all-time standings, while freshman Cameron Breier completed the sweep with a personal-best time of 52.07 – the No. 14 mark in Academy history.
The Falcons also accounted for multiple Air Force Top-25 marks in three additional events. Sophomore Sean Maison clocked a career-best, altitude-adjusted time of 3:45.09a to win the 1500-meter run and move into 12th on the program's all-time standings, while classmate Eli Bennett posted a time of 3:47.68a to finish second in the meet and debut at No. 24 on the all-time standings. The women used a one-two finish in the long jump to increase the Falcons' number of 17-foot athletes. Junior Aaliyah Ricketts posted a winning leap of 17'9½" to debut in a tie for 13th on the all-time standings, while classmate Katie Van Havel recorded a jump of 17'4¾" to finish second in the meet and debut at No. 17 in the record book.
Sophomore John Colizzi recorded a long jump distance of 23'1¾" to take second in the meet and improve his No. 21 mark on the all-time standings, while a pair of high hurdlers impacted the record book and helped Air Force to three of the top-five finishes. Sophomore Philip Hundl, finishing just 0.03 off his career best of 14.16, led the trio with a third-place finish, while freshman Seth Meador clocked a time of 14.29 to move into 18th on the all-time standings and classmate Darek Hackett debuted at No. 23 after posting a career-best time of 14.48.
Martinez paced the Falcons to a sweep of the vertical events on Friday, as classmate Jake Hall won the men's high jump and paced the Falcons to five of the top-seven finishes in the 12-jumper event. Hall cleared 6'8¾" on a first-attempt clearance for the event title, while freshman Jalan Rivers matched that height on his second attempt to take second. Fellow freshman Collin Schulz finished fourth with a height of 6'6¾", while senior Wyatt Murphy and Hundl finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with matching heights of 6'4¾" – a career-best for Murphy. Senior Erika Willis and sophomore Caiden Macktinger led the Falcons to 1-2-3 sweeps in the pole vault, as Willis won the women's event with a clearance of 12'0½" and Macktinger cleared 16'0¾" to finish first in the nine-vaulter men's event. Freshman Katie Schlather (12'0½") and senior Frankie Porambo (11'6½") rounded out the women's sweep, while senior Ethan Gardner (16'0¾") and freshman Ben Charlebois (15'7") finished second and third, respectively, on the men's side.
The women also earned a top-three sweep in the 1500-meter run, as sophomore Rebecca Wusinich won the 18-runner event with a time of 4:46.18 and freshman Lindsey Peters and sophomore Rachel Crytser finished second (4:49.09) and third (4:49.73), respectively, in their event debuts.
The men captured the top-three collegiate finishes in the javelin throw, while the women earned a one-two punch on their results. Sophomore Teagun Glenn recorded a career-best toss of 195'8" to earn the top collegiate finish – and take second overall – in the 10-thrower event, while sophomore Keith Oswald and senior Nick Oesterling finished third (career-best 185'8") and fourth (170'10"), respectively, overall. On the women's side, sophomore Alexxis Brown finished first out of 12 throwers, with a distance of 141'3", and senior Kristin Kerrigan recorded a career-best throw of 127'6" to take second.
Senior Michelle Roca won the 400-meter hurdles (60.78) and Air Force earned runner-up finishes in both the men's and women's 800-meter races (senior Frank Rossi, 1:53.13; junior Stephanie Gregersen, 2:20.43), while junior Hayden Bullock earned a third-place finish in the discus throw (158'9") and sophomore Brandon Lindner posted a career-best distance of 22'7¾" (fourth) to join Colizzi in the top-five of the long jump.
The Falcons accounted for four of the top-five finishes in the 29-runner 1500-meter event – and seven of the top nine overall, as seniors Matt Zacharias (fourth, career-best 3:58.75) and AJ Kedge (fifth, 4:00.08) shared top-five honors with Maison and Bennett.
With the regular season complete, Air Force turns its attention to the postseason – which begins next week (May 11-14) at the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Clovis, California.
Players Mentioned
110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
400m / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon / Long Jump
/ Track and Field
Shot Put / Discus
/ Track and Field
Long Jump / Triple Jump
/ Track and Field
100m / 200m
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
100m / 200m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
400m / 200m
/ Track and Field
Javelin / Discus / Shot Put
/ Track and Field
800m / 1500m
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / 400m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles / High Jump
/ Track and Field
3000m Steeplechase
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
200m / 400m
/ Track and Field
Long Jump / Triple Jump
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault / High Jump
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
110m Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Decathlon / 100m / Long Jump
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Hammer / Discus / Shot Put
/ Track and Field
200m / 400m
/ Track and Field
Long Jump / Triple Jump
/ Track and Field
400m / 200m
/ 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
Long Jump / Triple Jump
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
3000m Steeplechase / 1500m
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