Falcons Wrap Indoor Home Slate with Air Force Collegiate Open

The track and field team wraps up the home portion of its indoor season this Friday (Feb. 17), when it hosts the Air Force Collegiate Open at the Academy's Cadet Field House. The meet, which will serve as a final tune-up before the upcoming conference meet, is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. (MT).

MEET INFORMATION
The Air Force Collegiate Open will be held Friday, Feb. 17, at the Cadet Field House Indoor Track, with the women's weight throw kicking off the day at 11:00 a.m. (MT) – a complete schedule of events is listed below. Admission is free and fans must adhere to the Academy's "Clear Bag Policy". Live results will be available at GoAirForceFalcons.com/TrackFieldResults, while in-meet Air Force highlights will be posted on the team's official Twitter account (@af_tfxc).

WHO'S WHO
The Air Force Collegiate Open will feature athletes from Air Force, Colorado Christian, Colorado, Colorado College, Colorado State, CSU-Pueblo, MSU Denver, Northern Colorado, UCCS, and Wyoming, as well as numerous unattached athletes.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
11:00 a.m.: Women's Weight Throw, followed by Men's Weight Throw, Women's Shot Put, Men's Shot Put; 1:00 p.m.: Men's Pole Vault, followed by Women's Pole Vault; 2:00 p.m.: Women's High Jump, followed by Men's High Jump; 2:00 p.m.: Women's Long Jump, followed by Women's Triple Jump; 2:00 p.m.: Men's Long Jump, followed by Men's Triple Jump; 3:05 p.m.: Mile Run, 60-Meter Hurdles, 400-Meter Dash, 60-Meter Dash, 800-Meter Run, 200-Meter Dash, 3000-Meter Run (women compete first in all running events).

THE END OF AN ERA
The Air Force Collegiate Open will mark the final competition with the current configuration of the Cadet Field House Indoor Track, as the facility – which has remained mostly unchanged since the building's dedication in 1968, will undergo an extensive renovation throughout the next calendar year. The Cadet Field House Indoor Track – the second-highest collegiate track in the NCAA – has hosted nine MW Indoor Championships and 14 WAC Indoor Championships, as well as many of the nation's top-ranked teams during the annual Air Force Invitational.

SQUAD GOALS
With a combined low of 54:58.99, the men's 5000-meter quartet of Sam Gilman, Eli Bennett, Ryan Johnson, and Ethan Marshall are ranked fifth in the Feb. 13 edition of the USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings – which are determined by the cumulative season-best marks from a team's top-four athletes on the national descending order list. The men currently have six event groups listed among the nation's Top 20, including the high jump (13th), pole vault (13th), 60-meter hurdles (15th), 3000-meter run (18th) and weight throw (20th).

AIR FORCE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Highlighted by a pair of top-15 marks from Sam Gilman, a pair of Falcons are listed among the nation's Top 20 in the latest TFRRS standings. Gilman is listed 10th in the 3000-meter run (7:43.70) and 13th in the 5000-meter run (13:25.64), while Jalan Rivers is ranked 17th in the high jump following his first collegiate seven-foot clearance (7'1").

COMING UP
The indoor championship season begins next week, when the Falcons head back to Albuquerque, N.M., for the 2023 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships. The three-day competition, which begins on Thursday, Feb. 23, and runs through Saturday, Feb. 25, will be held at the ABQ Convention Center.

Falcons Wrap Indoor Home Slate with Air Force Collegiate Open

Players Mentioned

Eli Bennett

Sam Gilman

Ryan Johnson

Ethan Marshall

Jalan Rivers

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