Air Force Trio Named MW Athletes of the Week
3/21/2023 1:04:00 PM | Track and Field
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Following stellar outdoor-opening performances at the Dr. Dan Caprioglio Early Bird Invitational last weekend in Pueblo, three members of the Air Force track and field team were honored by the Mountain West this afternoon (March 21), as the conference office announced its first weekly awards of the outdoor campaign.
Sophomore Cooper Stroka was named the MW Men's Field Athlete of the Week, while classmate Taylor Rioux was selected as the MW Women's Track Athlete of the Week and first-year Falcon Jacqui Spencer was honored as the MW Women's Freshman of the Week. It is the first MW honor for both Stroka and Spencer, while Rioux earned her first weekly Athlete award after claiming Freshman honors once last year.
Stroka opened his first full outdoor season with a stellar performance in the hammer throw on March 17, as he unleashed a career-best throw of 61.65m (202'3") and easily winning his second collegiate meet. Bettering the field by more than 17 feet, Stroka became just the fourth thrower in Academy history – and the first-ever Sophomore – to surpass the 200-foot barrier in that event. The current conference leader, Stroka is ranked 22nd in the West Region and 34th in the NCAA, while maintaining the No. 8 distance among the nation's underclassmen.
Rioux's stellar sophomore season continued on March 18, when she raced to the second-fastest 200-meter time in Air Force history during a victorious performance. Crossing the finish line in a time of 24.51, Rioux bettered the field by more than one second and broke the program's 10-year-old Sophomore Class Record. Ranked fourth in the conference and 44th in the region at 200 meters, Rioux is also listed among the MW leaders in two other events after clocking a wind-aided 100-meter time of 12.34 and running the second-leg of the 4x100-meter relay that finished first in a time of 48.81.
In her first outdoor meet – and just the second meet of her collegiate career, Spencer recorded a time of 14.59 to win the 100-meter hurdles and debut at No. 8 on the Academy's all-time standings. The conference leader in the hurdles, Spencer is listed among the region's top 60. The hurdles was one of two Air Force Top 20 marks she recorded on March 18, as Spencer added the program's 18th-fastest 200-meter time with a 25.77 performance – one of the 10-fastest times in the conference this season.
Sophomore Cooper Stroka was named the MW Men's Field Athlete of the Week, while classmate Taylor Rioux was selected as the MW Women's Track Athlete of the Week and first-year Falcon Jacqui Spencer was honored as the MW Women's Freshman of the Week. It is the first MW honor for both Stroka and Spencer, while Rioux earned her first weekly Athlete award after claiming Freshman honors once last year.
Stroka opened his first full outdoor season with a stellar performance in the hammer throw on March 17, as he unleashed a career-best throw of 61.65m (202'3") and easily winning his second collegiate meet. Bettering the field by more than 17 feet, Stroka became just the fourth thrower in Academy history – and the first-ever Sophomore – to surpass the 200-foot barrier in that event. The current conference leader, Stroka is ranked 22nd in the West Region and 34th in the NCAA, while maintaining the No. 8 distance among the nation's underclassmen.
Rioux's stellar sophomore season continued on March 18, when she raced to the second-fastest 200-meter time in Air Force history during a victorious performance. Crossing the finish line in a time of 24.51, Rioux bettered the field by more than one second and broke the program's 10-year-old Sophomore Class Record. Ranked fourth in the conference and 44th in the region at 200 meters, Rioux is also listed among the MW leaders in two other events after clocking a wind-aided 100-meter time of 12.34 and running the second-leg of the 4x100-meter relay that finished first in a time of 48.81.
In her first outdoor meet – and just the second meet of her collegiate career, Spencer recorded a time of 14.59 to win the 100-meter hurdles and debut at No. 8 on the Academy's all-time standings. The conference leader in the hurdles, Spencer is listed among the region's top 60. The hurdles was one of two Air Force Top 20 marks she recorded on March 18, as Spencer added the program's 18th-fastest 200-meter time with a 25.77 performance – one of the 10-fastest times in the conference this season.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
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Hurdles
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Throws
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