Saturday, April 29
Des Moines, IA
9:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
Drake Relays
Photo by: Ginnie Coleman
Air Force Men Finish Second at Drake Relays
4/29/2023 7:41:00 PM | Track and Field
DES MOINES, Iowa – Backed by championship in the distance medley relay, the Air Force men finished second in the Relay Cup standings at the famed Drake Relays, which concluded this afternoon (April 29) in Des Moines, Iowa.
Air Force scored in all four of its relays on Saturday, earning 21 points and a program-best runner-up finish for the Cup, which includes five relays – 4x100-meter, 4x400-meter, 4x800-meter, sprint medley, distance medley. The men, finishing just five points behind No. 10 Nebraska and four points ahead of No. 23 Minnesota (third, 18 points), easily bettered their previous high finish of fourth (2016, 2019, 2021).
The Falcons captured their program-record third Drake Relays pennant of the weekend in the men's first race of the day, as junior Eli Bennett, sophomore Cameron Breier, junior Alex Patton and classmate Sean Maison collected the victory with the 10th-fastest time in Academy history (9:48.39). Maison, who moved the Falcons from third to second during his anchor leg, took the lead on the final curve and cruised to the one-second victory – the program's second DMR title ever at the Drake Relays (2016).
Breier and Patton returned to the track for the 4x400-meter relay, where they joined sophomore Darek Hackett and junior John Colizzi for a fifth-place time of 3:19.57. It was one of two fifth-place finishes for the men on Saturday, as sophomore Javin Bostic, junior Jackson Connelly, senior Jacob Trach and classmate Zac Larrier earned the same finish in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.28. The sprint medley relay of Colizzi, sophomore Seth Meador, junior Brandon Lindner and freshman Ethan Ashley rounded out the Falcons' scoring finishes, as they combined for a sixth-place time of 3:32.32 – the 11th-fastest sprint medley relay in program history.
AIR FORCE TOP-10 MARKS
No. 8 – Women's Distance Medley Relay (11:44.35)
No. 10 – Men's Distance Medley Relay (9:48.39)
Individually, Bostic accounted for a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash (10.42w), while Lindner added a top-10 mark in the long jump (22'11¼"w, eighth) and senior Jaret Prete finished eighth in the Invitational section of the hammer throw (203'6").
In their only Relay Cup race of the day, the women claimed a fifth-place finish in the distance medley relay to tie for 15th in the Cup standings with four points. Senior Maddie Edwards, sophomore Taylor Rioux, junior Ava Gilliana and junior Rachel Crytser combined for the eighth-fastest time in Academy history, as they combined to cross the finish line in 11:44.35.
Rioux and Gilliana returned to the track in the afternoon to close out action on the Blue Oval, as the pair ran the opening two legs of the 4x400-meter relay that claimed a fifth-place finish in the non-scoring section of that event. Joined by junior Katie Thompson and senior Stephanie Gregersen, the quartet combined for a 3:53.57 finish – the 14th-fasted time in Air Force history.
The Falcons return to the Academy next Friday (May 5) to close out the regular season hosting the Air Force Twilight Open at the Cadet Outdoor Track and Field Complex. The meet, scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. (MT), will serve as the final tune-up before the conference championships in California.
NOTES
Air Force scored in all four of its relays on Saturday, earning 21 points and a program-best runner-up finish for the Cup, which includes five relays – 4x100-meter, 4x400-meter, 4x800-meter, sprint medley, distance medley. The men, finishing just five points behind No. 10 Nebraska and four points ahead of No. 23 Minnesota (third, 18 points), easily bettered their previous high finish of fourth (2016, 2019, 2021).
The Falcons captured their program-record third Drake Relays pennant of the weekend in the men's first race of the day, as junior Eli Bennett, sophomore Cameron Breier, junior Alex Patton and classmate Sean Maison collected the victory with the 10th-fastest time in Academy history (9:48.39). Maison, who moved the Falcons from third to second during his anchor leg, took the lead on the final curve and cruised to the one-second victory – the program's second DMR title ever at the Drake Relays (2016).
Breier and Patton returned to the track for the 4x400-meter relay, where they joined sophomore Darek Hackett and junior John Colizzi for a fifth-place time of 3:19.57. It was one of two fifth-place finishes for the men on Saturday, as sophomore Javin Bostic, junior Jackson Connelly, senior Jacob Trach and classmate Zac Larrier earned the same finish in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.28. The sprint medley relay of Colizzi, sophomore Seth Meador, junior Brandon Lindner and freshman Ethan Ashley rounded out the Falcons' scoring finishes, as they combined for a sixth-place time of 3:32.32 – the 11th-fastest sprint medley relay in program history.
AIR FORCE TOP-10 MARKS
No. 8 – Women's Distance Medley Relay (11:44.35)
No. 10 – Men's Distance Medley Relay (9:48.39)
Individually, Bostic accounted for a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash (10.42w), while Lindner added a top-10 mark in the long jump (22'11¼"w, eighth) and senior Jaret Prete finished eighth in the Invitational section of the hammer throw (203'6").
In their only Relay Cup race of the day, the women claimed a fifth-place finish in the distance medley relay to tie for 15th in the Cup standings with four points. Senior Maddie Edwards, sophomore Taylor Rioux, junior Ava Gilliana and junior Rachel Crytser combined for the eighth-fastest time in Academy history, as they combined to cross the finish line in 11:44.35.
Rioux and Gilliana returned to the track in the afternoon to close out action on the Blue Oval, as the pair ran the opening two legs of the 4x400-meter relay that claimed a fifth-place finish in the non-scoring section of that event. Joined by junior Katie Thompson and senior Stephanie Gregersen, the quartet combined for a 3:53.57 finish – the 14th-fasted time in Air Force history.
The Falcons return to the Academy next Friday (May 5) to close out the regular season hosting the Air Force Twilight Open at the Cadet Outdoor Track and Field Complex. The meet, scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. (MT), will serve as the final tune-up before the conference championships in California.
NOTES
-- Air Force claimed a program-record three Drake Relay titles in 2023 – matching the record first set in 2016 – with victories in the 4x1600-meter relay (Ethan Ashley, Sean Maison, Scott Maison, Eli Bennett), high jump (Jalan Rivers), distance medley relay (Eli Bennett, Cameron Breier, Alex Patton, Sean Maison)
-- Eli Bennett and Sean Maison are the first Falcons to earn multiple victory pennants in the same year
-- Air Force became the 30th team to claim the 4x1600/DMR double in the 113 years of the Drake Relays
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Distance
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Distance
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Mid-Distance
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Hurdles
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Sprints
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Long Jump, Triple Jump
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Distance
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Distance
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Hurdles
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Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
Long Jump, Hurdles
/ Track and Field
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