Texas Tanner Sets Two Academy Records in Boulder

BOULDER, Colo. -- Air Force sophomore Texas Tanner was a perfect two-for-two from the throwing circle this afternoon (Jan. 12), setting a pair of Academy Records during winning performances at the Potts Indoor Invitational. Rewriting program standards in the shot put and weight throw, Tanner paced the Falcons' field event athletes to four first-place finishes at the Colorado IPF in Boulder.

Tanner became just the second Air Force thrower to surpass the 60-foot barrier in the indoor shot put, as he unleashed a throw of 60'8¼" to break Grant Hamilton's 2015 record by more than four inches and win the 19-thrower event by nearly three feet. Tanner's record in the shot put came shortly after he reset Jaret Prete's one-year-old mark in the weight throw with a career-best throw of 67'4¼". Improving the program standard by nearly four inches, Tanner bettered the 14-thrower field by more than one foot. Both marks are also Air Force Sophomore Class Records, adding more than six feet to the weight throw mark that Robert Drye had held since 2010 and an inch to Grant Hamilton's shot put mark from 2014.

AIR FORCE RECORDS

Texas Tanner, Men's Shot Put (18.51m, 60'7¾")

Texas Tanner, Men's Weight Throw (20.53m, 67'4¼")

Tanner's records headlined five top-five finishes and three additional improvements to the Academy's all-time standings in the throwing events for Air Force. Senior Gerrit Tamminga recorded a career-best distance of 63'3½" to finish third in the weight throw and better his No. 4 ranking in the Academy Record Book, while junior Cooper Stroka improved his personal distance to 57'7¾", placing fifth in the meet and moving to No. 17 on the program's all-time standings. Tamminga also debuted on the Air Force Top 25 in the shot put, as he recorded a throw of 57'7¾" (No. 24 all-time) during a fourth-place outing.

AIR FORCE TOP 10 MARKS

No. 4 – Gerrit Tamminga, Men's Weight Throw (19.29m, 63'3½")

In addition to the sweep of the throws, Air Force also picked up first-place finishes in both vertical events. Junior Jalan Rivers won his season debut in the high jump with a clearance of 6'9", while senior Caiden Macktinger reset his own Facility Record with a winning clearance of 17'0". Macktinger paced the Falcons to six of the top-seven finishes, as junior Robert Postell and freshman Wyatt Curl recorded matching clearances of 15'0¼" to finish third and fourth, respectively, while freshman Tanner Woodring and the senior duo of Brian Hubbard and Braeden Holcombe cleared 14'6¼" to round out the top half of the field.

On the women's side, sophomore Nathalia Veal celebrated her birthday with a runner-up finish in the pole vault, as she cleared 11'6¼" to lead the Falcons to four of the top-five finishes. Freshman Emma Opalacz matched that height to finish third and debut at No. 23 on the program's all-time list, while freshman Karli Neff and Chloe Kinlaw tied for fifth with matching marks of 11'0¼". Freshman Kayla Beach rounded out the top-five finishes, as she recorded a distance of 17'8¼" to finish fourth in the long jump.

With the field events complete, the rest of the squad heads back to Colorado's Indoor Practice Facility tomorrow (Jan. 13) for the running portion of the Potts Invitational.

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