Ally Peterson, Zach Ayers Claim All-Conference Honors at MW Championships

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Headlined by all-conference performances from senior Ally Peterson and junior Zach Ayers, the Air Force cross country team wrapped up action at the 2024 Mountain West Cross Country Championships this morning (Nov. 1) at the Academy's Eisenhower Golf Course. Overall, the women finished fourth and the men took fifth in the first conference meet held at Air Force in 11 years.

Peterson, who became the seventh member of the women's team to capture multiple all-conference honors in cross country with her second-straight ninth-place finish (20:52.0), paced the Falcons' full scoring lineup to finishes within the top 25 of the 92-runner event. Classmate Halle Hamilton placed 15th with a 6K time of 21:13.3, while fellow senior Tiaree Towler and junior India Jones finished 17th (21:19.0) and 18th (21:231), respectively, to add two more top-20 finishes tot the Falcons' lineup. Sophomore Anna Harden rounded out Air Force's scorers with a 25th-place time of 21:36.7 – marking just the third time that all five scorers have finished in the top 25 (2003, 2016) of a Mountain West meet.

Eighth-ranked New Mexico won the women's meet with 32 points, while Boise State and Colorado State – both receiving votes in the latest coaches' poll, rounded out the top three by placing second (54) and third (79), respectively. Air Force recorded 84 points for its lowest score since 2019 – and third-lowest overall – to finish fourth and distance itself from the rest of the 11-team field by nearly 20 points.

Ayers became the 51st runner in program history capture all-conference honors from the Mountain West, as he placed ninth in an 8K time of 24:33.6 to lead a relatively young lineup of Falcons across the Academy grounds on Friday morning. Sophomore Josh Razo captured a top-20 finish in his first conference meet, as he placed 16th with a time of 24:53.2, while junior Tanner Lindahl, also racing in his first MW meet, finished 28th with a time of 25:25.5. The freshmen duo of Matthew Edwards (35th, 25:35.7) and Saketh Rudraraju (39th, 25:47.9) rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup with top-40 times in their first collegiate championship – and first collegiate race overall for Edwards, who was the No. 4 freshman in the field.

New Mexico, ranked sixth in the NCAA, captured the team title with a 1-5 sweep for a conference-record 15 points. Just 10 points separated Colorado State (70) and No. 20 Wyoming (80) for second and third, while Boise State finished five points back (85) in fourth. Air Force tallied 127 points to round out the top-five – and edge No. 19 Utah State by 10 (137), while Nevada (183), San Jose State (261) and Fresno State (276) completed the men's lineup.

Several other Falcons also competed in their respective races today around the Eisenhower course. Sophomore Liliane Aittama finished 36th in the women's 6K with a time of 22:05.3, while classmate Ella Johnson finished within the top half of the field with a 40th-place time of 22:19.5. Junior Ricky Fetterolf added a 45th-place time of 22:29.2, while sophomore Carly Foster and freshman Carrigan Eberly rounded out the women's roster by finishing 57th (23:15.1) and 58th (23:20.9), respectively. On the men's side, senior Jason Renze – competing in just his second race of the season -clocked a time of 26:04.5 to finish 42nd, while the sophomore trio of Benjamin Davenport (43rd, 26:04.5), Dominykas Remeikis (45th, 26:12.1) and Patick Lawson (49th, 26:27.5) all placed within the top 50 of their first conference championship. Junior Ben Scheller rounded out the full lineup with a MW debut of 26:48.2 (52nd).

The Falcons return to action on Friday, Nov. 15, when they travel to Reno for the NCAA Mountain Regional.

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