Thursday, March 28
San Marcos, TX
8:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
Bobcat Invitational
Photo by: Josh Armstrong
Long Jumpers Lead Falcons During Second Day in Texas
3/28/2024 9:09:00 PM | Track and Field
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Highlighted by Air Force Top 10 performances in both the men's and women's long jump events, the track and field team opened competition at the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas, on Friday, March 28, while additional members of the squad continued action at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin.
BOBCAT INVITATIONAL
Freshman Kayla Beach had a stellar outdoor debut at the Texas State Track Complex, recording a leap of 5.51 meters (18'1") on her first attempt to tie Dierra Poland for the eighth-best long jump in Academy history. Finishing third among freshmen and 11th in the full 31-jumper field, Beach became the 11th athlete in Air Force women's history to surpass the 18-foot mark in the outdoor long jump.
On the men's side, senior John Colizzi recorded a career-best distance of 7.25 meters (23'9½") to move up nine spots to No. 9 on the program's all-time standings. After initially matching his previous best of 23'3½" – a mark tied for 18th on the program standings – on his second attempt, Collizi improved that mark by six inches two attempts later to move into the Air Force Top 10 and finish fifth out of 29 jumpers.
The women also improved the program's all-time 800-meter standings, as freshman Rachel Fereday matched Elissa Ballas' No. 22 time of 2:16.09 on the all-time standings. Ava Gilliana, who already holds the fifth-fastest outdoor 800-meter time in Air Force history, kicked off her senior season with a time of 2:10.43 to finish fourth in the 57-runner event. In addition, sophomore Sam Loida's career-best finish of 2:16.80 is just 0.19 seconds out of the Air Force Top 25 – currently No. 26 all-time.
The men captured a first-place finish in the discus on Friday, courtesy of sophomore Massimo Grisotto, who used a career-best 52.69-meter (172'10") throw to win the event and debut at No. 17 on the Academy's all-time standings Grisotto led the Falcons to two of the top-three finishes in the 41-thrower final, as freshman Mitchell Blakeslee recorded a personal-best mark of 50.61-meters (166'0") to finish third and enter the program's all-time standings at No. 25.
Senior Teagun Glenn and freshman Jonah Meyer also debuted in the program's record book, with their Air Force Top 25 outings coming in the javelin. Glenn recorded a career-best distance of 61.58 meters (202'0" – the first 200-foot throw of his career) to finish fourth in the meet and debut at No. 22 on the program's all-time standings, while Meyer recorded a throw of 61.53 meters (201'10" – an improvement of nearly 20 feet from last week's opener) to place fifth and enter the record book at No. 23.
From the pole vault runway, freshman Wyatt Curl and junior Robert Postell tied for fourth in the 22-competitor event, as the pair recorded matching career-best clearances of 4.87 meters (15'11¾")
CLYDE LITTLEFIELD TEXAS RELAYS
Over in Austin, junior Joe Nizich won the Javelin throw and classmate Darek Hackett qualified into the finals of the 400-meter hurdles on Friday, as the Falcons continued competition at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
After moving into first with a 64.99-meter (213'2") throw during his fifth attempt, Nizich improved his season-opening distance to 65.13 meters (213'8") on his final throw to win the javelin by more than two feet. Hackett, competing in the Falcons' only individual running event at Mike A Myers Stadium, advanced on time into the finals of the intermediate hurdles after clocking the second-fastest qualifying time in the 39-man preliminary – a season-opening 50.92.
Senior Braeden Holcombe also wrapped up the decathlon on Friday, finishing eighth with 7085 points. Entering the day in 11th, Holcombe used a 14.82 finish in the hurdles and a 36.89-meter (121'0") distance in the discus throw to move into ninth, before taking over eighth with a 4.40-meter (14'5¼") clearance in the pole vault. He maintained that placement with a 46.91-meter (153'11") mark in the javelin and a 4:39.13 finish in the 1500-meter run – the latter accounting for his best event finish of the meet (third).
The Falcons continue competition in Texas tomorrow (March 29) with more action at both the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays and Bobcat Invitational. In addition, members of Air Force's distance team kick off their weekend in California with races at both the Mike Fanelli Track Classic and Stanford Invitational.
| AIR FORCE TOP 10 MARKS |
| No. 8 – Kayla Beach, Women's Long Jump (5.51m, 18'1") |
| No. 9 – John Colizzi, Men's Long Jump (7.25m, 23'9½") |
BOBCAT INVITATIONAL
Freshman Kayla Beach had a stellar outdoor debut at the Texas State Track Complex, recording a leap of 5.51 meters (18'1") on her first attempt to tie Dierra Poland for the eighth-best long jump in Academy history. Finishing third among freshmen and 11th in the full 31-jumper field, Beach became the 11th athlete in Air Force women's history to surpass the 18-foot mark in the outdoor long jump.
On the men's side, senior John Colizzi recorded a career-best distance of 7.25 meters (23'9½") to move up nine spots to No. 9 on the program's all-time standings. After initially matching his previous best of 23'3½" – a mark tied for 18th on the program standings – on his second attempt, Collizi improved that mark by six inches two attempts later to move into the Air Force Top 10 and finish fifth out of 29 jumpers.
The women also improved the program's all-time 800-meter standings, as freshman Rachel Fereday matched Elissa Ballas' No. 22 time of 2:16.09 on the all-time standings. Ava Gilliana, who already holds the fifth-fastest outdoor 800-meter time in Air Force history, kicked off her senior season with a time of 2:10.43 to finish fourth in the 57-runner event. In addition, sophomore Sam Loida's career-best finish of 2:16.80 is just 0.19 seconds out of the Air Force Top 25 – currently No. 26 all-time.
The men captured a first-place finish in the discus on Friday, courtesy of sophomore Massimo Grisotto, who used a career-best 52.69-meter (172'10") throw to win the event and debut at No. 17 on the Academy's all-time standings Grisotto led the Falcons to two of the top-three finishes in the 41-thrower final, as freshman Mitchell Blakeslee recorded a personal-best mark of 50.61-meters (166'0") to finish third and enter the program's all-time standings at No. 25.
Senior Teagun Glenn and freshman Jonah Meyer also debuted in the program's record book, with their Air Force Top 25 outings coming in the javelin. Glenn recorded a career-best distance of 61.58 meters (202'0" – the first 200-foot throw of his career) to finish fourth in the meet and debut at No. 22 on the program's all-time standings, while Meyer recorded a throw of 61.53 meters (201'10" – an improvement of nearly 20 feet from last week's opener) to place fifth and enter the record book at No. 23.
From the pole vault runway, freshman Wyatt Curl and junior Robert Postell tied for fourth in the 22-competitor event, as the pair recorded matching career-best clearances of 4.87 meters (15'11¾")
CLYDE LITTLEFIELD TEXAS RELAYS
Over in Austin, junior Joe Nizich won the Javelin throw and classmate Darek Hackett qualified into the finals of the 400-meter hurdles on Friday, as the Falcons continued competition at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
After moving into first with a 64.99-meter (213'2") throw during his fifth attempt, Nizich improved his season-opening distance to 65.13 meters (213'8") on his final throw to win the javelin by more than two feet. Hackett, competing in the Falcons' only individual running event at Mike A Myers Stadium, advanced on time into the finals of the intermediate hurdles after clocking the second-fastest qualifying time in the 39-man preliminary – a season-opening 50.92.
Senior Braeden Holcombe also wrapped up the decathlon on Friday, finishing eighth with 7085 points. Entering the day in 11th, Holcombe used a 14.82 finish in the hurdles and a 36.89-meter (121'0") distance in the discus throw to move into ninth, before taking over eighth with a 4.40-meter (14'5¼") clearance in the pole vault. He maintained that placement with a 46.91-meter (153'11") mark in the javelin and a 4:39.13 finish in the 1500-meter run – the latter accounting for his best event finish of the meet (third).
The Falcons continue competition in Texas tomorrow (March 29) with more action at both the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays and Bobcat Invitational. In addition, members of Air Force's distance team kick off their weekend in California with races at both the Mike Fanelli Track Classic and Stanford Invitational.
Players Mentioned
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Long Jump, Triple Jump
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
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