Falcons Earn 17 Bids to NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
5/22/2025 1:23:00 PM | Track and Field
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Air Force track and field team secured 17 bids to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the national office announced today (May 22), with the release of their final fields for the upcoming championship meet. The Falcons, who earned selections in 13 different events, will send 13 athletes and one relay to College Station, Texas, for the West Preliminary on May 28-31, while freshman Brayden Richards earned a spot in the decathlon final next month (June 11-14) at Hayward Field.
Richards, the first Falcon in 13 years to qualify to the NCAA Championships in the decathlon, is one of just three freshmen in the 24-man decathlon field (unlike the other events, the multis send the top 24 athletes from across the country to the final site of the national championships). Overall, Richards is ranked 17th in the NCAA with a career-best tally of 7659 points – No. 2 in Air Force history – that he set at the Bryan Clay Multis earlier this season.
For the rest of the Falcons, based on their ranking as one of the West's top 48 accepted athletes in each event, a total of 11 men, two women, and one relay will compete at E.B. Cushing Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University.
Junior Texas Tanner paced the Falcons with three bids into the national meet, as he qualified in the shot put, discus throw, and hammer throw for the second-straight year. Tanner, who captured conference titles in the discus and hammer throws at last week's MW Championships, is ranked fourth in the West in both events behind career-best, Academy Record marks (63.59 meters in the discus, 75.83 meters in the hammer). He is also ranked among the top 48 in the shot put with a season-best distance of 18.29 meters.
Tanner will be one of two Air Force representatives in the opening round of the hammer throw, as senior Cooper Stroka is ranked 13th in the region behind a distance 67.33 meters. The Falcons qualified athletes in all four throwing events for the third-straight year, as senior Joe Nizich and Richards earned regional bids in the javelin throw. Nizich, who claimed the conference title at last week's championship meet, will enter his fourth-straight West Prelim ranked 18th in the region behind his conference-winning throw of 69.91 meters (No. 2 in Air Force history), while Richards is ranked 44th in the region with a throw of 64.92 meters (No. 13 in Air Force history).
On the track, the Falcons qualified multiple first-time qualifiers in both the 1500-meter and 10,000-meter events. Junior Ben Scheller and freshman Saketh Rudraraju enter the West Region ranked 46th (3:41.98) and 48th (3:42.06), respectively, in the 1500-meter run, while juniors Jayden Nats (28:22.06, 30th) and Max Sannes (28:25.20, 39th) hold regional top 40 rankings in the 10,000-meter run.
Senior Jason Renze qualified for his third-straight West Prelim in the 3000-meter steeplechase, following a career-best 8:41.69 that is ranked 24th in the region, while classmate Javin Bostic advanced to his second West meet after earning his first bid in the 200-meter dash (20.56, 21st). Freshman Asher Jenkins earned his first outdoor selection following a 10.29 performance in the 100-meter dash (47th) and has joined Bostic on the first two legs of every 4x100-meter relay this season – including the squad that won the MW title last weekend and clocked the prelim-qualifying time of 39.81a at the Air Force Twilight (24th).
On the women's side, freshman Morgan Glaser qualified to her first national meet in the high jump with an outdoor-best clearance of 1.79 meters (27th), while junior India Jones secured her second-straight trip to the NCAA West Prelim in the 10,000-meter run (33:39.58, 32nd).
The four-day West Preliminary will run simultaneously with the East Preliminary in Jacksonville, Florida. The top 12 finishers in each event from both sites, as well as the nation's top 24 athletes in the decathlon and heptathlon, will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on June 11-14.
Richards, the first Falcon in 13 years to qualify to the NCAA Championships in the decathlon, is one of just three freshmen in the 24-man decathlon field (unlike the other events, the multis send the top 24 athletes from across the country to the final site of the national championships). Overall, Richards is ranked 17th in the NCAA with a career-best tally of 7659 points – No. 2 in Air Force history – that he set at the Bryan Clay Multis earlier this season.
For the rest of the Falcons, based on their ranking as one of the West's top 48 accepted athletes in each event, a total of 11 men, two women, and one relay will compete at E.B. Cushing Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University.
Junior Texas Tanner paced the Falcons with three bids into the national meet, as he qualified in the shot put, discus throw, and hammer throw for the second-straight year. Tanner, who captured conference titles in the discus and hammer throws at last week's MW Championships, is ranked fourth in the West in both events behind career-best, Academy Record marks (63.59 meters in the discus, 75.83 meters in the hammer). He is also ranked among the top 48 in the shot put with a season-best distance of 18.29 meters.
Tanner will be one of two Air Force representatives in the opening round of the hammer throw, as senior Cooper Stroka is ranked 13th in the region behind a distance 67.33 meters. The Falcons qualified athletes in all four throwing events for the third-straight year, as senior Joe Nizich and Richards earned regional bids in the javelin throw. Nizich, who claimed the conference title at last week's championship meet, will enter his fourth-straight West Prelim ranked 18th in the region behind his conference-winning throw of 69.91 meters (No. 2 in Air Force history), while Richards is ranked 44th in the region with a throw of 64.92 meters (No. 13 in Air Force history).
On the track, the Falcons qualified multiple first-time qualifiers in both the 1500-meter and 10,000-meter events. Junior Ben Scheller and freshman Saketh Rudraraju enter the West Region ranked 46th (3:41.98) and 48th (3:42.06), respectively, in the 1500-meter run, while juniors Jayden Nats (28:22.06, 30th) and Max Sannes (28:25.20, 39th) hold regional top 40 rankings in the 10,000-meter run.
Senior Jason Renze qualified for his third-straight West Prelim in the 3000-meter steeplechase, following a career-best 8:41.69 that is ranked 24th in the region, while classmate Javin Bostic advanced to his second West meet after earning his first bid in the 200-meter dash (20.56, 21st). Freshman Asher Jenkins earned his first outdoor selection following a 10.29 performance in the 100-meter dash (47th) and has joined Bostic on the first two legs of every 4x100-meter relay this season – including the squad that won the MW title last weekend and clocked the prelim-qualifying time of 39.81a at the Air Force Twilight (24th).
On the women's side, freshman Morgan Glaser qualified to her first national meet in the high jump with an outdoor-best clearance of 1.79 meters (27th), while junior India Jones secured her second-straight trip to the NCAA West Prelim in the 10,000-meter run (33:39.58, 32nd).
The four-day West Preliminary will run simultaneously with the East Preliminary in Jacksonville, Florida. The top 12 finishers in each event from both sites, as well as the nation's top 24 athletes in the decathlon and heptathlon, will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on June 11-14.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
Steeplechase, Distance
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and FieldRyan Cole Interview - August 26th, 2025
Tuesday, August 26
Ryan Cole Interview March 11, 2025
Tuesday, March 11
Ryan Cole Interview May 20, 2024
Monday, May 20
Ryan Cole Interview - May 20, 2024
Monday, May 20
