Friday, January 30
Manhattan, KS
10:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
DeLoss Dodds Invitational
Photo by: Abby Kennedy
Kayla Beach Breaks Air Force Pentathlon Record
1/30/2026 6:41:00 PM | Track and Field
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Tallying 3594 points in the pentathlon, Air Force junior Kayla Beach broke the Academy's 21-year-old program record this afternoon (Jan. 30), as the track and field team opened competition against some of the nation's elite at the DeLoss Dodd Invitational in Manhattan, Kansas.
Backed by three personal-best performances, Beach added eight points to a program record that Dierra Poland set in 2005 – and 12 points to the Junior Class Record that Alexa Chacon had held since 2016. Beach opened the day with a career-best 9.04 finish in the 60-meter hurdles – a 902-point outing that also accounted for the 15th-fastest time in Academy history. She also debuted at No. 24 in the program's high jump standings, following a career-best, 771-point clearance of 1.63 meters (5'4¼"), while posting a personal-best finish of 2:28.45 in the 800-meter for 712 points. The junior added 738 points in the long jump with a leap of 5.63 meters (18'5¾") and competed in her first shot put competition of the year (9.10m/29'10¼", 471 points) to complete her record-setting day.
With today's performance, Beach is the first Falcon in 45 years to hold Air Force Records in both the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon (Diane Elwer, 1981).
Beach wasn't alone in rewriting the Academy's pentathlon standings, as sophomore Sarah Reynolds used a 3484-point performance to account for the fourth-highest total in program history. Reynolds, who added more than 100 points to her previous best, clocked career-best times in the 800-meter run (2:25.79, 747) and 60-meter hurdles (9.01, 908) – with the latter improving her own No. 14 mark on the program's all-time standings. She made her season debut in the shot put (9.57m, 31'1", 495) and added to her total with 668 points in the long jump (5.33m, 17'8¼") and 666 points in the high jump (1.54m, 5'0½").
The pentathlon pair were two of the six Air Force women to impact the program's all-time standings on Friday. Junior Karli Neff improved her own No. 21 mark in the pole vault standings with a career-best clearance of 3.77 meters (12'4½"), while a trio of sprinters posted Air Force Top 25 times in the 200-meter dash. Junior Allison Fernstrom (25.58, No. 14) and sophomore Ella Pears (25.80, No. 21) both debuted in the record book, while freshman Amaya Stepp lowered her time to 25.72 and moved up to No. 17
Neff, who placed sixth in the pole vault, was one of three top-10 finishers for Air Force in that event, as freshman Julie Segroves placed seventh behind a matching height of 3.77 meters (12'4½") and sophomore Barrett Boyd took 10th with a clearance of 3.62 meters (11'10½"). Sophomore Mogan Glaser earned a fourth-place finish in the high jump (1.76 meters, 5'9¼"), while junior Paige Birch rounded out the women's list of top-10 finishers with an eighth-place mark of 16.85 meters (55'3½") in the weight throw.
On the men's side, senior Jettason Rose used a 21.29 finish to win the 200-meter dash and lead Air Force to three of the top eight times in the 19-sprinter race. Sophomore Asher Jenkins placed fifth with a time of 21.59, while freshman Zachary DeWalt clocked an eighth-place time of 21.67. From the field, senior Texas Tanner recorded a throw of 22.52 meters (73'6¾") to finish third in the weight throw.
The Falcons return to the Cliff Rovelto Indoor Track tomorrow (Jan. 31) for the final day of action at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational. Action is slated to begin for Air Force at 1:00 p.m. (CT).
| AIR FORCE RECORDS |
| Kayla Beach – Pentathlon (3594 points) |
Backed by three personal-best performances, Beach added eight points to a program record that Dierra Poland set in 2005 – and 12 points to the Junior Class Record that Alexa Chacon had held since 2016. Beach opened the day with a career-best 9.04 finish in the 60-meter hurdles – a 902-point outing that also accounted for the 15th-fastest time in Academy history. She also debuted at No. 24 in the program's high jump standings, following a career-best, 771-point clearance of 1.63 meters (5'4¼"), while posting a personal-best finish of 2:28.45 in the 800-meter for 712 points. The junior added 738 points in the long jump with a leap of 5.63 meters (18'5¾") and competed in her first shot put competition of the year (9.10m/29'10¼", 471 points) to complete her record-setting day.
With today's performance, Beach is the first Falcon in 45 years to hold Air Force Records in both the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon (Diane Elwer, 1981).
Beach wasn't alone in rewriting the Academy's pentathlon standings, as sophomore Sarah Reynolds used a 3484-point performance to account for the fourth-highest total in program history. Reynolds, who added more than 100 points to her previous best, clocked career-best times in the 800-meter run (2:25.79, 747) and 60-meter hurdles (9.01, 908) – with the latter improving her own No. 14 mark on the program's all-time standings. She made her season debut in the shot put (9.57m, 31'1", 495) and added to her total with 668 points in the long jump (5.33m, 17'8¼") and 666 points in the high jump (1.54m, 5'0½").
| AIR FORCE TOP 10 MARKS |
| No. 4 – Sarah Reynolds, Pentathlon (3484 points) |
The pentathlon pair were two of the six Air Force women to impact the program's all-time standings on Friday. Junior Karli Neff improved her own No. 21 mark in the pole vault standings with a career-best clearance of 3.77 meters (12'4½"), while a trio of sprinters posted Air Force Top 25 times in the 200-meter dash. Junior Allison Fernstrom (25.58, No. 14) and sophomore Ella Pears (25.80, No. 21) both debuted in the record book, while freshman Amaya Stepp lowered her time to 25.72 and moved up to No. 17
Neff, who placed sixth in the pole vault, was one of three top-10 finishers for Air Force in that event, as freshman Julie Segroves placed seventh behind a matching height of 3.77 meters (12'4½") and sophomore Barrett Boyd took 10th with a clearance of 3.62 meters (11'10½"). Sophomore Mogan Glaser earned a fourth-place finish in the high jump (1.76 meters, 5'9¼"), while junior Paige Birch rounded out the women's list of top-10 finishers with an eighth-place mark of 16.85 meters (55'3½") in the weight throw.
On the men's side, senior Jettason Rose used a 21.29 finish to win the 200-meter dash and lead Air Force to three of the top eight times in the 19-sprinter race. Sophomore Asher Jenkins placed fifth with a time of 21.59, while freshman Zachary DeWalt clocked an eighth-place time of 21.67. From the field, senior Texas Tanner recorded a throw of 22.52 meters (73'6¾") to finish third in the weight throw.
The Falcons return to the Cliff Rovelto Indoor Track tomorrow (Jan. 31) for the final day of action at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational. Action is slated to begin for Air Force at 1:00 p.m. (CT).
Players Mentioned
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Triple Jump
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Throws
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