Saturday, February 28
Reno, NV
10:30 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
Mountain West Championships
Photo by: Laura Domingue
Men Fourth, Women Sixth at Mountain West Championships
2/28/2026 8:54:00 PM | Track and Field
RENO, Nev. – For the second time in as many days at the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships, senior Texas Tanner claimed a Mountain West title in a throwing event and junior Liliane Aittama broke the Air Force Record in the 800-meter run. The pair paced their respective squads during the final day of action (Feb. 28) at the conference meet in Reno.
Tanner, who captured his first conference title in the weight throw yesterday, returned to the top of the podium today with his first championship in the shot put (indoor or outdoor). With a throw of 19.18 meters (62'11¼") on the first throw of the finals, the senior became the second Falcon in four years – and fourth overall – to capture the shot put championship during the indoor season.
Tanner was one of four members of the men's team to make an appearance on the podium during Saturday's meet. Classmate Jettason Rose was the Mountain West runner-up in the 200-meter dash after posting a time of 20.83, while senior Jayden Nats and junior Tanner Woodring collected bronze medal finishes in their respective events. Nats used a time of 7:59.59 to finish third out of 41 runners in the 3000-meter run, while moving up to No. 2 on the Academy's all-time standings as his time was lowered to 7:49.68 with altitude. With a career-best clearance of 5.26 meters (16'10¾"), Woodring's tie for third marked the 21st year that Air Force has earned a top-three finish in the pole vault.
Sophomore Asher Jenkins added a second scoring finish for Air Force at 200 meters, as he posted a career-best time of 21.01 to finish fourth in the final and move up to No. 5 on the Academy's all-time standings. The Falcons also received a second scoring finish in the shot put, as sophomore Trevin Jordan added a career-best throw of 16.33 meters (53'7") to finish eighth in the meet and move up to No. 21 on the program's all-time standings.
The men recorded three scoring finishes in the mile, as junior Dominykas Remeikis (4:08.53), senior Ben Scheller (4:08.93) and sophomore Patrick Allen (4:09.41) went 5-6-7 in today's final, while junior Jonah Hochstetler finished fourth in the 800-meter run (1:53.97) and sophomore Saketh Rudraraju placed sixth in the 3000-meter run (8:05.15). With his time converted to 7:55.12 for altitude, Rudraraju moved into the Air Force Top 10 (No. 9) and broke the program's Sophomore Class Record. The men earned their final points from two freshmen (Zachary DeWalt, Jordan Elie-Stuart) and two juniors (Ryan Hajek, Zachary King), as the quartet used the 19th-fastest 4x400-meter relay in Air Force history (3:14.29) to finish fifth.
Less than 24 hours after breaking a program standard that had stood since 2014, Aittama lowered it again during a stellar runner-up finish in the 800-meter run. Crossing the finish line in a raw time (2:05.97) that would have improved the previous record on its own, she lowered her Air Force Record time to 2:05.40, with the adjustment for altitude, finished second in the championship, and secured her second podium finish in that event (third in 2024).
Aittama was one of two juniors to earn a trip to the podium in the 800-meter run – and one of three to finish within the top six. Classmate Cam Bodine finished third in the championship race with a time of 2:07.30 – and improved her own Air Force No. 3 all-time mark to 2:06.72 (altitude), while fellow junior Rachel Fereday clocked a time of 2:11.10 to five Air Force three of the top six finishes in the finals.
The juniors weren't finished making a statement on Saturday, as classmate Anna Harden finished sixth in the mile with a time of 4:51.20 and lowered her Air Force No. 3 all-time mark to 4:45.81 (altitude). Senior India Jones rounded out the women's scoring lineup with a seventh-place time of 9:33.80 (9:22.94a, No. 5 all-time at Air Force) in the 3000-meter run – claiming the first non-UNM finish in the 39-athlete field.
Elsewhere at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, the Falcons claimed two more additions to the record book in the 3000-meter run, as Scarlet Fetterolf used an altitude-adjusted time of 9:33.59 to move up to No. 11 on the women's list and sophomore Junior Allen debuted at No. 24 on the men's list with an adjusted time of 8:04.55. Air Force added a second Top-25 improvement to the men's shot put standings, as sophomore debuted at No. 24 with a throw of 15.13 meters (52'11"), while freshman Mackenzie Fah moved up to No. 14 on the women's all-time list behind a throw of 13.07 meters (42'10¾"). The 4x400-meter quartet of freshman Eleanor Borchard, junior Allison Fernstrom, sophomore Ella Pears and sophomore Sarah Reynolds combined for the fourth-fastest time in program history (3:45.80) to round out the list of improvements to the Air Force Record.
The men finished fourth in the 2026 championship with 83.50 points, while the women accounted for 47 points and a sixth-place finish – a placement that matched their best indoor finish in the Mountain West (2013, 2020).
The indoor season comes to a close on March 13-14 when the top 16 athletes in each event travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the 2026 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. A full list of qualifiers will be announced next week.
Tanner, who captured his first conference title in the weight throw yesterday, returned to the top of the podium today with his first championship in the shot put (indoor or outdoor). With a throw of 19.18 meters (62'11¼") on the first throw of the finals, the senior became the second Falcon in four years – and fourth overall – to capture the shot put championship during the indoor season.
| MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPION |
| Texas Tanner, Shot Put |
Tanner was one of four members of the men's team to make an appearance on the podium during Saturday's meet. Classmate Jettason Rose was the Mountain West runner-up in the 200-meter dash after posting a time of 20.83, while senior Jayden Nats and junior Tanner Woodring collected bronze medal finishes in their respective events. Nats used a time of 7:59.59 to finish third out of 41 runners in the 3000-meter run, while moving up to No. 2 on the Academy's all-time standings as his time was lowered to 7:49.68 with altitude. With a career-best clearance of 5.26 meters (16'10¾"), Woodring's tie for third marked the 21st year that Air Force has earned a top-three finish in the pole vault.
Sophomore Asher Jenkins added a second scoring finish for Air Force at 200 meters, as he posted a career-best time of 21.01 to finish fourth in the final and move up to No. 5 on the Academy's all-time standings. The Falcons also received a second scoring finish in the shot put, as sophomore Trevin Jordan added a career-best throw of 16.33 meters (53'7") to finish eighth in the meet and move up to No. 21 on the program's all-time standings.
The men recorded three scoring finishes in the mile, as junior Dominykas Remeikis (4:08.53), senior Ben Scheller (4:08.93) and sophomore Patrick Allen (4:09.41) went 5-6-7 in today's final, while junior Jonah Hochstetler finished fourth in the 800-meter run (1:53.97) and sophomore Saketh Rudraraju placed sixth in the 3000-meter run (8:05.15). With his time converted to 7:55.12 for altitude, Rudraraju moved into the Air Force Top 10 (No. 9) and broke the program's Sophomore Class Record. The men earned their final points from two freshmen (Zachary DeWalt, Jordan Elie-Stuart) and two juniors (Ryan Hajek, Zachary King), as the quartet used the 19th-fastest 4x400-meter relay in Air Force history (3:14.29) to finish fifth.
| AIR FORCE RECORD |
| Liliane Aittama, Women's 800-Meter Run (2:06.37a) |
Less than 24 hours after breaking a program standard that had stood since 2014, Aittama lowered it again during a stellar runner-up finish in the 800-meter run. Crossing the finish line in a raw time (2:05.97) that would have improved the previous record on its own, she lowered her Air Force Record time to 2:05.40, with the adjustment for altitude, finished second in the championship, and secured her second podium finish in that event (third in 2024).
Aittama was one of two juniors to earn a trip to the podium in the 800-meter run – and one of three to finish within the top six. Classmate Cam Bodine finished third in the championship race with a time of 2:07.30 – and improved her own Air Force No. 3 all-time mark to 2:06.72 (altitude), while fellow junior Rachel Fereday clocked a time of 2:11.10 to five Air Force three of the top six finishes in the finals.
The juniors weren't finished making a statement on Saturday, as classmate Anna Harden finished sixth in the mile with a time of 4:51.20 and lowered her Air Force No. 3 all-time mark to 4:45.81 (altitude). Senior India Jones rounded out the women's scoring lineup with a seventh-place time of 9:33.80 (9:22.94a, No. 5 all-time at Air Force) in the 3000-meter run – claiming the first non-UNM finish in the 39-athlete field.
| AIR FORCE TOP 10 MARKS |
| No. 2 – Jayden Nats, Men's 3000-Meter Run (7:49.68a) |
| No. 3 – Cam Bodine, Women's 800-Meter Run (2:06.72a) |
| No. 3 – Anna Harden, Women's Mile Run (4:45.81a) |
| No. 4 – Women's 4x400-Meter Relay (3:45.80) |
| No. 5 – India Jones, Women's 3000-Meter Run (9:21.94a) |
| No. 9 – Saketh Rudraraju, Men's 3000-Meter Run (7:55.12a) |
Elsewhere at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, the Falcons claimed two more additions to the record book in the 3000-meter run, as Scarlet Fetterolf used an altitude-adjusted time of 9:33.59 to move up to No. 11 on the women's list and sophomore Junior Allen debuted at No. 24 on the men's list with an adjusted time of 8:04.55. Air Force added a second Top-25 improvement to the men's shot put standings, as sophomore debuted at No. 24 with a throw of 15.13 meters (52'11"), while freshman Mackenzie Fah moved up to No. 14 on the women's all-time list behind a throw of 13.07 meters (42'10¾"). The 4x400-meter quartet of freshman Eleanor Borchard, junior Allison Fernstrom, sophomore Ella Pears and sophomore Sarah Reynolds combined for the fourth-fastest time in program history (3:45.80) to round out the list of improvements to the Air Force Record.
The men finished fourth in the 2026 championship with 83.50 points, while the women accounted for 47 points and a sixth-place finish – a placement that matched their best indoor finish in the Mountain West (2013, 2020).
The indoor season comes to a close on March 13-14 when the top 16 athletes in each event travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the 2026 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. A full list of qualifiers will be announced next week.
Players Mentioned
Middle Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Middle Distance, Distance
/ Track and Field
Middle Distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Middle Distance, Distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Triple Jump
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and FieldRyan Cole Interview - February 24th, 2026
Tuesday, February 24
Ryan Cole Interview - August 26th, 2025
Tuesday, August 26
Ryan Cole Interview - August 26, 2025
Tuesday, August 26
Ryan Cole Interview March 11, 2025
Tuesday, March 11
