Women Impact Record Book on Opening Day of Outdoor Season

PUEBLO, Colo. – Headlined by the third-best javelin throw in Air Force history, a small contingent of field event athletes had a strong start to the outdoor season this afternoon (March 20), as they kicked off the Dr. Dan Caprioglio Invitational with three events at the ThunderBowl in Pueblo.

AIR FORCE TOP 10 MARKS

No. 3 – Cadee Alder, Women's Javelin Throw (48.60m/159'5")

Freshman Cadee Alder's performance in the javelin led the way for Air Force on Friday, as she launched a 48.60-meter (159'5") throw on her fifth attempt to win the 23-thrower event by one meter, record the third-best throw in Air Force history, and shatter the Freshman Class Record that Paige Blackburn (151'4") had held since 2009.

Alder was one of two freshmen to impact the program's all-time standings on the javelin runway, as classmate Arianna Valenzuela debuted at No. 24 behind a 10th-place mark of 39.30 meters (128'11").

Backed by another strong event debut from Valenzuela, the Falcons also made two improvements to the Air Force Record Book in the hammer throw, while collecting three of the top-eight finishes in the meet. Junior Paige Birch placed fourth in the 24-thrower field after recording a season-opening distance of 51.85 meters (170'1"), while Valenzuela and junior Ansley Bishop finished sixth and eighth, respectively. The former recorded a launch of 49.46 meters (162'3") to debut at No. 15, while the later entered the record book at No. 20 following a career-best mark of 46.38 meters (151'10").

In the only non-throwing event of the day, sophomore Ella Pears captured a fourth-place finish in her first triple jump of the season after recording a distance of 48.60 meters (159'5").

On the men's side, freshmen Cameron Downing and sophomore newcomer Trenton Groff picked up a pair of top-10 finishes in the javelin, while senior Massimo Grisotto earned that same designation in the hammer throw. Downing and Groff finished ninth (54.40m, 178'5") and 10th (52.60m, 172'7"), respectively, in their collegiate debuts on the javelin runway, while Grisotto kicked off his senior season in the hammer cage with a 49.81-meter (163'5") distance to finish 10th in the 21-thrower field.

The remainder of the Falcons' track and field team will head to the ThunderBowl tomorrow (March 21) for a full day of action at the Dr. Dan Caprioglio Invitational. Action begins for Air Force at 10:00 am (MT).

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