Taylor Rioux

Photo by: Tyler Schank, NCAA Photos

Photo by: Ginnie Coleman

Photo by: Rayna Schmidt

Photo by: Brandon Lindner

Photo by: Trevor Cokley

Class:
Senior
Events:
Sprints
Hometown:
Austin, Texas
Height:
5-6
High School:
Lake Travis
Squadron:
34 Loose Hawgs

AIR FORCE HIGHLIGHTS

Air Force Record Holder, Indoor 200-Meter Dash (24.57)

Air Force Record Holder, Outdoor 200-Meter Dash (24.04)

Air Force Record Holder, Indoor 400-Meter Dash (54.14)

Air Force Record Holder, 300-Meter Dash (39.70)

JUNIOR YEAR | 2023-24: Received the team’s Most Valuable Athlete award for the second-straight year…also earned the Gail Conway Award for Outstanding Performance…set three Academy Records (indoor 200-meter dash, outdoor 200-meter dash, indoor 400-meter dash)…also ran on three record-setting relays…reset the Air Force Junior Class Record in the 200-meter dash four times…broke the program’s indoor record in the 200-meter dash with a 24.57 finish at the UNM Team Open…clocked a (then) outdoor-best time of 24.15 to break an Air Force standard that had stood since 2005 and finish second out of 53 runners at the Spank Blasing Invitational…lowered that time of 24.04 the following week at the Bobcat Invitational…clocked a program-best time of 54.14 in the 400-meter dash to score for the Falcons at the Mountain West Indoor Championships (fifth)…used the third-fastest outdoor time in program history (54.31) for another scoring finish (seventh) at the MW Outdoor Championships…led off the 4x400-meter relay that knocked nearly two seconds off the previous Academy Record to finish sixth at MW Indoors…also ran the opening leg of the outdoor 4x4 that broke a 40-year-old Air Force Record at the Drake Relays…their 3:41.09 finish is also a new Service Academy Record…ran the second leg of the 4x100-meter relay that became the first team in program history to run sub-47 (46.82) during a winning performance at the Spank Blasing Invitational…swept the 200-meter and 400-meter titles at the Air Force Holiday Open...collected two more first-place finishes during the outdoor season (400 meters at Kit Mayer Classic, 200 meters at Air Force Twilight Open)…academic all-conference.

SOPHOMORE YEAR | 2022-23: Earned the team’s Most Valuable Athlete award…opened the season with an Academy Record performance in the 300-meter dash (39.70) at the Air Force Holiday Open…ran the second-fastest 200-meter times in Air Force history during both the indoor (24.65, Don Kirby Elite Invitational) and outdoor (24.51, Dan Caprioglio Early Bird Invitational) seasons…used that outdoor time to win the Early Bird’s 16-runner event and set the Air Force Sophomore Class Record…named Mountain West Track Athlete of the Week following that meet…first debuted in the indoor top-five with a then-best 24.93 (No. 4) at the Texas Tech Open…clocked career-best times in the 400-meter dash at both MW Championship meets…registered the third-fastest indoor time in program history (55.04) during the preliminary round of the conference meet…scored for Air Force in the finals with a seventh-place time of 55.32…first debuted on the indoor Top 10 with a 56.78 (No. 8 all-time) at the Ralph Lindeman Invitational…lowered time to 56-flat (No. 4 all-time) at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, before recording the 55.04...clocked the fourth-fastest outdoor time in Air Force history (55.28) to score for the Falcons at the MW Outdoor Championships…first debuted in seventh on the program’s Top 10 after recording a 55.87 to finish fourth out of 49 runners at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate …won the Spank Blasing Invitational with an outdoor-opening time of 56.81…also ran on several relays that impacted the Academy’s all-time standings…led off the 4x400-meter relays that clocked the program’s seventh-fastest outdoor time (3:47.93) and the 15th-fastest indoor time (3:54.55) at the two conference meets…ran the second leg of the 4x100-meter relay that combined for a 48.14 finish at the Air Force Twilight Open (No. 13 all-time)…raced the sprint leg of the distance medley relay that combined for the eighth-fastest outdoor time in Air Force history (11:44.35) to finish fifth at the Drake Relays.

FRESHMAN YEAR | 2021-22: Received the team’s Newcomer of the Year award…ran the second leg of the sprint medley relay that set an Academy record (3:56.82) at the Drake Relays…member of the 4x400-meter relays that accounted for the second-fastest times in program history during both the indoor (3:44.52) and outdoor (3:42.14) seasons…helped Air Force to top-five finishes in those relays at the Mountain West Championships (fifth indoors, fourth outdoors)…also ran on the 4x100-meter relay that posted the seventh-fastest time in Air Force history (47.76) during a scoring finish (seventh) at the conference meet…individually impacted the Academy Record Book in five events…posted the fourth-fastest outdoor 200-meter time in program history (24.64 – a Freshman Class Record) at the Air Force Twilight Open…named Mountain West Freshman of the Week following that meet…recorded the 10th-fastest indoor time in that distance (25.49) at the Texas Tech Open…clocked Air Force Top 15 times in the 400-meter dash during both seasons, running a 57.21 at the Don Kirby Invitational (No. 12) and a 57.05 at the MW Outdoor Championships (No. 14)…matched the 25th-fastest 60-meter time in program history (8.09) during collegiate debut at the Air Force Holiday Open …academic all-conference selection.

HIGH SCHOOL: Lake Travis High School…four-year letterwinner in track and field…district champion…regional finalist…member of the 4x400-meter relay that won the regional title and finished sixth at the Texas state championships…also ran on the 4x100-meter relay that qualified to the regional meet…member of the 4x200-meter relay that was ranked No. 3 in the nation during the 2021 indoor season…ran on six school-record relay teams – 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, sprint medley, distance medley…area finalist in the triple jump as a senior…academic all-district and all-state honoree…also earned three letters in volleyball…all-district selection…played on the varsity team as a freshman…received the Most Improved Award that year…earned academic all-district honors…member of the National Honor Society…named a Paul Harris Fellow for community service above self.

PERSONAL: Full name is Taylor Elise Rioux…nicknames are “Tay” or “T”…daughter of Dan and Kristy Rioux…both parents competed in athletics at Texas State University…father was a member of the baseball team and went on to play professionally for two years, while mother was on the volleyball team and is in the school’s Hall of Fame…has two younger siblings…majoring in biology…future plans include becoming a dentist…named to the Superintendent’s List for excellence in military, academic and athletic performance…received her squadron’s “Hawg of the Month” award twice…currently serving as Flight Commander…earned Jump Wings in the summer of 2022…favorite animal is the elephant…hobbies include spending time with family and friends, being outside, going on hikes, listening to music and trying new foods…served on A-Staff over the summer during Basic Cadet Training…also worked Falcon Sports Camps and road-tripped to Washington with her siblings to hike Mt Rainier…member of Cadet Squadron 34.