Rachel Crytser

Photo by: Marty France

Photo by: Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos

Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Mechanicsville, Va.
Squadron:
02 Deuce
High School:
Hanover

AIR FORCE HIGHLIGHTS

NCAA Qualifier, 3000-Meter Steeplechase (2023)

JUNIOR YEAR | 2022: Competed in four 6K meets, including the conference and regional championships…Falcons’ No. 4 runner at the Mountain West Championships (personal-best 21:02.3, 36th) and Nuttycombe Invitational (21:25.3, 176th)…finished within the top half of the field at the NCAA Mountain Regional (21:35.4, 64th)…added a 23:01.5 at the Cowboy Jamboree (156th)…opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the Air Force Classic (17:53, three miles)…earned the team’s Most Improved award.

SOPHOMORE YEAR | 2021: Did not compete.

FRESHMAN YEAR | 2020: Competed in both meets of the pandemic-shortened season…clocked a career-best 6K of 22:08.1 to finish 17th out of 41 runners in collegiate debut at the Silver State Challenge…added a time of 22:41.9 at the Mountain West Championships (63rd).

MAJOR TRACK AND FIELD HIGHLIGHTS: Earned the team’s Most Outstanding Competitor award as a junior…NCAA Qualifier in the 3000-meter steeplechase…all-conference honoree…recorded the third-fastest steeplechase in Academy history (10:16.39) at the 2023 NCAA West Preliminary…improved her time by nearly 35 seconds during junior season…finished third at the 2023 Mountain West Outdoor Championships (10:18.96)…first debuted on the program’s steeplechase standings as a freshman…recorded Air Force Top 5 marks in the mile (4:49.83a, No. 4 all-time) and 3000-meter run (9:25.04, No. 5 all-time) during the 2023 indoor season…ran on the 4x1600-meter relay that clocked the third-fastest time in Academy history (19:46.58) to finish fifth at 2023 Drake Relays.

HIGH SCHOOL: Hanover High School...three-time all-metro cross country selection by the Richmond Times Dispatch...claimed first-team honors as a junior, after claiming second-team status as a freshman and sophomore...finished eighth at the Virginia 4A Cross Country Championships as a junior...picked up a fifth-place finish at the Footlocker South Regional...two-time state champion in the 1600-meter meter run...captured the outdoor title in 2018 and the indoor title in 2019...eight-time regional champion...claimed five regional titles in the 1600-meter run (2017 indoor, 2017 outdoor, 2018 outdoor, 2019 indoor, 2019 outdoor)...also claimed regional titles in the 3200-meter run (2017 outdoor), 1000-meter run (2018 indoor) and 800-meter run (2018 outdoor)...earned the school’s Outstanding Latin Student Award in 2018...received the 2019 West Point Leadership Award, which is annually awarded to one junior student in Hanover County...also earned the Richmond Times Dispatch Scholar-Athlete Scholarship.

PERSONAL: Full name is Rachel Pearl Crytser...daughter of Tim and Leslie Crytser...has one younger sister...majoring in civil engineering...future plans include becoming a pilot…currently serving as the Teal Rope for Group 1…named to the Superintendent’s List for excellence in military, academic and athletic performance...hobbies include cooking, rock climbing and wake surfing...proudest running moment came from setting her middle school’s pacer test record in seventh grade…worked the Academy’s Summer Seminar over the summer…also built a 60-foot bridge for the U.S. Forest Service in Meeker, Colorado...member of Cadet Squadron 02.