April 26, 2008
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Highlighted by four first-place finishes, the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the Jack Christiansen Invitational on Saturday, April 26, in Fort Collins, Colo. With 12 top-three finishes, the men's team finished second in the 10-meet, while the women placed seventh with a pair of top-three marks.
Air Force claimed the top two spots in three different events. Freshman Terry Robinson and junior Skylar Morgan went one-two in the 110-meter hurdles, with respective times of 14.55 and 14.75. Junior Scott Balcao (15:46.45, first) and sophomore Ryan Workman (15:56.91, second) clocked the two fastest times in the 5000-meter run, while junior Harmon Gage and freshman Connor Van Fossen earned first- and second-place distances in the javelin.
With a career-best throw of 202'0", Gage becomes just the seventh Falcon to clear 200-foot plateau in the javelin. He improved his personal-best distance by over five feet to move into seventh on the program's all-time list. Van Fossen recorded a distance of 180'1".
The Falcons also claimed two of the top three spots in the pole vault, as freshman Hatton Updike finished second with a clearance of 14'7¼". Sophomore Kyle Ellsworth matched that mark to finish third, while freshman Noah Palicia also recorded that height to take fourth.
Sophomore Zach Nordahl won the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:55.36, while Robinson finished second in the 400-meter hurdles at 53.66. The quartet of Palicia and seniors John Payne, Kyle Meakins and Troy Jensen posted a third-place time of 3:25.57 in the 4x400-meter relay. In addition, sophomore Dan Paladino was the third collegiate finisher in the hammer throw with a mark of 190'4".
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The men tallied 151 points to finish second behind host Colorado State (181 points). With 74 points, Northern Colorado rounded out the top three teams.
On the women's side, junior Jessica Soto won the javelin throw with a distance of 122'6". Freshman Rachel Miller was the Falcons' other top-three finisher, as she matched her career-best outdoor clearance of 11'1¾" to finish third in the pole vault.
With 32 points, the Falcons finished seventh in the 11-team field. Host Colorado State won the meet with 180 points, while Northern Colorado (121.5) and Wyoming (66) finished second and third, respectively.
The Falcons travel to Laramie, Wyo., on Saturday, May 3, for the first-ever Front Range Invitational. Air Force will take on its counterparts from Colorado, Colorado State, Northern Colorado and Wyoming.
