May 12, 2008

After a week off from competition, the Air Force track and field team travels to Fort Worth, Texas, for the 2008 Mountain West Conference Championships. The meet will run May 14-17 at the Lowdon Track and Field Complex on the campus of TCU. The four-day competition, featuring six men's teams and nine women's teams, begins at noon on Wednesday.

Weekly Release: MWC Outdoor Championships

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Action begins at noon on Wednesday, May 14, with the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon. The multi-event competition concludes on Thursday, May 15, and the first individual event (men's hammer throw) will take place at 5:30 p.m. The rest of the individual events begin early Friday (May 16) morning, with the running of the women's 10,000-meter run at 7:30 a.m.

WHAT THE COACH IS SAYING ABOUT THE GUYS...
"We've finished third at the past three MWC Championships (indoors and outdoors), so obviously we'd like to improve on that. On paper, we could finish anywhere from second to fourth. BYU is the overwhelming favorite, and TCU, fresh off of a second-place finish at the indoor meet (one point ahead of us) and being the home team, has to be the pick for second. We hope to pile up enough points in the hurdles, distance events, pole vault and throws to offset their dominance in the sprints and relays."

WHAT THE COACH IS SAYING ABOUT THE GALS...
"We're hoping to surpass last year's 47½ points and seventh-place finish. We've had women capture individual conference titles at the outdoor championships for five years in a row, so we'd like to keep that streak going. Melissa Beerse (runner-up in the pole vault indoors), Sara Neubauer (runner-up in the both the shot put and discus last year) and Katie Weber, who is having an outstanding year in the javelin, have our best chances."

WATCH OUT FOR...
The Falcons return four outdoor champions, including three defending title holders. Nick Frawley (pole vault), Kevin Hawkins (800-meter run) and Sean Houseworth (10,000-meter run) won titles in their respective events last year, while Travis Picou won the 100- and 200-meter dash titles in 2005. In addition, Frawley, Houseworth (3000-meter run) and David Lissy (shot put) won MWC championships at the indoor meet in February.

HISTORY 101
Since joining the Mountain West Conference for the 2000 season, Air Force has accumulated 20 individual champions, 31 conference titles and 93 all-conference selections. Anthony Park (Class of 2004), Ben Payne (Class of 2004) and Dana Pounds (Class of 2006) lead the Falcons with three MWC titles each.

HE KNOWS HIS STUFF
Head coach Ralph Lindeman has earned two Outdoor Coach of the Year awards from the Mountain West Conference. He received the accolades from his peers in 2001 and 2003. He has also received the indoor coaching honor during the 2001, 2004 and 2008 seasons

LAST YEAR AT THE CONFERENCE MEET
Kevin Hawkins (800-meter run), Sean Houseworth (10,000-meter run), Nick Frawley (pole vault), Olivia Korte (discus throw), Matt Schwandt (javelin throw) and Brian Walsh (decathlon) earned MWC titles at the 2007 meet. That is the most ever for an Air Force team - indoor or outdoor - during its history as a member of both the WAC and MWC.

DID YOU KNOW?
Air Force athletes hold four outdoor MWC championship-meet records. Tom Clark (110-meter hurdles, 2003); Ben Payne (10,000-meter run, 2003); Dana Pounds (javelin throw, 2006) and Olivia Korte (discus throw, 2007) all set meet records in their respective events.

THE LAST ONE
Senior Matt Gensic is the fourth and final member of his family to conclude a four-year career with the track and field program. All four of the Gensic brothers that attended the Academy are listed in the program's all-time record book. Matt is ranked eighth in the heptathlon. Paul, a 2005 graduate, is the Academy record-holder in the indoor and outdoor pole vault, while Jake, a 2000 graduate, and Ben, a 2001 graduate, are also listed in the pole vault's top-10 lists.

GIVING THE YOUNGSTERS CONTROL
Of Air Force's 17 entries into the women's conference meet, 14 of them are members of the freshmen or sophomore class. Only senior Deb Durey, senior Tiffany Moore and junior Jessica Soto are not listed as third- or fourth-class cadets. Ironically all three of the upperclassmen are competing in the javelin.

WHAT'S ON DECK
Select Falcons will travel to Lincoln, Neb., on May 30-31 for the 2008 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships with the hope to advance on to the national meet. Currently, 14 Falcons have qualified to the regional meet in 16 events.

Coach Lindeman's Complete Quotes