Six event winners highlighted the opening day of the Air Force track and field team’s spring break. Air Force accounted for 23 top-five finishes at the Spring Break Collegiate Classic here March 25.

Backed by Marcus Wells’ winning throw of 186’11”, Air Force claimed four of the top five spots in the javelin throw. Classmate Matt Schwandt finished second with a toss of 186’1”, while senior Jimmy Herold and sophomore Brian Rahl finished fourth (169’10”) and fifth (166’7”), respectively.

Air Force also picked up three top-five marks in the 400-meter dash, backed by junior Nick Luina’s winning time of 48.21. Sophomore Kevin Hawkins clocked a time of 49.47 to finish third, while senior Billy Flynt finished in 49.94 to take fifth.

Sophomore Travis Picou won the 100- and 200-meter dashes with respective times of 10.63 and 21.41. Luina finished second to Picou in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.67, while junior Brian Walsh finished fourth in the 100-meter dash, after clocking a time of 11.16.

The Falcons also collected first-place finishes from sophomore David Lissy and senior Dan St. Clair. Lissy won the shot put after earning a distance of 52’7¼”, while also finishing fifth in the discus throw with a toss of 151’0”. St. Clair threw 177’7” to win the discus. His mark, a personal best by nearly seven feet, is the third-best toss in Academy.

Freshman Addison Schenk was the runner-up in the long jump, recording a distance of 22’6¼”, while the 4x400-meter relay team picked up a second-place time of 3:16.42. Senior Travis Patterson finished third in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:52.48, while sophomore Joel Nolan crossed the finish line of the 110-meter hurdles in 15.66 to also finish third.

Rounding out the Falcons’ top-five finishers are seniors Jeff Gosselin and Rich Ellis. Gosselin ran the 1,500-meter run in 3:55.69 to finish fourth, while Ellis tossed a 149’6” in the hammer to finish fifth.

On the women’s side, sophomore Kate Papenberg and junior Casey Johnson each picked up third-place marks. Papenberg ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 11:22.82 -- a personal-best time that is the fourth-best in Academy history, while Johnson recorded a career-best triple jump distance of 38’5” -- a mark that is also third on the Academy’s all-time list. Making her collegiate debut, freshman Yvonne Johnston placed fourth in the javelin with a distance of 122’6”.

Air Force remains in California this week, as the multi-even athletes compete in the Cal Multi-Meet in Berkeley March 29 to 30. The rest of the team will travel to Palo Alto for the Stanford Invitational March 31 to April 1.