Track and field: Falcons' Brian Walsh wins MWC decathlon

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SAN DIEGO (AFNEWS) --  U.S. Air Force Academy Senior Brian Walsh claimed his second conference multi-event championship, in as many years, as he won the decathlon at the Mountain West Conference Track and Field Championships May 10 in San Diego. With 7,321 points, Walsh became the Falcons' first decathlon champion of the MWC era.

Walsh entered the day in first and maintained the overall lead following a second-place time of 15.14 in the 110-meter hurdles. A fourth-place discus throw of 117'11" caused Walsh to slip to second in the overall standings -- by one point.

With a career-best 15'5" to take first in the pole vault, Walsh regained the lead. With second-place marks of 160'8" in the javelin and 4:44.81 in the 1,500-meter dash, the league's 2006 heptathlon champion took the 2007 decathlon title.

Walsh's point total, just 13 points shy of his career best, is another NCAA Provisional Total and the third-best outing ever at the MWC championships. Walsh becomes the Falcons' first decathlon champion of the MWC era and the first overall since 1997, when former Air Force great Marcus Nichols claimed his title at the WAC Championships.

With a sixth-place total of 6,334 points, sophomore Skylar Morgan moved into 10th on the academy's all-time list. Adding to his personal-best decathlon total was a fourth-place time of 15.27 in the 110-meter hurdles and a fifth-place throw of 150'7" in the javelin. Morgan also accounted for a pair of sixth-place marks in the discus (112'7") and pole vault (12'9½"). Rounding out the final five events was an eighth-place time in the 1,500-meter run (5:01.64).

Junior Matt Gensic claimed an event victory en route to his seventh-place total of 6,192 points. Gensic clocked a time of 4:42.72 in the 1,500-meter run to pace the field, while also adding a third-place throw of 155'2" in the javelin. In addition to a fourth-place height of 13'5¼" in the pole vault, Gensic placed eighth in the 110-meter hurdles (16.74) and discus throw (95'2").

Following the first event of the championships, Air Force leads the field with 15 points. Wyoming is in second with 13 points, while BYU rounds out the top three with 10 points.

With a strong showing in the day's final event, freshman Danielle McCarty placed ninth in the heptathlon. McCarty clocked a time of 2:22.61 to take fifth in the 800-meter run and jump into the ninth spot. The highest scoring freshman in the field, McCarty accounted for 4,343 points -- the sixth-best total in academy history. In addition to her time in the 800-meter run, McCarty accounted for a pair of 10th-place finishes, as she recorded distances of 16'2¼" in the long jump and 80'2" in the javelin throw.

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