Track and Field: Falcons conclude competition at Jack Christiansen Invitational

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  The Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the annual Jack Christiansen Invitational April 21, in Fort Collins, Colo. With 87.50 points, the Air Force men finished second in a field of 17, while the women totaled 55 points to finish sixth. Air Force accounted for six first-place finishes and five incursions into the Academy's all-time record book.

On the men's side, senior Nick Luina earned first- and second-place finishes from the track. Luina won the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.73, while placing second to junior Travis Picou in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.55. Picou won the 200-meter race with a time of 21.34.

Luina and Payne also teamed up with junior John Payne and sophomore Kellen Curry to win the 4x100-meter relay. The quartet clocked a time of 40.97 to take first, a time just shy of the season-best mark they set last week.

Senior Brian Walsh won the long jump with a distance of 22'1 1/2", while also finishing third in the pole vault 14'7 1/4".

Curry and classmate Skylar Morgan finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 110-meter hurdles with times of 15.17 and 15.24. Air Force also received a third-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, as Payne clocked a time of 53.40 to earn that placement.

With a fourth-place throw of 185'6" in the hammer throw, sophomore Kirk Devine vaulted him up three spots to seventh in the Academy's all-time record book. That mark is also a NCAA regional qualifying mark.

Sophomore Michelle Fryling won the pole vault after clearing a career-best 11'7 3/4". That mark is a personal-best by nearly a foot, a Sophomore Class record and tied for the third-best distance in Academy history.

Freshman Sara Neubauer won the shot put with an NCAA regional qualifying throw of 49'1 1/2", while also picking up a fifth-place finish in the discus at 147'0". Her distance in the discus improved her eighth-place standing in the Academy's all-time record book.

Junior Kelly Robinson was the runner-up in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.66.

In addition to Fryling, her fellow vaulters moved up in the program's all-time standings. Senior Becky Stone finished fourth with a height of 10'8", which is sixth on the all-time list, while freshman Jessica Schafer tied for sixth at 10'2", which is seventh in the program's record books.

The continue split-squad action next week, as select members head to the prestigious Drake Relays April 26 to 28 and the rest of the squad heads to Laramie, Wyo., for the Wyoming Invitational April 28.

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