Track & Field: Beerse sets pole vault record

  • Published
  • By Valerie Perkin
  • U.S. Air Force Academy
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  Freshman Melissa Beerse rewrote the Academy's pole vault record ... twice ... as the Air Force track and field team hosted the annual Don Barrett Air Force Open Jan. 27 at the Cadet Field House. Beerse is one of four event winners for the Falcons in this non-team scoring event.

Beerse won the pole vault after clearing 12-4 ¾. That mark topped the original record of 12'0½" that Ana Maria Ortega set back in 2001. Beerse first topped that standard with a height of 12'0¾", before clearing that new record of 12-4 ¾.

Senior Olivia Korte won the weight throw with a season-best distance of 56-1, while classmate Dierra Poland finished fastest in the 60-meter hurdles behind a season-best time of 8.79. Junior Travis Picou picked up a first-place finish in the 200-meter dash, crossing the finish line in a season-best time of 21.48.

Freshman Nick Frawley is the top collegian, winning and clearing the pole vault at 16-1 ¼. That height is the third-highest overall mark, behind former Falcons 2nd Lt. Paul Gensic (17-5) and 2nd Lt. Jason Jones (16-7 ¼). Senior Brian Walsh and junior Erik Mirandette posted matching career-best heights of 15-7 ¼ to finish with the fourth and fifth-best collegiate marks.

In addition, sophomore Kellen Curry clocked a career-best time of 8.19 in the 60-meter hurdles to finish as the top collegian (third overall).

Senior Richard Elmore guided Air Force's indoor distance runners to three of the top four spots in the 3,000-meter run. Elmore finished second with a season-best time of 9:08.94, while sophomore Justin Mason finished third in 9:18.17. Freshman Thomas Richter rounded out the trio with a fourth-place time of 9:28.74.

Senior Casey Johnson earned a pair of third-place finishes in the long (17-8 ¼) and triple (38 ¾) jumps. Those distances were career-bests for Johnson, who moves into eighth all-time in the long jump and fourth all-time in the triple jump.

Sophomore Sebastian Ortiz picked up a third-place finish in the mile run (4:27.80), while the women's relay team also picked up a third-place mark. Seniors Ayana Floyd-James and Kim Brady book-ended freshmen Alison Romanko and Danielle McCarty to record a third-place time of 4:08.10.

Although she was able to count only one of her six throws, freshman Sara Neubauer placed third in the shot put after collecting a distance of 43-6, while Korte finished fifth with a mark of 41-11 ¼".

Senior Nick Luina clocked the 400-meter dash in 48.77, which was the fourth-fastest finish of the day (third-best collegiate time). Luina then joined Walsh and juniors Troy Jensen and Kevin Hawkins to finish fourth in the relay behind a season-best time of 3:23.03. Another quartet of Air Force women earned a fourth-place finish in the relay, as freshmen Rebecca Burditt and Katie Avena joined junior Deb Durey and senior Lindsay Bengard to clock a time of 4:21.86.

Senior Becky Stone placed fifth on the pole vault after clearing 10-7, while junior Devin Hart placed fifth in the long jump (21-6 ¼) and was the fifth-best collegiate athlete in the triple jump (43-2 ¼).

The Falcons remain at the Academy Feb. 2-3 for the annual Air Force Invitational. The two-day meet begins at noon Feb. 2 with the men's weight throw and pole vault.

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