Falcon men place second, women fourth, at invitational

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Olivia Korte crushed her week-old academy weight throw record as the Air Force Academy track and field team finished up competition at the annual Air Force Invitational here Jan. 22. The men claimed second in the 10-team matchup with 94.50 points, while the women placed fourth of 12 teams with a score of 61.

“I am extremely proud of our team this weekend,” head coach Ralph Lindeman said. “Our women’s team topped several high-caliber Division I teams with one of the highest finishes in the history of the Air Force Invitational. It was a great way to start the season.”

Korte threw a distance of 54-10 3/4 to top her previous record -- set Jan. 15 at the all-comers meet -- by nearly a foot to finish fourth in the event. Since setting the program’s best weight throw mark at the Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships last February, Korte has continually reset the record in every meet in which she has competed.

Jason Jones won the pole vault after clearing a height of 16-4 3/4, while Travis Patterson was the top collegiate finisher in the mile run at 4 minutes, 19.39 seconds.

Brian Walsh finished second in the heptathlon with a personal-best score of 4,803. Contributing to the fourth-best total in academy history was a first-place finish in the 1,000-meter run (2:59.19) and a second-place finish in the pole vault (12-5 1/2).

Caleb Pelger finished third in the heptathlon with 4,572, while Matt Gensic took eighth in his collegiate debut with 4,015. Gensic tied with Walsh for second on the pole vault (12-5 1/2) and took third in the 1,000-meter run (3:04.32).

Travis Piccou took third-place honors in the 200-meter dash finals, at 21.81 seconds, the fifth-best time in academy history. Chris Gausepohl took fourth in the 800-meter run at 1:56.86.

Derek Storbeck finished fifth in the mile at 4:23.04, while David McGee took fifth in the long jump at 20-11 3/4. Kalib Wilkinson finished fifth in the 3,000-meter run at 8:49.74. Joel Nolan took fifth with a debut vault of 15-1, matching teammate Trey Fryman.

On the women’s side, Kristin Trichler finished third in the mile at 5:22.82. Jami Hodge also tallied a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash at 57.38. Hodge’s run was just 0.08 seconds shy of her personal-best mark she set Jan. 21. Kelly Robinson picked up a fourth-place mark in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:49.15.

The teams from Colorado State University won the men’s (202 points) and women’s (193) competitions. It is the third straight year that the Rams have swept the team titles.

Behind CSU and Air Force, University of Wyoming (87.50), Utah State University (65) and University of New Mexico (59.50) rounded out the men’s top-five. Wyoming (95) and Fresno State University (65) finished second and third, respectively, on the women’s side, while Utah State took fifth with 65 points.

The Falcons take to the road for the first time this season when they travel to Laramie, Wyo., on Jan. 29 to compete in the Wyoming Triangular.