The Air Force track and field team kicks off the championship portion of the indoor season this week, as it travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for the 2022 Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships – the first indoor championship in two years. The three-day meet, which will be held at the ABQ Convention Center, begins on Thursday, Feb. 24, and continues through Saturday, Feb. 26.
 
MEET INFORMATION
The Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held in downtown Albuquerque for the seventh-straight championship. Tickets for Friday and Saturday – $12 for adults, $9 for seniors (62+) and $6 for youth (3-18) – can be purchased online at GoLobos.com/tickets (there is no charge on Thursday). For fans unable to attend the meet, real-time results will be available via Record Timing and the meet will be broadcast through the Mountain West Network (direct links are available at GoAirForceFalcons.com). In addition, updates and highlights will be posted to Air Force’s social media sites (@af_tfxc) throughout the week.
 
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
The first four events of the men’s heptathlon get underway at 10:00 a.m. (MT) on Thursday, Feb. 24, while the distance medley relays are scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m., that afternoon. Friday’s competition begins with the conclusion of the heptathlon at 10:00 a.m., while the individual events start at 12:30 p.m. (field) and 1:30 p.m. (running). Championship Saturday starts at 9:30 a.m., with the track events beginning at 11:10 a.m. A complete schedule of events is located on Page 2 of the attached release.
 
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
The Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships will feature 11 women’s teams (Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming), as well as the men’s teams from Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Jose State, Utah State and Wyoming.
 
HISTORY 101
Since the formation of the Mountain West, Air Force has captured three men’s titles (2012, 2016, 2018) and its athletes have stood atop the indoor podium 76 times and collected 257 all-conference selections. Former standout Jamiel Trimble is the Academy’s most decorated indoor champion, with five conference titles, eight individual all-MW awards, and the Meet Record in the 200-meter dash (20.67). Former Falcons Michael Rhoads (800-meter run: 1:47.82), Justin Tyner (5000-meter run: 14:13.33), Taylor Smith (high jump: 7’2½”) and Kyle Pater (pole vault: 18’6½”) also hold MW Meet Records.
 
LOOKING (WAY) BACK
Wyatt Murphy is the defending MW champion in the heptathlon, having won the 2020 title with a 5170-point total. Air Force claimed three titles that year, with Mitch Lipe earning the program’s 10th indoor pole vault title and Maria Mettler winning the 3000-meter run by two seconds. Murphy is one of four current Falcons to hold all-MW indoor honors following top-three finishes at the 2020 meet, joining Cameron Harris (60-meter hurdles), Jake Hall (high jump) and Ethan Gardner (pole vault).
 
CONFERENCE SNAPSHOT
Entering championship weekend, Air Force holds the league’s top marks in the men’s 5000-meter run (Sam Gilman, 13:25.17) and pole vault (Ethan Gardner, 16’10¾”), while being list among the Mountain West’s top five an additional 24 times.
 
HEADING HOME
Ari Martinez hails from Albuquerque and competed at St. Pius X during her prep career.
 
AIR FORCE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Sam Gilman is ranked among the nation’s Top 25 in both the 5000-meter (ninth, 13:25.17) and 3000-meter (24th, 7:47.93) events, while holding a top-35 placement in the mile (34th, 3:57.52a). Wyatt Murphy (31st, 5442) and Braeden Holcombe (45th, 5284) are both listed among the top-45 in the heptathlon, while Katie Thompson’s 20’3″ distance is the long jump is ranked 42nd.
 
SQUAD GOALS
With a combined clearance of 27’0¾”, the high jump quartet of Collin Schulz, Jake Hall, Philip Hundl and Jalan Rivers is ranked eighth on the USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings – which are determined by the cumulative season-best marks from a team’s top-four athletes on the national descending order list. Air Force has three other squads listed in the Top 15, including the 5000-meter run (No. 11 – Sam Gilman, Will Kitzhaber, Ryan Johnson, Ethan Marshall: 55:28.61), 3000-meter run (No. 12 – Gilman, Luke Combs, Ryan Ioanidis, Eli Bennett: 31:44.51) and pole vault (No. 15 – Ethan Gardner, Ben Charlebois, Caiden Macktinger, Robert Postell: 66’0½”).
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Air Force accounted for nearly half (19) of the conference’s Athlete of the Week awards during the indoor season, with Katie Schlather (women’s freshman: Dec. 7, women’s field: Feb 22, women’s freshman: Feb 22), Ethan Gardner (men’s field: Feb. 1, Feb. 22), Sam Gilman (men’s track: Dec 7, Jan. 24) and Collin Schulz (men’s field: Dec. 7, men’s freshman: Dec. 7) earning multiple awards.
 
COMING UP
The indoor season comes to a close in two weeks, when the top 16 athletes in each event travel to the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., for the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 11-12. A complete list of competitors will be released next week.