Members of the Air Force field event squad achieved four event titles and 13 additional top-five finishes during the opening day of the Colorado Invitational in Boulder on January 23.
Freshman Chris Atunku, freshman Julie Segroves, and senior Texas Tanner each secured first-place finishes in their respective events early in the competition. Atunku won the high jump with a clearance of 1.91 meters (6’3¼). Segroves claimed her third consecutive collegiate win by clearing 3.80 meters (12’5½) in the pole vault. Tanner completed the sequence with a winning shot put throw of 18.79 meters (61’7¾).
Segroves led a strong showing for Air Force in the pole vault, where junior Karli Neff (3.65m), sophomore Barrett Boyd (3.50m), and senior Nathalia Veal (3.50m) followed her to complete a sweep of the top four positions. In the high jump, junior Wyatt Curl finished fourth with a mark of 1.85 meters (6’1¼), while sophomore Mitchell Blakeslee also took fourth place in shot put with a season-best throw of 15.61 meters (51’2¾).
Sophomore Alese Banks delivered another event title for Air Force women by winning the long jump at 5.50 meters (18’0½) on her first attempt, leading Falcons athletes to four out of five top spots in that event. Junior Kayla Beach placed second at 5.41 meters (17’9), while sophomores Sarah Reynolds and Ryan McFadden finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
In women’s high jump, freshman Zoe Heizer matched her career best at 1.66 meters (5’5¼) to finish second among ten competitors and was joined by Beach, who equaled her career-high for second place, and Reynolds, who finished fifth.
At the Ford Indoor Practice Facility, freshman Max McFarlane took second among collegiate pole vaulters with a clearance of 5.00 meters (16’4¾), finishing third overall. Junior Paige Birch rounded out Air Force’s top-five results with a fifth-place performance in weight throw at 16.48 meters (54’1).
The Falcons are scheduled to continue competition on January 24 as their runners participate in the second day of events at the Colorado Invitational.
