Track, field teams finish 3rd at invitational Published July 14, 2009 By Valerie Perkin Athletic Communications COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Highlighted by numerous outstanding performances, the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at Missouri's Tom Botts Invitational Saturday in Columbia, Mo. The men accounted for 175.50 points to finish third, while the women placed third with 130 points. In all, the Falcons claimed six first-place finishes and one meet record. The women picked up multiple first-place finishes, including a one-two punch in the javelin throw. Katie Weber won the meet with a distance of 143'10", while Paige Blackburn threw a 138'4" to finish second. Blackburn's toss is the eighth-best in Academy history. Air Force also took two of three in the discus throw, as Sara Neubauer set a new Tom Benich Invitational record (173'7") to win the event. Her distance, a career-best by three feet, continues to push at the Academy record standard of 177'3". Blackburn earned a third-place finish in the discus with a personal-best throw of 144'5". In addition, Neubauer finished second in the shot put with a throw of 47'3¾", while Blackburn moved into fifth on the program's all-time list with a throw of 44'4" to finish fifth overall. Ally Romanko crossed the finish line in a career-best time of 4:32.56 to win the 1500-meter run, while Kimber Shealy won the pole vault after clearing the bar at 12'1 ½". In addition to her impressive day with the discus, Neubauer improved her 'PR' in the hammer throw for the fourth straight week, as she finished third with a toss of 165'2". That is the sixth-best throw in program history. Christina Burke scored for the Falcons with a ninth-place toss of 122'8". Jessica Mapes picked up a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash, as she clocked a time of 57.49 to improve her seventh-place standing in the program record book. Nercressaine White, who scored for the Falcons on the long jump with a fifth-place distance of 17'9", ran the leadoff leg of the 4x100-meter relay that finished third in a time of 48.73. Also contributing to that time (the 11th-fastest in program history) as Nicole Elliott, Gabrielle Quirao and Mapes. White and Quirao scored for the Falcons in the 200-meter dash, as they clocked respective times of 25.73 (seventh) and 26.49 (ninth). White's time in the eighth-fastest in Academy history. Elliott also scored for the Falcons in the 100-meter hurdles (eighth, 16.12) and in the 100-meter dash (seventh, 13.00). She was one of two Falcons to score in the dash, as White finished fourth with a time of 12.50. Cathy Haycraft scored in the 400-meter dash, as she finished 11th with a time of 62.32. Amanda Wineman picked up a fourth-place clearance of 5'1" on the high jump, while Becca Burditt accounted for the same placement in the 800-meter run behind a career-best time of 2:14.84. That time moved her into ninth on the program's all-time list. Auriele Fain finished sixth in the 800 with a time of 2:17.07. On the men's side, senior Kellen Curry paced the Falcons, picking up two event titles. In addition to posting the third-best time in Academy history to win the 200-meter dash (21.20), he won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.51. Curry also ran the final leg of the 4x100-meter relay that placed second. In addition to Matt Davis, Maxwell Lutton and Kevin Rivers, the quartet recorded a time of 41.75. Connor Van Fossen picked up a first-place finish in the javelin throw behind a distance of 199'10". He was one of two Falcons to place within the top three, as Harmon Gage finished third with a toss of 188'6". Dan Paladino was the runner-up in the hammer throw, tossing a distance of 179'9", while Robert Drye placed fourth with a throw of 175'0". Drye also scored for the Falcons in the shot put, as he and James Cole placed seventh (44'6") and eighth (44'2"), respectively, in that event. Drye and James also earned points for Air Force in the discus throw, as the duo finished eighth (142'4") and 10th (123'3"), respectively. Brandin Bear tied for second with a pole vault clearance of 15'1". Air Force collected two of the top three spots in the 3000-meter steeplechase, as Zach Nordahl and Justin Mason finished second (9:25.90) and third (9:29.63), respectively. Rivers and Davis finished third (11.24) and fourth (11.27), respectively, in the 100-meter dash, while Lutton and Chris Severino scored for Air Force in the 400-meter dash with respective times of 49.83 (third) and 50.18 (sixth). Matt Williams clocked a third-place time of 8:28.76 in the 3000-meter run, while James Walmsley finished sixth in 8:44.04. Sebastian Ortiz and Justin Tyner finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 1500-meter event. Ortiz clocked a time of 3:53.64, while Tyner crossed just behind him at 3:55.63. Skylar Morgan, who placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.44, also scored for the Falcons on the high jump, as he cleared 6'0¾" to place fifth. Taurean Singletary also scored on the high jump, as he finished sixth with a clearance of 5'10¾". Morgan recorded a long jump distance of 20'9" to finish fourth in that event, while Dillon Stucky finished fifth with a mark of 20'7". Stucky and Singletary teamed up for fourth (44'5¼") and fifth (44'2¾") place finishes in the triple jump.