Oct. 5, 2011
Members of the Air Force cross country team will travel to Hays, Kan., for the annual Fort Hays State Tiger Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 8. The women's 5000-meter race opens the day's action at 9 a.m., while the men's 8K race will follow at 9:40 a.m.
Meet Notes 04: at Tiger Invitational 
MEET INFORMATION
The Tiger Invitational will be held at the Fort Hays State University Cross Country Course at Gross Memorial Stadium, a flat course with mostly short, grassy terrain.
AT THE SOUND OF THE GUN
The women's 5000-meter race will kick off the Tiger Invitational at 9 a.m., while the men's 8000-meter race is set for 9:40 a.m.
HISTORY 101
The men finished fifth at the 2010 Tiger Invitational and were paced by Seth Pelletier's 24th-place finish. The women, who only sent four runners to Kansas and competed individually, were led by Stephaney Saari, who placed 38th.
MEN RECEIVE VOTES FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK
The men's team continues to receive votes in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, sitting at No. 33 in the weekly rankings. The Falcons, who earned their first "RV" designation on Sept. 20 after a six-year absence, are currently 20 points out of the coaches' Top-30.
MEN TAKE 10TH AT NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL
With all five scoring runners placing within the top half of the field, Air Force's men placed 10th at the 26-team Notre Dame Invitational. Jim Walmsley paced the Falcons with a five mile time of 24:19 to place 10th, while Jeremy Drenckhahn clocked 24:48 to finish 31st. Isaiah Bragg (78th, 25:13), Matt Bell (87th, 25:19 and Andrew Quallio (92nd, 25:21) also scored for the Falcons,
DID YOU KNOW?
Air Force placed ahead of two nationally ranked teams at the Notre Dame Invitational, including the host Irish (ranked 23rd) and Ohio State (ranked 25th).
FUERST PACES FALCONS FOR SECOND WEEK
Backed by a 49th-place 5K time of 17:49, Melissa Fuerst paced the Falcons to a 21st-place finish in the team standings of the Notre Dame Invitational. Fuerst and Kate Kanetzky (97th, 18:14) both finished within the top half of the 225-runner field, while Jen Bremser (115th, 18:20), Katie Carroll (147th, 18:38) and Carley Gross (149th, 18:39) rounded out the scoring finishers for Air Force.
MORE NEWS FROM NOTRE DAME
In addition to the nine runners that participated in the men's ND Invitational, three more runners competed in a non-scoring "JV" race. Zach Perkins finished sixth in the 59-runner race with a five-mile time of 25:49, while Dan Bailey and Charlie Perkins finished 12th (26:02) and 15th (26:11), respectively.
STAYING CLOSE TO HOME
With an 8K time of 27:20, Ted Artz paced the Falcons to a third-place team finish at the 26th annual Rocky Mountain Shootout in Boulder, placing 27th among 164 runners. All five scoring runners finished within the top 50, with Nick White (34th, 27:42), Gage Owens (41st, 27:57), Seth Pelletier (44th, 28:03) and Carson Fugal (48th, 28:12) rounding out the men's scoring.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RUNNING
Christine Hagan and Amanda Blain clocked matching times of 23:38 to lead the women to a third-place team finish at the Rocky Mountain Shootout. The duo, which finished 35th and 36th, respectively, in the 171-runner race, guided all five scoring runners to finishes within the top 50. Joining Hagan and Blain were Rebecca Esselstein (40th, 23:43), Taylor Drolshagen (44th, 23:48) and Emily Hazen (46th, 23:59).
WHAT'S AHEAD
The Falcons return to action next week, when they travel to Madison, Wis., for the third annual Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Friday, Oct. 14. It is the final race of the regular season for the Falcons, who begin the championship season on Oct. 29, with the Mountain West Cross Country Championships in Fort Collins.
