Thursday, May 15
Clovis, CA
10:30 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
Mountain West Championships
Photo by: Brendall O’Banon, NCAA Photos
Joe Nizich, Texas Tanner Defend Mountain West Titles
5/15/2025 11:47:00 PM | Track and Field
CLOVIS, Calif. – Mountain West titles from senior Joe Nizich and junior Texas Tanner highlighted the opening day of action for Air Force at the 2025 Credit Union 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in California. The pair, who successfully defended their conference titles in the javelin and hammer throw, respectively, paced the Falcons to eight scoring finishes over the first three events.
Nizich, competing in his first meet of the season, improved his career-best distance twice during a thrilling back-and-forth battle with Utah State's Walker Deede for the conference title. The two throwers traded the lead during the first two rounds, before swapping positions on back-to-back attempts during the fourth round. Nizich recorded a career-best 67.31-meter (220'10") throw on that attempt to improve his No. 5 mark on the program's all-time standings. Deede retook the lead on the very next throw, but Nizich wasn't done – crushing his newly-minted "best" by more than two meters on his final attempt. As the penultimate thrower of the competition, he launched the javelin 69.91 meters (229'4") to retake the lead, vault into No. 2 on the Academy's all-time standings, and surpass the field by more than one meter. In addition to claiming his second-straight title, Nizich also completed a four-year stretch of never finishing lower than second at the Mountain West Championships.
Backed by a Meet Record throw of 73.23 meters (240'3"), Tanner opened the men's competition by successfully defended his conference title in the hammer throw. The junior, who would have won the meet with any of the four countable throws in his series (69.28m, 69.15m, 73.23m, 72.06m), unleashed his best throw on his third attempt – a distance that bettered the field by more than six meters and added more than two meters to a championship standard that had stood since 2003.
Cooper Stroka joined Tanner on the podium of the hammer throw, as the senior recorded a distance of 66.54 meters (218'3") to finish third, while sophomore Jonah Meyer earned a scoring finish in the javelin following a seventh-place throw of 55.42 meters (181'10").
A runner-up finish in the 10,000-meter run from sophomore Ella Johnson headlined the opening day of competition for the women. On a night that saw the longest race of the outdoor season come down to a thrilling 100-meter sprint down the homestretch and a 0.01-second decision, Johnson collected eight points for the Falcons as she crossed the finish line in a time of 34:27.50 – a mark just a hairsbreadth behind the first-place finisher (34:27.49).
Three other Falcons scored for Air Force on Thursday. The men added a pair of scoring finishes in the 10,000-meter run, as juniors Jayden Nats and Max Sannes placed seventh (29:37.56) and eighth (29:54.00), respectively, in the final event of the night. Following an eighth-place throw of 52.87 meters (173'5"), sophomore Paige Birch became the first Falcon since Sara Neubauer in 2010 to score for the women in the hammer throw,
In addition to the finals, three qualifying events were contested today – with the Falcons advancing multiple athletes in every event. Senior Javin Bostic and freshman Asher Jenkins both advanced in the 200-meter dash, as Bostic won his heat in a wind-aided time of 20.95 and Jenkins used a wind-aided 21.10 to advance on time. In addition, the men and women both gained finalist spots in the 800-meter un and 400-meter hurdles. Freshman Parker Hintz equaled the 10th-fastest 800-meter time in program history (1:50.09) to finish second in his heat and gain an automatic bid into the men's final, while sophomore Camryn Bodine earned an auto bid into the women's final after placing second in her heat with a time of 2:09.48. In the hurdles, sophomores Ryan Hajek and Clara Teigland advanced on time in their respective races, as Hajek clocked in at 52.93 during the men's semifinal and Teigland registered the ninth-fastest time in program history (1:02.06) in the women's race.
The first day of the multi-event competitions also took place today at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Freshman Brayden Richards is currently third in the decathlon with 3786 points. He broke the 800-point mark in the 100-meter dash (10.96, 870 points), long jump (6.99 meters, 811 points), and 400-meter dash (49.44, 841 points) before tallying 621 points in the shot put (12.24 meters) and 653 points in the high jump (1.83 meters). On the women's side, freshman Sarah Reynolds and sophomore Kayla Beach are 10th (2866 points) and 11th (2740 points) following the first four events of the heptathlon. Reynolds bookended her best first day with a pair of 800-point performances in the 100-meter hurdles (15.24, 810 points) and 200-meter dash (25.48, 843 points), while adding 736 points in the high jump (1.60 meters) and 447 points in the shot put (9.19 meters). Beach's opening day total came from 834 points in the 100-meter hurdles (15.06), 771 points in the 200-meter dash (26.30), 701 points in the high jump (1.57 meters), and 434 points in the shot put (8.53 meters).
The Falcons, first in the men's standings (31) and sixth in the women's (9) after the opening day, continue action at the MW Outdoor Championships tomorrow (May 16). Richards will open the day at 9:30 a.m., while Reynolds and Beach will follow in the heptathlon at 10:00 a.m. (PT). The rest of the events will get underway at 4:00 p.m., and all events will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and MW App.
| MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONS |
| Joe Nizich, Men's Javelin Throw |
| Texas Tanner, Men's Hammer Throw |
Nizich, competing in his first meet of the season, improved his career-best distance twice during a thrilling back-and-forth battle with Utah State's Walker Deede for the conference title. The two throwers traded the lead during the first two rounds, before swapping positions on back-to-back attempts during the fourth round. Nizich recorded a career-best 67.31-meter (220'10") throw on that attempt to improve his No. 5 mark on the program's all-time standings. Deede retook the lead on the very next throw, but Nizich wasn't done – crushing his newly-minted "best" by more than two meters on his final attempt. As the penultimate thrower of the competition, he launched the javelin 69.91 meters (229'4") to retake the lead, vault into No. 2 on the Academy's all-time standings, and surpass the field by more than one meter. In addition to claiming his second-straight title, Nizich also completed a four-year stretch of never finishing lower than second at the Mountain West Championships.
Backed by a Meet Record throw of 73.23 meters (240'3"), Tanner opened the men's competition by successfully defended his conference title in the hammer throw. The junior, who would have won the meet with any of the four countable throws in his series (69.28m, 69.15m, 73.23m, 72.06m), unleashed his best throw on his third attempt – a distance that bettered the field by more than six meters and added more than two meters to a championship standard that had stood since 2003.
Cooper Stroka joined Tanner on the podium of the hammer throw, as the senior recorded a distance of 66.54 meters (218'3") to finish third, while sophomore Jonah Meyer earned a scoring finish in the javelin following a seventh-place throw of 55.42 meters (181'10").
A runner-up finish in the 10,000-meter run from sophomore Ella Johnson headlined the opening day of competition for the women. On a night that saw the longest race of the outdoor season come down to a thrilling 100-meter sprint down the homestretch and a 0.01-second decision, Johnson collected eight points for the Falcons as she crossed the finish line in a time of 34:27.50 – a mark just a hairsbreadth behind the first-place finisher (34:27.49).
Three other Falcons scored for Air Force on Thursday. The men added a pair of scoring finishes in the 10,000-meter run, as juniors Jayden Nats and Max Sannes placed seventh (29:37.56) and eighth (29:54.00), respectively, in the final event of the night. Following an eighth-place throw of 52.87 meters (173'5"), sophomore Paige Birch became the first Falcon since Sara Neubauer in 2010 to score for the women in the hammer throw,
| AIR FORCE TOP 10 MARKS |
| No. 2 - Joe Nizich, Men's Javelin Throw (69.91m, 229'5") |
| No. 9 - Clara Teigland, Women's 400-Meter Hurdles (1:02.06) |
| No. 10 (tie) - Parker Hintz, Men's 800-Meter Run (1:50.09) |
In addition to the finals, three qualifying events were contested today – with the Falcons advancing multiple athletes in every event. Senior Javin Bostic and freshman Asher Jenkins both advanced in the 200-meter dash, as Bostic won his heat in a wind-aided time of 20.95 and Jenkins used a wind-aided 21.10 to advance on time. In addition, the men and women both gained finalist spots in the 800-meter un and 400-meter hurdles. Freshman Parker Hintz equaled the 10th-fastest 800-meter time in program history (1:50.09) to finish second in his heat and gain an automatic bid into the men's final, while sophomore Camryn Bodine earned an auto bid into the women's final after placing second in her heat with a time of 2:09.48. In the hurdles, sophomores Ryan Hajek and Clara Teigland advanced on time in their respective races, as Hajek clocked in at 52.93 during the men's semifinal and Teigland registered the ninth-fastest time in program history (1:02.06) in the women's race.
The first day of the multi-event competitions also took place today at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Freshman Brayden Richards is currently third in the decathlon with 3786 points. He broke the 800-point mark in the 100-meter dash (10.96, 870 points), long jump (6.99 meters, 811 points), and 400-meter dash (49.44, 841 points) before tallying 621 points in the shot put (12.24 meters) and 653 points in the high jump (1.83 meters). On the women's side, freshman Sarah Reynolds and sophomore Kayla Beach are 10th (2866 points) and 11th (2740 points) following the first four events of the heptathlon. Reynolds bookended her best first day with a pair of 800-point performances in the 100-meter hurdles (15.24, 810 points) and 200-meter dash (25.48, 843 points), while adding 736 points in the high jump (1.60 meters) and 447 points in the shot put (9.19 meters). Beach's opening day total came from 834 points in the 100-meter hurdles (15.06), 771 points in the 200-meter dash (26.30), 701 points in the high jump (1.57 meters), and 434 points in the shot put (8.53 meters).
The Falcons, first in the men's standings (31) and sixth in the women's (9) after the opening day, continue action at the MW Outdoor Championships tomorrow (May 16). Richards will open the day at 9:30 a.m., while Reynolds and Beach will follow in the heptathlon at 10:00 a.m. (PT). The rest of the events will get underway at 4:00 p.m., and all events will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and MW App.
Players Mentioned
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Middle Distance, Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
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