graduation issue 10 FINAL3.qxp - United States Air Force Academy

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20 GRADUATION 2010 May 26, 2010 Athletes earn 2010 ‘most valuable’ honors By Athletic Communications Men’s Cross Country: Junior Justin Tyner had a standout season for the Falcons, earning all-conference and all-region honors, as well as a berth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The junior picked up the program’s best finish at the national meet since 2004, as he placed 71st among 250 of the nation’s top runners. Tyner was the top-finishing Air Force runner in four meets. Pacing Air Force at both the 8K and 10K distances, Tyner was an all-conference (third-place) and allregion (fifth-place) selection. In addition, he recorded strong finishes at the Pre- Nationals (21st) and Roy Griak (fifth) Invitational, while earning MWC Athlete of the Week honors. Women’s Cross Country: Senior Ally Romanko was the Falcons’ top finisher in every meet she competed in this season, including the Pre-Nationals Meet and NCAA Regional Championships. Her Pre- Nationals time of 22:24.1 was the fastest 6K time on the team in 2009, while she also accounted for the fastest 4K time (15:29.02) at the season-opening UCCS Rust Buster Invitational. Romanko finished fourth at the Rust Buster to guide the women to a first-place finish in the team standings. Football Overall MVP: Senior Ben Garland was named second-team all-MWC while leading the team in sacks with 4.5 and tackles for loss with 10.5. He ranked ninth in the MWC in tackles for loss with .81 per game and had at least one TFL in nine of 13 games this season. Garland also blocked two kicks (FGs vs. New Mexico and BYU) to lead the team. Photo by John Van Winkle Ben Garland Football Most Valuable Offensive Player: Senior Peter Lusk was a secondteam all-MWC selection while leading an offensive line that was one of the strengths of the team. Air Force won its 26th conference rushing title in 2009, while finishing third nationally in rushing with an average of 283.5 yards per game. Football Most Valuable Defensive Player: Senior Chris Thomas helped lead one of the top defenses in school history. An honorable mention all-MWC selection, Thomas recorded a team and seasonhigh 12 tackles, a tackle for loss and two interceptions vs. Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl. He was second on the team in interceptions with five and closed his career with 18 career turnovers (8 INT, 3 FF, 7 FR). Football Most Valuable Lineman/ Special Teams Player: Senior punter Brandon Geyer was an honorable mention Photo byMike Kaplan Brandon Geyer all-MWC selection. He finished fourth in the MWC and 24th nationally in punting with a 43.0 yard per game average. He led the conference and was sixth nationally in net punting with a 39.5 average. Geyer earned MWC player of the week honors vs. Army while averaging 48.2 yards on six punts, including a 46.7 net average. Men’s Soccer: Kevin Rosser, a senior from San Jose, Calif., started all 15 games he played in during the 2009 season. He finished second on the team in scoring with 11 points on three goals and five assists. His five assists tied for the team lead. Rosser had one game-winning goal, a penalty kick in a 1-0 victory over New Mexico. He was second on the team in total shots with 33 and tied for second with 10 shots on goal. Rosser earned first-team all-MPSF honors in 2009. Women’s Soccer: Sophomore defender Cassie Wilson was named Air Force women’s soccer team MVP. Wilson, a native of Spring, Texas, was one of four Falcons to start all 18 games on the season. Wilson was Air Force’s lead defender, assigned the role of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Water Polo: Senior Alex Churnside was named the Air Force water polo MVP for the 2009 season. Churnside, named an honorable mention All-American during his final campaign, finished the year ranked second on the team with 86 points, including a team-best 49 assists. He ended his career as the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 276 career points. In addition, he ranks second all-time at the Academy with 131 career assists and is third in career steals with 198. A firstteam All-WWPA honoree, Churnside was also the winner of the team’s Most Inspirational Award. Volleyball: Junior Nichole Stilwell, who played in every set this year for the Falcons, led the squad in hitting percentage (.236) and ranked second kills per set (2.57), solo blocks (10), assisted blocks (49), total blocks (59) and points (284.50). She became the first Air Force player since 2003 to earn the Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week award after a stellar weekend (3.57 kills, 1.00 blocks, .455 hitting percentage) at the Sugar Bear Classic. She was a two-time all-tournament team selection, claiming the honors at the Sugar Bear Classic and LaSalle Tournaments. Men’s Basketball: Grant Parker, a senior forward from Aurora, Colo., led the team by averaging 12.7 points per game and finished second on the squad with 4.4 rebounds per game. He missed 10 games this season due to an injury, but scored in double figures in 10 of his 14 games since returning to the team. He notched a careerhigh 26 points in the season opener against Western State, the most points by an Air Force player in a season-opening game since 1997. He had the first double-double of his career with 25 points and 11 rebounds against Charleston Southern and also had a double-double at Missouri State with 15 points and 10 boards. Photo by J. Rachel Spencer Raimee Beck Women’s Basketball: Junior guard Raimee Beck, a native of Blackfoot, Idaho, led Air Force in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Beck, who earned All-Mountain West Conference Honorable Mention honors, set an Air Force Division I era record with 405 points on the season. She also led the team in three-point baskets, free-throws made, attempted and percentage, and minutes per game. Beck also tied the all-time school record with 173 career three-point baskets. She became the 12th player in school history to reach the 1,000 career point mark. Beck is the first junior to reach the mark in the Div. I era. Men’s Fencing: Michael O’Connor was the Falcons’ men’s saber senior team leader. While at the Academy, he earned all-region honors four times and amassed a 105-89 collegiate record. He is a four-time MWC Scholar Athlete in astronautical engineering (2006-2009). He has received the team’s outstanding academic performance award four times. He was a seventime men’s saber open champion and a 2007 NCAA qualifier (24th). He has made the dean’s list and commandant’s all seven semesters, athletics and superintendant’s five times each. He was the 2009 and 2010 men’s team captain. Women’s Fencing: Senior Jennifer Nolta of Reston, Va. was the 2010 women’s team captain. She took the women’s epee team to a combined 57 wins at both the Brandeis and Duke meets. She concluded her Academy career with five top-10 finishes at the Nick Toth Open, the Falcon Open, the New Mexico Open and the Amarillo Open. Men’s Gymnastics: Nash Mills completed his remarkable comeback from a season-ending injury as a freshman to become a two-time USAG champion as a junior. Mills claimed USAG national titles in the all-around and on the parallel bars to lead the Falcons to their first-ever USAG team title. Mills set the Academy record on Photo by Johnny Wilson Nash Mills the parallel bars, while holding the program’s vault record for part of the season. The team leader on the parallel bars, high bar and all-around, Mills was a two-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week, while claiming a pair of national honors from the College Gymnastics Association. Women’s Gymnastics: Jenna Dudley had a stellar sophomore season, en route to becoming the youngest Falcon to earn the team’s top honor since 2000. She earned career-best marks on the vault (9.800, twice), balance beam (9.750, twice), floor exercise (9.825) and all-around (38.850), while recording a season-best 9.700 on the uneven bars. Dudley claimed a pair of USAG All-America honors (all-around, uneven bars), while becoming the first Air Force athlete to earn the vault title at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. She was a two-time MPSF Gymnast of the Week, a three-time allconference selection and a participant at the NCAA Regional Championships. Hockey: Senior goaltender Andrew Volkening earned the Chuck Delich Award Photo by Mike Kaplano Andrew Volkening as the hockey team’s MVP. This award, voted on by the team, is named after the Falcons’ all-time leading scorer and program’s third head coach. Volkening is only the second player in school history to earn the MVP award three straight years (goaltender Kim Newman in 1969, 1970 and 1971 is the other). This season, Volkening led an inexperienced Falcon team to its fourth straight winning season and a third-place finish in the Atlantic Hockey Association. He holds nearly every goaltending record at the Air Force Academy, including season and career wins, season and career saves percentage, season and career goals-against average and season and career shutouts. A secondteam all-conference selection this season,
May 26, 2010 he was among the league leaders with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .918 saves percentage. Volkening became the fourth Falcon in as many years to compete in the NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge. As one of two male goaltenders on the West Team, Volkening did not allow a goal in two separate events as the West team was victorious over the East. Tom Chandler File Photo Rifle: Senior Thomas Chandler finished the season with a 2558.6 aggregate in the fall, winter and spring air gun championships and finished 13th at the 2009 Winter Air Gun Championships in December 2009. He went on to a ninthplace finish at the World Air Gun Team tryouts. AFA’s top shooter in the 2010 NCAA Qualifier match against TCU (588/600 air rifle; 580 in smallbore) and had the team’s highest scores in both guns versus The Citadel with a 588 in air rifle and 581 in smallbore. Chandler also broke two school team records during the President’s Trophy Match at West Point and had the highest aggregate air rifle score for an AFA shooter with a 592/600 and the highest overall score of the match. He also had the highest total aggregate of 1,178, previously set in 2006. Boxing: Senior Cory Tintzman capped off an impressive Air Force career with his first National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) national title. Competing in the 195-pound weight class, Tintzman posted a perfect 9-0 record on the season. Highlighting his undefeated year was his third Wing Open title, his third NCBA regional title and his third NCBA All- America selection. Tintzman, who served as the team captain during both the regular season and championship season, collected eight wins against NCBA opponents and was selected as the Academy’s Boxer of the Week on four occasions. Men’s Swimming: Junior Benjamin Gunn was named the Air Force men’s swimming MVP for the second straight season. For the second-consecutive year, Gunn garnered all conference honors in three individual events. He defended his Mountain West Conference title in the 200 IM with a school and conference-record time of 1:47.22. In addition, Gunn, a twotime All-MWC performer in the butterfly events, competed in the backstroke events this season, finishing as the conference runner-up in both the 100 and 200 back. His mark of 48.64 in the 100 backstroke was a school record, while his time of 1:46.28 in the 200 back was just one one-hundredth off the Air Force record. Gunn, who now owns four school records, posted NCAA ‘B’ marks in all three of his individual events at the MWC Championships. He also earned all-conference honors on three relays (200 medley, 400 medley and 400 GRADUATION 2010 21 free), recording NCAA provisional times in each of those events as well. Women’s Swimming: Sophomore Katharine Ernst was named the Air Force women’s swimming MVP for the 2009- 10 season. Ernst earned a pair of all-conference accolades in her first year as an All-MWC performer, placing fourth in the 100 butterfly and seventh in the 200 fly. Her time of 56.10 in the 100 fly ranks as the third-fastest in Academy history. Meanwhile, she clocked a time of 2:03.54 in the 200 fly, which is nearly one second faster than the previous school record, and now ranks third on the Air Force top-10 list. Wrestling: Freshman Cole VonOhlen, the Falcons’ starter at 141 pounds, was chosen as the 2009-10 Air Force wrestling team MVP. The lone Air Force representative at the NCAA Championships this season, VonOhlen finished his rookie campaign with a 31-9 overall record. Ranked 18th in the nation at 141 pounds, at the conclusion of the regular season, VonOhlen brought home a second-place finish at the 2010 NCAA West Regional to earn second-team All-WWC honors. He was also the unanimous choice at WWC Freshman of the Year, as voted on by the league’s coaches. In addition, VonOhlen was the recipient of the team’s Most Falls Award, winning 12 matches by fall this season. Baseball: Senior first baseman Addison Gentry was named Air Force baseball team MVP. Heading into the final weekend of baseball action, Gentry led the Falcons with 11 home runs, .339 batting average, .643 slugging percentage and 30 walks in 43 games played. He also leads the team by batting .338 in Mountain West Conference play, hitting six homers and posting 23 RBIs. He ranks among the MWC top 10 in eight categories. The lefthander ranks in the Air Force top 10 alltime in games played, doubles, hits, RBIs and walks. Photo by Bill Evans Ridge Flick Lacrosse: Senior Ridge Flick, a starting attackman for the past two seasons, was chosen as the 2010 Air Force lacrosse team MVP. One of the Falcons’ team captains, Flick ranked second on the team in points (27) and assists (12) for the 2010 season. Present on the field nearly every minute of every game, Flick was a leader off the field as well, holding the team’s highest GPA as an aeronautical engineering major, while also being named one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Golf: Senior Tom Whitney was selected as the 2009-10 Air Force golf team MVP. A two-time All-Mountain West Conference selection, Whitney ended the regular season with a school-record 71.41 season stroke average. In addition to winning the Triumph at Pauma Valley in March, Whitney posted five top-three finishes, seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10 finishes on the season. Whitney, one of the top 100 collegiate golfers in the nation, was also named one of six finalists for the prestigious Byron Nelson Award. For the second-straight season, Whitney was also selected to compete in an NCAA Regional. Men’s Tennis: Lance Wilhelm, a freshman from Gig Harbor, Wash., led the Falcons with 20 overall singles wins and 13 dual match wins in 2009-10. All of his 13 dual match wins were at the No. 1 position, the most at that spot by a Falcon since Shannon Buck had 18 in 2006. Wilhelm opened the season with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Yannick Weihs of Denver, the Mountain Region’s second-ranked player, and posted AFA’s first singles victory over BYU since 2006 with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2) victory over Evan Urbina in his first career MWC match. Women’s Tennis: Christen Monreal, a junior from San Antonio, Texas, played the majority of the 2009-10 season at No. 1 singles. She tied for fourth on the team with two singles victories against MWC opponents, winning the No. 1 match against New Mexico and Colorado State. She posted 18 overall singles wins and won 10 matches at the No. 1 position. She was also second on the team with 20 doubles wins. Photo by Mike Kaplan Nick Frawley Men’s Track and Field: Senior Nick Frawley won his second indoor pole vault title in February, leading the Falcons to the top two places at the annual conference meet. An NCAA provisional qualifier, Frawley set a season-best, team-leading clearance of 17’7¾” at the Don Barrett Duals. During the indoor season, Frawley was a two-time Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week, while winning the pole vault outright in three meets and finishing as the top collegiate vaulter in two others. During the outdoor season, Frawley placed first at the Military Championships with a meet record clearance. Despite being hampered by injury, the senior leads the Falcons, and is currently ranked second in the conference, with a season-best clearance of 17’4½”. He claimed all-conference honors in at the outdoor conference championships, behind a third-place finish. Women’s Indoor Track and Field: Senior Sara Neubauer saved her best for last, setting four Academy records, winning four Mountain West Conference titles and pacing the women’s team to its first-ever Military Championship team title. During the indoor season, Neubauer improved her own Academy standard in the shot put during six of 10 meets, while breaking the program standard in the weight throw and upping that mark on four more occasions. With conference championships in the shot put and weight throw, Neubauer became the first MWC athlete to sweep the Photo by Mike Kaplan Sara Neubauer throwing titles since 2006. Neubauer capped off her indoor season with a 15th-place finish in the shot put at the NCAA Championships. Neubauer’s success continued into the outdoor season, as she increased her own Academy records in the shot put and hammer throw. Highlighted by three meet records, the senior won all four throwing titles at the Military Championships to lead the Falcons to their first-ever team title. Neubauer went on to win two outdoor conference titles, taking first in the shot put and discus throw. A team captain, Neubauer also finished third in the hammer throw and javelin throw at the conference meet, becoming the first MWC athlete ever (male or female) to earn all-conference honors in all four throwing events. Men’s Track and Field Outstanding Competitor: Junior Justin Tyner, who earlier this year was named the MVP of the cross country team, continued his breakout season on the track. Tyner claimed All- America status at the NCAA Indoor Championships, as he finished third in the 5000-meter run. In addition to finishing as the top American runner in that event, Tyner posted the Falcons’ best finish in a track event at the national championships since 1984. Tyner became a MWC champion during the indoor season, as he won the 3000-meter run with the third fastest time in conference history. Tyner also claimed indoor all-conference honors in the 5000-meter run, with a second-place finish in that race. He set Academy records in the indoor 5000-meter run, the outdoor 1500-meter run and the outdoor 5000meter run, while posting the second fastest time in program history in the 3000-meter steeplechase. An all-conference honoree at the 5000-meter distance at the outdoor meet, Tyner is ranked among the nation’s elite in all three of his races. Women’s Track and Field Outstanding Competitor: Senior Ally Romanko, the most valuable runner of the 2010 women’s cross country team, made several impacts on the track and field record books this year. Romanko set the Academy record in the 800-meter run during the indoor season, while recording the second-fastest time ever at that distance during the outdoor season and moving into fifth in the 1500-meter run. She also ran a leg of the third-fastest 4x400-meter relay team in Academy history. She won the 800- and 1500-meter races at the Military Track and Field Championships, helping Air Force to win its first-ever team title. She also scored for the Falcons in the 800-meter run at the MWC Championships, placing fifth at the indoor meet and eighth at the outdoor meet.
Page 1 and 2: 52nd GRADUATING CLASS OF THE UNITED
Page 3 and 4: May 26, 2010 Academy Public Affairs
Page 5 and 6: May 26, 2010 By Academy Spirit Staf
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Page 9 and 10: May 26, 2010 Not Forgotten:In memor
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Page 13 and 14: May 26, 2010 Squadron 1 Tyner Apt A
Page 15 and 16: May 26, 2010 Squadron 21 Edison Abe
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graduation issue 10 FINAL3.qxp - United States Air Force Academy

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