U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY - Air Force's Tim Fritz got the first full day of the McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships off to a record-setting start Friday at Air Force's track.

Fritz, a junior, shattered the conference's all-time record in the javelin with a mark of 218-feet on his last throw. Technically, he broke the old record of 200-feet, 5-inches twice as he already recorded a distance of 213-feet, 3-inches earlier in the competition.

Fritz' first-place finish in the event was just one of three first place finishes for Air Force athletes. Senior David Romero won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:21.42. In the 10,000 meters, sophomore Ben Payne, who won the 5,000-meter indoor title, came in first with a clocking of 31:27.55. The time was 20 seconds better than BYU's Mark Nevers who finished in second.

However, Colorado State came away with the men's team lead with 70 points with the Falcons in second with 58. BYU, the favorite to successfully defend its team title, was in third with 54 points followed by New Mexico (42), Wyoming (37) and Utah (11).

The Rams' largest point totals in the six final events contested Friday came in the shot put and the hammer throw. Junior Jeremy Graff won the shot put (58-feet, 8 ½-inches) while teammates Adam Trainor finished third and James Cale seventh. In the hammer throw, Trainor won the event (188-feet, 5-inches) while Graff and Cale finished second and fifth, respectively.

In the women's competition, BYU, which has gone undefeated as a team in this outdoor championship, built a commanding first-day lead with 75 points. Utah was a distant second with 39 points followed by Colorado State (37), New Mexico (27), Wyoming (20), San Diego State (14), Air Force (12) and UNLV (10).

The Cougar women captured two first places during the competition. Senior Nikki Hughes won the long jump with a meet-record leap of 20-feet, 11 ½ inches. The old record of 20-feet, 10 ½ inches was set by her former teammate Kristin Blom last year. Sophomore Micheala Mannova won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a clocking of 10:46.14.

The meet concludes Saturday. The women's hammer throw begins the competition at 10:30 am MDT. And the first running even is scheduled for 1 p.m.