Flying high again – The SIU Carbondale Flying Salukis captured a 10th consecutive National Intercollegiate Flying Association regional title with a dominating performance Oct. 13-16. Coach Nathan Lincoln, a senior lecturer in aviation management and flight in the School of Aviation, is in the fourth row, far left. (Photos provided)
October 19, 2021
Make it 10: Flying Salukis head to nationals after another dominating regional performance
CARBONDALE, Ill. — After a season in the virtual world, the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Flying Salukis took to the air this past week and turned in a dominating performance to capture a 10th consecutive National Intercollegiate Flying Association Region VIII competition.
Taking both the ground and flight event divisions and having three of the top four scoring contestants, the team handily won the Oct. 13-16 event at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana and will advance to national competition for a 52nd time in 53 years.
With half of the 18-member team among the top 16 scorers, SIU finished with 352 1/2 points, more than double second-place Lewis University. Purdue University was third. The national finals will be in May at The Ohio State University Airport in Columbus, Ohio.
Results are available on the NIFA website.
Dominating performance
The Flying Salukis won seven of the 10 events and every team member that competed placed in the top 10 in at least one event. Coach Nathan J. Lincoln, a senior lecturer in aviation management and flight in the School of Aviation, called the performance a “total team effort” that “truly shows the quality of the team and team members.”
“I am extremely proud of every one of them for their performance in our first in-person competition in two years,” he said. “This is a team that had a majority of members that had never competed or only competed virtually last year. They were able to come together and help each other perform at their best for this regionals.”
Co-captain Benjamin Morris was the top scorer with teammate Wendy Elliott finishing second and Thomas Edgar placing fourth. Elliott, a junior in aviation management and flight from Boulder, Colorado, won three events with Morris, a junior in aviation management and flight, winning two events. Edgar, a sophomore in piano performance and aviation flight from St. Charles, Illinois, won short field landing and Grant Gillespie, a freshman in aviation management and flight from Fort Worth, Texas, won the aircraft recognition event and placed 19th overall.
As a team, the squad placed:
- Five of the top seven scorers in both aircraft recognition and computer accuracy.
- Five of the top six (second through sixth) in SCAN, or simulated comprehensive aircraft recognition.
- Five of the top eight in message drop.
- Five of the top nine in short field landing.
- Five of the top 10 in power-off landing.
- Top three finishers in traditional navigation.
Youngsters came through
The 18-member team has just four seniors and will lose just one, Maxwell Hamilton, an aviation management major who graduates in December, for the national competition next spring. Hamilton tied for sixth in scoring with 39 points.
After last year’s virtual regional and nationals, competing in person “led to a lot of team member motivation,” Lincoln said.
“The excitement of going and being able to network with other teams and industry representatives is what these competitions are about,” he said. “Aviation is a small community and our members graduate and meet other competitors their entire career.”
After SIU’s top four scorers, other Flying Salukis who scored points, with year in school, hometown, points and overall placing were:
- Derrick Crider, junior, aviation flight and economics, Wheaton, Illinois, 34 points, eighth place.
- Dayne Snodgrass, sophomore, aviation management, Byron, Illinois, 17 points, 12th place.
- Angelina Kapp, co-captain, senior, aviation technologies, aviation flight and environmental sustainability, Western Springs, Illinois, 16 points, tied for 13th place.
- Sydney Reijmer, senior, aviation management and flight, Barrington, Illinois, 16 points, tied for 13th place.
- Samuel Cogan, junior, aviation management, Alton, Illinois, 12 1/2 points, 16th place.
- Grant Gillespie, freshman, aviation management and flight, Fort Worth, Texas, 10 points, tied for 19th place.
- Krzysztof Skubisz, junior, economics and aviation flight, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, 8 1/2 points, tied for 25th place.
- Matteus Thompson, junior, aviation technologies and aviation flight, Cincinnati, Ohio, 8 1/2 points, tied for 25th place.
- Noah Ciocca, sophomore, aviation management and flight, Morton, Illinois, eight points, tied for 27th place.
- Amelia Anderson, junior, aviation management and flight, Johnston City, Illinois, five points, tied for 34th place.
- Dale Miller, sophomore, aviation management and flight, Highland, Illinois, four points, tied for 35th place.
- Joshua Weyers, senior, aviation management and flight, Canton, Illinois, 4 points, tied for 35th place.
Additional Flying Salukis with hometowns, year in school and majors are:
- Amelia Anderson, junior, aviation management and flight, Johnston City, Illinois.
- Joseph Ermel, sophomore, aviation technologies and aviation flight, Downers Grove, Illinois.
- Matthew Shaw, freshman, aviation flight, Springfield, Illinois.
Assistant coaches, university support play key roles
Lincoln credited assistant coaches Robert Kay, Mike LeFevre, Matthew Santos, Gavin Voris – all assistant instructors in the School of Aviation and Flying Saluki alumni – in helping get a young team ready to compete.
“Without their help preparing a team none of our success is possible,” he said, also crediting university officials for their continuing support.
“Their support allows us to showcase our amazing program and students,” Lincoln said.
On the horizon
The nine-time national champions dating back to 1977 will look to continue to build on the program’s legacy in the spring. The team has finished third or higher in the nation in each of the last 10 years, including national titles in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
Ben Morris
Thomas Edgar