March 15, 2002
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Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
Two weeks after being in Los Angeles for the USC Trojan Invitational the San Diego State track and field program returns to "The City of Angels" to square off against Southern California on Sunday in the Trojan Classic. Fans will get to see their share of top-notch track and field action on the day, with the USC men's team hosting NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Champion Tennessee and Big Ten power Iowa. Running events being at 11:30 a.m. with the decathlon 100-meter dash, while throwing events begin with the women's hammer at 9 a.m. at West L.A. College. Field events begin at 11:30 a.m. with the women's pole vault.
Recapping The Ben Brown Invitational
Three Aztec pole vaulters set NCAA provisional marks and five SDSU athletes took home first-place honors at the Ben Brown Invitational in Fullerton last Saturday. Tallying first-place finishes for SDSU were Melinda Smedley in the 200 meters (24.13), Tonnette Dyer in the 400 meters (55.45), Leslie Miller in the 400-meter hurdles (60.55), Shayla Balentine in the pole vault (12-05.50) and Ryan Peters in the second section of the 100 hurdles (14.94). SDSU finished 1-2-3 in the pole vault with Jesika Englebretson (second) and Tricia Gutierrez (third) vaulting indentical marks of 12-05.50. The 12-05.50 marks in the vault are NCAA provisional qualifiers.
Quick Out Of The Blocks
Junior Melinda Smedley has gotten off to a quick start this outdoor season. The Stockton native has placed first in the 200-meter dash the last two weekends, racing to a time of 23.60 at the USC Trojan Invite on March 2 before finishing in 24.13 last weekend in Fullerton. She also placed second (12.08) in the 100 meters at the Trojan Invite. Her times in the 100 (12.08) and 200 (23.60) are the best by an Aztec this season. She also ran the team's fastest times in the 55 meters (7.23), 60 meters (7.66) and 200 meters (24.34) during the indoor season.
Vaulting To Success
Competition in the pole vault pit provided plenty of excitment during SDSU's indoor season. On Jan. 12, two Aztecs, senior Tricia Gutierrez and freshman Shayla Balentine, set school records and NCAA provisional marks at the National Pole Vault Summit, in Reno. Balentine and Gutierrez both vaulted 3.90 meters (12-09.50). At the Wolf Pack Invitational, on Feb. 2, Gutierrez set another NCAA provisional mark with a 3.82-meter (12-06.25) second-place vault. Balentine came in third in the competition (3.72m/12-02.25). Gutierrez's school-record mark bested the record of 12-07.50 she set last season. Balentine continued her success at the MWC indoor championships two weeks ago, winning the league title with a 12-07.25 (3.84m) MWC record mark.
Aztec Honors
Senior Tricia Gutierrez's school record and NCAA provisional vault at the National Pole Vault Summit earned her Mountain West Conference indoor track athlete of the week honors for the period ending Jan. 14. The occasion marked her first career athlete of the week award.
Indoor League Leaders
Several Aztecs closed out the indoor season listed among the top-5 best times and marks this season in the Mountain West Conference. Senior Tricia Gutierrez and freshman Shayla Balentine are tied for second in the pole vault with a 12-09.50 mark. Junior Jesika Englebretson was fifth in the vault (12-01.25). Junior Melinda Smedley and sophomore Tonnette Dyer were third (24.34) and fourth (24.42), respectively, in the 200-meter dash. Junior Jini Hogg was fifth (55.91) in the 400-meter dash. Junior Leslie Miller has the league's fifth-best score in the pentathlon (3,486).
The Outdoor Season At A Glance
On March 23, SDSU will host The Aztec Track and Field Classic, the first of two home meets for the team in 2002. The following weekend the squad will be in Fresno, Calif., for the Cal-Nevada State meet before participating in the UNLV Invitational on April 6. On April 13 the program will host the All-Women Invitational. All home meets are held at the Choc Sportsman Oval at the SDSU Sports Deck. The Sports Deck features a state-of-the-art Mondo track surface.