April 25, 2002
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This Week
The San Diego State track and field program will split this Saturday, with the majority of the team traveling to Eugene, Ore., for the Oregon Invitational and the rest heading across town for the UC San Diego Invitational. The Oregon Invite has a day and evening session with most of SDSU's athletes competing in the evening. The meet's morning session gets underway at 10:15 a.m. with the men's discus. The evening session is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. with the women's hammer. Twenty-nine collegiate teams are scheduled to compete in the meet.
SDSU Lately
Noting the Mt. SAC Relays
* SDSU recorded 13 top-five finishes, set two NCAA provisional-qualifying marks in the 4x400-meter relay and had three athletes set career bests at last weekend's Mt. San Antonio College Relays.
* Highlighting action on Sunday, was the 4x400 relay team of Jini Hogg, Tonette Dyer, Hollann Givens and Ryan Peters, which ran to a fifth-place and NCAA provisional time of 3:37.27.
* Sunday was a busy day for Hogg and Dyer, with Hogg recording a first-place finish in the 200 meters (24.09) and Dyer a top finish in the 400 meters (52.48). Dyer's time in the 400 is an NCAA provisional mark and the fastest by an Aztec this season. The pair were also part of Sunday's relay squad that placed first in the 4x100 with a time of 45.48.
* Competition on Saturday, saw Hogg set a personal best of 54.32 in the 400 meters, good for second place in Heat B. Givens also set a career best in the 400 meters (55.43).
* Aztec pole vaulters Jesika Englebretson and Shayla Balentine placed fourth and seventh, respectively, on Saturday. Both cleared 11-11.75 (3.65m), with Englebretson taking fourth with fewer misses.
Noting the Mt. SAC Hepthalon
* Leslie Miller threw a personal best in the javelin on Friday to finish in fourth place in the Mt. SAC Heptathlon. Her seven-event total of 5,472 gives her the seventh-best mark in the nation this season and third-best all-time in the SDSU record book. That mark also qualifies her provisionally for nationals.
* Miller, who picked up 2,270 points in day two of the competition, threw the javelin a distance of 132-10, the best by an Aztec this season. She also leaped a distance of 18-6 in the long jump and ran the 800 meters in 2:17.93.
* Friday's strong finish came on the heels of an outstanding showing on Thursday, in which Miller set PRs in three events. The career bests came in the 100 hurdles (14.12), 200 meters (25.23) and high jump (5-3.25). She also threw the shot a distance of 37-8.75. Looking Ahead On May 5, the squad travels to Irvine for the Steve Scott Invitational. The team wraps up the regular season at the Oxy Invite, on May 11.
Under Consideration
The Aztecs' NCAA provisional mark in the 4x400 this past weekend is the 12th consideration mark set by SDSU this season. The Aztecs' "A" relay squad had already set qualifying marks in the 4x100 and 4x400 at the Cal-Nevada meet in March. Tonette Dyer, a member of both those relay squads, ran an NCAA provisional mark in the 200 meters at the UNLV Desert Classic. Dyer also raced to a provisional time of 53.37 in the 400 meters at the Cal-Nevada Championships and set another in the 400 (52.48) this past weekend. Three SDSU pole vaulters, Shayla Balentine, Patricia Gutierrez and Jesika Englebretson, have cleared a provisional mark at least once this season. Leslie Miller's 5,472 points in the heptathlon this week was also a provisional mark.
Among The National Leaders
Several Aztecs are listed among the top times and marks in the nation this season. Tonette Dyer's time in the 200 meters (23.41) and 400 meters (52.48) are the ninth and sixth best this season. The team's time in the 4x100 (44.77) is the 18th fastest, to go along with the 16th best in the 4x400 (3:36.82). Shayla Balentine's 13-0.25 mark in the pole vault is 14th best. Leslie Miller's 5,472 points in the heptathlon ranks her seventh.
Aztec Honors
Leslie Miller's performance in the heptathlon this past weekend earned her Mountain West Conference player of the week honors. This is Miller's first career athlete of the week award. She is the third Aztec to be honored by the league this season, with sprinter Tonette Dyer being recognized earlier this month and pole vaulter Patricia Gutierrez being selected during the indoor season.
Vaulting To Success
Freshman Shayla Balentine recorded her seventh NCAA provisional qualifying mark of the season in the pole vault at the All-Women Invite on April 13. Her first-place mark of 3.97 meters (13-00.25) at the Aztec Classic on March 23 was her fourth NCAA provisional vault in as many meets and tied her best this season. The 13-00.25 mark places her second all-time in SDSU's record book. The mark also puts her atop the Mountain West Conference's list of bests in the event this season. Included in her four-meet NCAA mark streak is winning the MWC's indoor title at the league championships in February with a MWC record vault of 3.84 meters (12-07.50). Earlier in the indoor season she set the SDSU indoor record in the vault with a 3.90 meter (12-09.50) mark at the National Pole Vault Summit in Reno.