May 14, 2002
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Championship Time
The San Diego State track and field team heads to Colorado Springs, Colo., this week for the 2002 McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The event will be held Wednesday, May 15-Saturday, May 18 at the Falcon Track and Field Complex on the Air Force Academy campus. In the team competition all eight conference schools will be represented on the women's side, while six squads will comprise the men's competition (SDSU and UNLV do not sponsor men's track and field).
The Schedule
The championships begin on Wednesday and Thursday with the heptathlon and decathlon. Competition is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (MDT) both days. Friday's competition begins with the men's hammer throw at 10:30 a.m., with most field events starting at noon and qualifying competition in the track events getting underway at 1 p.m. Friday's competition concludes with the men's and women's 10,000-meter runs, ending approximately at 6:15 p.m. Saturday's schedule gets underway at 10:30 a.m. with the women's hammer. The majority of the field events start at 11 a.m., with the finals in the track events commencing with the 4x100-meter relay at 1 p.m. Saturday's competition concludes with the men's and women's 4x400-meter relays at approximately 4:30 p.m. Award presentations will take place at the conclusion of competition each day.
The Format
The MWC championships will crown individual as well as team champions. Eight places in each event will be counted in the final team scoring, with points awarded in descending order as follows: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Need Tickets?
Admission to the championships on Wednesday and Thursday is free to the public. Tickets for the final two days of competition can be purchased through the Air Force Athletics Department ticket office in the Cadet Field House or at the Falcon Track and Field Complex. Prices for daily admissions are $6 for adults and $3 for high school students and children ages 17 and under.
A Year Ago
San Diego State's Choc Sportsman Oval at the SDSU Sports Deck was the site for the 2001 MWC Outdoor Championships. The Aztecs finished third at last year's league meet, scoring a school-record 148 points. Brigham Young finished in the league's top spot with 229.83 points, with Colorado State taking second (164.33). Thirty of SDSU's 148 points came from senior Aja Frary, who finished as the meet's high point scorer. Frary also won the heptathlon, scoring a school-record 5,643 points in the seven-event competition. Other highlights included senior Aimee Crabtree and junior Patricia Gutierrez finishing 1-2 in the pole vault. Aztecs' head coach Rahn Sheffield received the league's coach of the year award.
SDSU Lately
Alicia Stewart set a personal best in the 5,000-meter run on Saturday at the Oxy Invitational. Stewart covered the distance in 17:55.33, bettering her personal previous fastest time this season by 18 seconds and posting the fastest time by an Aztec athlete this year. She placed third in the 14-athlete field. Only six SDSU athletes competed in the event with all participating in the 5,000. Four of the six athletes set personal-best times. In addition to Stewart, Angie Fitzpatrick (19:20.70, Julie Amster (19:37.58) and Emily Joller (20:56.57) also set personal bests. Freshman Tina Fodor recorded the second-fastest time by an Aztec this season, clocking in at 19:20.06.
Coaching Staff
The Aztecs are led by head coach Rahn Sheffield, who is in his 11th season with the Aztec program. Sheffield is assisted by Jennifer Nanista, Richard Fox, Leslie Coons and Kristi McGihon. Nanista oversees the team's distance corps, Fox works with the pole vaulters, Coons with the throwers and McGihon handles the jumps.
In The Hep
Representing SDSU in the heptathlon competition will be Leslie Miller. The junior enters the event with the highest point total among MWC athletes this year. Her score of 5,472 points at Mt. SAC in April qualified her provisionally for nationals and is the seventh-best mark in the nation this year.
On Pace
Junior Melinda Smedley has recorded 11 top-3 finishes this season (four in the 100 meters and seven in the 200 meters) and has placed below third just once this season in the 200. Her second-place finish of 24.24 in the 200 meters at the Aztec Classic on March 23 broke a streak of three-straight first place marks, including a win in an impressive field at the USC Trojan Classic on March 2. She has four second-place clockings in the 100 meters this season. Her personal season best of 11.83 in the 100 came at the UNLV Desert Classic in April.
Sophomore Sensation
Sophomore transfer Tonette Dyer has recorded 10 top-3 finishes this season (two in the 100 meters, four in the 200 meters and four in the 400 meters). Included in that number are victories in the 200 and 400 at the Cal-Nev Championships, in the 100 and 200 at the Oregon Invitational and in the 400 at Mt. SAC.
Vaulting To Success
Freshman Shayla Balentine travels to Colorado Springs as one of the favorites in the pole vault. She has recorded eight NCAA provisional qualifying marks this season. 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 conference 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. Balentine was featured in the January 2002 issue of Track and Field News as a prize recruit.
Records Facelift
The look of SDSU's records chart has changed dramatically in several events this season. In all, the Aztecs have set 18 times and marks that rank in the school's top 10. The most impressive athlete on that list is sophomore Tonette Dyer, who recorded the school's second-fastest times in the 200 meters (23.41) and 400 meters (52.48), as well as the eighth best in the 100 meters (11.83). Dyer joins Ryan Peters, Jini Hogg and Melinda Smedley on the school's record-setting 4x100 relay team (44.77). Dyer, Hogg, Peters and Hollan Givens ran the school's second-best time in the 4x400 (3:36.82). Four new names are now listed in the pole vault category, with freshman Shayla Balentine moving into the No. 2 spot (13-0.25), junior Jesika Englebretson into the No. 4 spot (12-8.25) and Julie Hudlow and Beth Vieira taking the seventh and eight places, respectively. Senior Patricia Gutierrez is listed third with a mark of 12-9.00 she set last season. Leslie Miller's 5,472 points in the heptathlon is the second best in program history. Miller also has the school's ninth-best time in the 400 hurldes 1:00.04.
On The Books
SDSU has moved several athletes into the MWC record book this year. Tonette Dyer is listed fourth in the 100 meters (11.77), second in the 200 (23.41) and first in the 400 (52.48). Jini Hogg is listed fourth in the 400 (53.76). Shayla Balentine moved into the No. 2 spot in the pole vault with a 13-0.25 height and Jesika Englebretson is listed fourth (12-8.25). Patricia Gutierrez holds the third spot in the vault with a 12-9 clearance from last year. Leslie Miller's 5,472 points in the heptathlon rank her second. The Aztecs' 4x100 relay team now owns the MWC record with a 44.77 time and the 4x400 squad is second (3:36.82).
Leader Board
Several SDSU athletes are listed among the league's top times and marks this season. Five of the conference's 10-best marks in the 100 meters are held by Aztecs, with Tonette Dyer holding the second best (11.77). Dyer also has the league's second-best time in the 200 meters (23.41), Melinda Smedley the third best (23.99) and Jini Hogg the fourth fastest (24.09). Dyer also has the fastest clocking in the 400 meters (52.48). Leslie Miller holds the No. 3 spot in the 100 hurdles and No. 4 spot in the 400 hurdles, with times of 14.00 and 1:00.04, respectively. Miller also holds the league's highest-point total in the heptathlon (5,472). SDSU's 4x100 relay squad has the fastest time in the league (44.77), with the 4x400 quartet being listed second (3:36.82). Pole vaulters Shayla Balentine and Jesika Englebretson and Patricia Gutierrez are ranked 1-2-3, respectively. Alicia Stewart and Allison Brown are 2-3 in the 3,000 meters.
Under Consideration
SDSU athletes have set 15 NCAA provisional qualifying marks thus far this season, with the most recent coming in the pole vault at the Steve Scott Invite on May 5. The Aztecs have set provisional qualifiers in the 4x100 (44.77) and 4x400 (3:36.82). 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) at Mt. SAC. Three SDSU pole vaulters, Shayla Balentine, Patricia Gutierrez and Jesika Englebretson, have cleared a provisional mark at least twice this season. Leslie Miller's 5,472 points in the heptathlon at Mt. SAC 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 17th and ninth best this year. The team's time in the 4x100 (44.77) is the 23rd fastest, to go along with the 25th best in the 4x400 (3:36.82). Shayla Balentine's 13-0.25 mark in the pole vault is 18th best. Leslie Miller's 5,472 point in the heptathlon ranks her seventh.
Aztec Honors
Leslie Miller's performance in the heptathlon at at Mt. SAC earned her Mountain West Conference athlete of the week honors. 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.