Jan. 15, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The 2003 San Diego State track and field season officially gets underway for six Aztec pole vaulters this weekend, when they travel to Reno, Nev., Jan. 17-18, for the Pole Vault Summit, sponsored by UCS Spirit and USA Track and Field.
SDSU's Shayla Balentine (Los Osos, Calif.), Marissa Earle (San Diego, Calif.), Jesika Englebretson (Salinas, Calif.), Julie Hudlow (San Diego, Calif.), Shanon Meyer (Hesperia, Calif.) and Beth Vieira (San Diego, Calif.) will be among 1,000 pole vaulters in attendance at the annual event, which includes a seminar on Friday and the competition on Saturday.
The summit will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Reno, and features eight pole vault pits running simultaneously for Saturday's competition, which is an NCAA qualifying meet.
A year ago, Balentine finished seventh in the top women's collegiate division, while former teammate Tricia Gutierrez placed fourth in the second division. Both Balentine and Gutierrez cleared a school indoor record 12-9 ? in their first competitions of the year.
The rest of the Aztec women's track and field team will kick off its season at the Mountain T's Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz., Saturday, Feb. 8.