April 12, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's track and field team won just six of the meet's 20 events, but still managed to pull out a victory Saturday at the 2003 California-Nevada State Collegiate Championships, held at the SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs earned the team title for the second time in the last three years, recording 159 points, while UCLA (124.5 pts.) and Nevada (123) placed second and third. On the men's side, the Bruins successfully defended their team title from a year ago, beating out Cal State Northridge (100 pts.) and Fresno State (77.5).
Aztec senior Melinda Smedley (Stockton, Calif.) was named the most valuable female athlete of the meet after winning the 100 and 200-meter dash and running on both of the first place relays. SDSU head coach Rahn Sheffield also was named the 2003 Cal-Nevada Coach of the Year. Cal State Northridge sprinter Hung Nguyen and UCLA head coach Art Venegas earned honors on the men's side.
Despite not scoring any points in the three events completed on Friday, San Diego State entered the day in good position after recording the top preliminary time in six running events in day one action. The Aztecs would go on to win four of those six events Saturday and also record first-place finishes in two others, scoring all but 32 of their 159 points in the track events.
The SDSU 4x100-meter relay kicked off the day by winning the event in a season-best of 45.20, the fifth-fastest time in school history. The Aztecs continued to show their strength in the sprint events, as the team swept the top two spots in both the 100 and 400 and the top three in the 200 meters. Smedley won the 100 in 11.75 and the 200 in 23.87, while teammate Nicole Ireland (Las Vegas, Nev.) knocked more than a second off her preliminary time to win the 400 meters in 53.38.
Other top performances in the track events went to the winning 4x400-meter relay of Smedley, junior Tonette Dyer (Shreveport, La.), Ireland and freshman Bianca McNair (Portland, Ore.), which finished in 3:36.80 and freshman Jamillah Titus (American Canyon, Calif.), who ran her fastest time of the season in the 800 meters (2:08.90), to place second with her second NCAA regional qualifying effort in the event in as many days.
In the field events, freshman Shanon Meyer (Hesperia, Calif.) pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the day for the Aztecs by taking first in the long jump competition with a team season-best of 19-00.75, to rank her eighth on the SDSU Career Top 10.
San Diego State will head north for next weekend's competition, traveling to the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., April 16-19.
Women's Final Team Scoring
1. SDSU, 159 pts; 2. UCLA, 124.5; 3. Nevada, 123; 4. Cal State Northridge, 93; 5. UC Irvine, 48; 6. Stanford, 44.5; 7. Fresno State, 43; 8. UC Riverside, 36; 9. CSU Dominguez Hills, 33; 9. CSU Fullerton, 33.
Men's Final Team Scoring (Top 10)
1. UCLA, 214 pts.; 2. Cal State Northridge, 100; 3. Fresno State, 77.5; 4. Long Beach State, 71.5; 5. Cal State Fullerton, 69; 6. UC Irvine, 47; 7. Cal State Bakersfield, 31; 8. Cal Poly Pomona, 29; 9. Claremont-Mudd, 25; 10. UC Riverside, 24; 10. UC Santa Barbara, 24.
Individual Awards Most Valuable Female Athlete: Melinda Smedley, SDSU
Women's Head Coach of the Year: Rahn Sheffield, SDSU
Most Valuable Male Athlete: Hung Nguyen, CSU Northridge
Men's Head Coach of the Year: Art Venegas, UCLA