April 24, 2003
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State logged a pair of top-nine finishes in the preliminaries of the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays Thursday at the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. The 4x400 relay ran the seventh-fastest preliminary time of 3:39.50 to advance to Saturday's championship final, while the 4x100 team will compete in Friday's college division final after recording the ninth-best time (45.53) of the day at Franklin Field.
The Aztec quartet of freshman Bianca McNair (Portland, Ore.) and juniors Nicole Ireland (Las Vegas, Nev.), Tonette Dyer (Shreveport, La.) and Hollann Givens (San Diego, Calif.) finished third overall in their heat of the 4x400, trailing both Florida (3:37.80) and Seton Hall (3:39.39).
Despite the third-place finish in its heat, SDSU's time of 3:39.50 ranked seventh in the field of 82 schools to qualify for the championship final, set for 5:30 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday. The Aztecs' competition will include South Carolina, Texas and Miami, which placed first, second and seventh at last year's NCAA championship. St. Augustine's, Florida, Seton Hall and Tennessee State round out the 4x400 relay final.
Earlier in the day, the Aztecs fell just one spot short of qualifying for the championship final in the 4x100, recording the ninth-fastest time of 45.53 in the field of 97 schools. SDSU, which finished second in its heat behind reigning NCAA champion South Carolina, was edged out of the overall top eight by just one-tenth of a second by the University of Houston (45.43).
The Aztec 4x100 relay of senior Melinda Smedley (Stockton, Calif.), Dyer, McNair and Ireland, however, will be the top seed in the collegiate division championship final, which is set to begin at 12:40 p.m. (EDT) on Friday.
Besides the 4x100, SDSU is also entered in the 4x200 on Friday, with heats starting at 1:45 p.m.
109th Penn Relays - Philadelphia, Pa. (Franklin Field)
April 24, 2003
4x100-Meter Relay - Prelims: Top 10 (97 total participants)1. Auburn 44.47^ 2. Indiana 44.51^ 3. Louisiana State 44.51^ 4. Texas 44.92^ 5. Texas Christian 45.08^ 6. South Carolina 45.09^ 7. Miami (Fla.) 45.27^ 8. Houston 45.43^ 9. San Diego State 45.53^ 10. Florida 45.71^
4x100-Meter Relay -
Field for the College Division Final (Friday - 12:40 p.m. EDT)
(In order of fastest preliminary time)
1. San Diego State; 2. Florida; 3. St. Augustine's; 4. Eastern Kentucky; 5. Florida State; 6. South Carolina State; 7. Kentucky; 8. Clemson
4x400-Meter Relay - Prelims: Top 10 (82 total participants)
1. Texas 3:35.22^ 2. South Carolina 3:35.69^ 3. St. Augustine's 3:37.03^ 4. Florida 3:37.80^ 5. Miami 3:38.60^ 6. Seton Hall 3:39.39^ 7. San Diego State 3:39.50^ 8. Tennessee State 3:39.61^ 9. Pittsburgh 3:40.10^ 10. Houston 3:42.52^
4x400-Meter Relay -
Field for the "Championship of America" Division (Saturday - 5:30 EDT)
(In order of fastest preliminary time)
1. Texas ; 2. South Carolina; 3. St. Augustine's; 4. Florida; 5. Miami; 6. Seton Hall; 7. San Diego State; 8. Tennessee State
^ = 2003 NCAA regional qualifying time