May 11, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State 4x100-meter relay closed out the regular season on a high note after recording a team and conference season best time of 44.78 Saturday en route to the squad's only event title at the Oxy Invitational in Los Angeles, Calif.
With most of the team taking the meet off to prepare for next week's Mountain West Conference championships, Aztecs Melinda Smedley (Stockton, Calif.), Tonette Dyer (Shreveport, La.), Ryan Peters (Oakland, Calif.) and Nicole Ireland (Las Vegas, Nev.) completed the 4x100 in 44.78, the first time this season that SDSU has broken the 45-second barrier in the event. The effort also ranks as the third-fastest in school history and easily beat out the team's previous season and conference best of 45.20. The Aztecs have now recorded six NCAA regional qualifying times in the 4x100 this season.
Ireland was the only one of the four in the 4x100 to compete at the Oxy Invitational as an individual, logging a pair of runner-up finishes in the hurdle events. The All-American finished the 100-meter hurdles in 14.17 and ran her third NCAA qualifying time (58.21) in as many tries in the 400 hurdles.
Other notable finishes at the meet held at Occidental College went to seniors Jennifer Stakiw (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and Jini Hogg (San Francisco, Calif.). Stakiw finished fourth in the 800 with an NCAA regional qualifying time of 2:09.1 (hand time), while Hogg placed second in the 400 meters with a season-best time of 55.15 and fourth in the 200 meters (25.05).
San Diego State will head to Albuquerque, N.M. and the University of New Mexico for the 2003 Mountain West Conference championships, May 14-17.
100 Hurdles 2. Nicole Ireland14.17
200 Meters 4. Jini Hogg 25.05
400 Meters 2. Jini Hogg 55.15
400 Hurdles 2. Nicole Ireland 58.21^
800 Meters 4. Jennifer Stakiw 2:09.1^ (hand time) 23. Jackie Duncan 2:23,51
5000 Meters -. Angie Fitzpatrick 19:06.35 -. Laura Preston 19:26.70 -. Christian Fairing 19:37.43 -. Julie Amster 19:46.27
4x100 Relay 1. Smedley, Dyer, Peters, Ireland 44.78^ (season, conference best; third-fastest in school history)
Long Jump 10. Aishya Shaw 17-01.50
Triple Jump 9. Aishya Shaw 35-03.00
^ = NCAA regional qualifying time