May 27, 2003
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
SDSU Contingent Travels To First Ever NCAA Regional At Stanford
* Twelve San Diego State track and field members will head to Stanford this coming weekend for the first ever NCAA West Regional at the Cobb Track and Angell Field. This is the first season that the NCAA is holding regionals as the means of qualifying for the national championship meet, slated for June 11-14 in Sacramento, Calif.
* Besides the west regional at Stanford, there will also be other regional meets at Nebraska (Midwest), Ohio State (Mid-East) and George Mason (East). The west regional consists of 42 division I institutions from the states of Arizona, California, Hawi'i, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
* The top-five finishers in each individual event and the top three relays will earn automatic entries to the NCAA meet, while the remaining berths will go to the highest ranking individuals and relays not to earn automatic bids. The fields at the NCAA meet are expected to be about 26 for each individual event and 17 teams in each relay.
* The heptathlon (women) and decathlon (men), along with the 10,000 meters are the only events that directly qualify to the NCAA meet and will not be contested at the regional level. Aztec senior Leslie Miller (Humble, Texas) has already automatically qualified for the national meet in the heptathlon, while freshman Shanon Meyer (Hesperia, Calif.) is also expected to receive an invitation with her provisional point total, which currently ranks 10th nationally.
* On day one of the regional meet, competition for the women begins at 12:05 p.m. with the javelin, while the last event will be the 5,000 meters, starting at 8:30 p.m. PDT. The women's hammer kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m. and the meet will finish with the 4x400 relay at 6:05 p.m.
* Admission to the regional championship is $15 (adults) and $8 (student/child/senior). Two-day passes are also available for $25 and $15.
And The Line-Up Is ...
* SDSU will send 12 student-athletes to the meet. The following is an alphabetical list with events: - Shayla Balentine (Los Osos, Calif.) - Pole vault - Tonette Dyer (Shreveport, La.) - 200, 400 - Jesika Englebretson (Salinas, Calif.) - Pole vault - Hollann Givens (San Diego, Calif.) - 4x400 alt. - Candace Hill (San Diego, Calif.) - Shot put, discus - Nicole Ireland (Las Vegas, Nev.) - 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, triple jump - Jini Hogg (San Francisco, Calif.) - 400 - Bianca McNair (Portland, Ore.) - 400 - Ryan Peters (Oakland, Calif.) - 400 hurdles - Melinda Smedley (Stockton, Calif.) - 100, 200 - Jennifer Stakiw (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) - 800 - Jamillah Titus (American Canyon, Calif.) - 800
In The Rankings
* After elevating to as high as third in the coaches' power rankings, SDSU currently stands at No. 12. The Aztecs are rated ninth in the country by trackshark.com (May 7), but are unranked in the trackwire.com top 25 poll (May 20), which projects a hypothetical score for the upcoming NCAA meet.
2003 MWC Review
* It took a record-setting day by the entire San Diego State track and field team to end Brigham Young University's 20-year reign as the Aztecs claimed their first-ever Mountain West Conference title May 17 at the Great Friends of UNM Track Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M. SDSU beat out the second place Cougars by 11 team points (217-206), breaking BYU's nation's best streak of 20 straight league outdoor titles, dating back to 1983.
* San Diego State overcame a 23-point deficit entering the meet's final day, winning nine of the 21 events over the four-day championship.
* The Aztecs swept all of the individual awards as Shanon Meyer was named MWC Freshman of the Year, junior Nicole Ireland received the High Point award and senior Melinda Smedley was the Outstanding Performance honoree. SDSU head coach Rahn Sheffield also garnered MWC Coach-of-the-Year honors for the second time in the last three seasons (also 2001).
* The Aztecs previous best finish in the conference's four-year history was third behind BYU and second place Colorado State in each of the last two seasons. San Diego State finished fifth in the inaugural Mountain West Conference championship in 2000 and the school's last and only other women's track and field conference title came in 1982.
Head Coach Rahn Sheffield
* The Aztecs are led by Rahn Sheffield, who is in his 12th season as head coach and his 17th year overall. Sheffield is assisted by Jennifer Nanista (distance), Richard Fox (pole vault) and David Hepburn (jumps/throws).