May 30, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State track and field team qualified two individuals and one relay for Saturday's finals after the first day of competition at the first-ever NCAA West Regional meet, hosted by Stanford University at the Cobb Track and Angell Field.
The Aztecs opened the day by running the third-fastest qualifying time of 44.84 in the 4x100-meter relay. The team of senior Melinda Smedley (Stockton, Calif.) and juniors Tonette Dyer (Shreveport, La.), Hollann Givens (San Diego, Calif.) and Nicole Ireland (Las Vegas, Nev.) logged the fourth best effort in school history and will compete against six other teams in Saturday's finals at 2:45 p.m.
Individually, Ireland won her heat of the 400 hurdles in 59.42, after qualifying for the finals of the 100-meter hurdles earlier in the day with the seventh-fastest time of 13.54. The junior All-American will be joined in the individual finals by classmate Dyer, who completed the 400 meters in 53.55.
SDSU received a scare in the prelims of the 100 meters when two-time conference champion Smedley, who is also a key part of both of the team's relays, suffered a slight strain of her right hamstring. The team's co-captain will be questionable for Saturday's races.
Other Aztecs to finish in the top 10 in the prelims included senior Jini Hogg (San Francisco, Calif.) in the 400 (10th - 54.67) and senior Jennifer Stakiw (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), who came in 10th in the 800 meters with a career best time of 2:08.96.
In the field event finals, Aztec sophomore Shayla Balentine (Los Osos, Calif.) tied the school pole vault record by clearing 13-02.25 to finish eighth in an event which was won by Oregon's Becky Holliday with a new collegiate record of 14-8. Balentine's mark was an inch higher than her previous career best of 13-01.25 set in 2002, while she matched the Aztec record held by All-American Aimee Crabtree (2001).
SDSU junior Candace Hill (San Diego, Calif.), competing in her first of two events, also finished 15th in a field of 26 in the shot put with a throw of 46-08.25.
The NCAA West Regional concludes Saturday with finals in all events, beginning with the women's hammer at 10 a.m. and concluding with the men's 4x400 relay at 6:20 p.m. The Aztecs will have a representative in the finals tomorrow of the discus, triple jump, 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays, 100 and 400 hurdles and the 200 and 400 meters.
This is the first year that the NCAA is holding regionals as the means of qualifying for the national championship meet, slated for June 11-14 in Sacramento, Calif. The top-five finishers in each individual event and the top three relays will earn automatic entries to the NCAA meet.
2003 NCAA West Regional Championships
May 30, 2003 - Stanford, Calif. (Cobb Track and Angell Field)
Preliminaries (SDSU Results Only)
Event: Women's 4x100 Relay 3. SDSU (Smedley, Dyer, Givens, Ireland) 44.84 - Qualified for Finals
Event: Women's 100 Hurdles 7. Nicole Ireland13.54w - Qualified for Finals
Event: Women's 400 Meters 4. Tonette Dyer 53.55 - Qualified for Finals 10. Jini Hogg 54.67 16. Bianca McNair 56.52
Event: Women's 100 Meters 16. Melinda Smedley 27.56
Event: Women's 800 Meters 10. Jennifer Stakiw 2:08.96 12. Jamillah Titus 2:09.66
Event: Women's 400 Hurdles 4. Nicole Ireland 59.42 - Qualified for Finals 26. Ryan Peters 1:05.44
Finals (SDSU Results Only)
Event: Women's Shot Put 15. Candace Hill 46-08.25
Event: Women's Pole Vault 8. Shayla Balentine 13-02.25 (school record) t35. Jesika Englebretson 11-06.50
w = wind-aided (wind reading at 2.0 or above)