June 13, 2003
SACRAMENTO - San Diego State junior Nicole Ireland (Las Vegas, Nev.) kept her All-America streak alive by placing fourth in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles at the 2003 NCAA Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Ireland, whose time of 56.10 is a conference record, earned All-America honors for the third straight season in the event at Cal State Sacramento's Hornet Stadium.
Ireland made the best of her first-ever NCAA appearance in the finals of the 400 hurdles, beating her previous personal and Mountain West Conference record time of 56.60. She finished the race just 0.02 out of third place behind South Carolina's Tiffany Ross, while UCLA's Sheena Johnson claimed the title with a time of 54.24.
Ireland's performance gives the Aztecs at least one All-American in six of the last seven seasons and is the highest finish by an SDSU student-athlete at the meet since 2001, when Aja Frary placed third in the heptathlon. Ireland finished 10th in 2002 and 11th her freshman campaign in the 400 hurdles, both while enrolled at the University of Alabama. The top eight Americans earn All-America honors in each event by the United States Track Coaches Association.
With Ireland's fourth-place finish, San Diego State is in 11th in team competition through five scored events with five points. The Aztecs' best finish at the NCAA meet in head coach Rahn Sheffield's 17-year tenure as head coach is 37th overall in 2001.
SDSU junior Tonette Dyer (Shreveport, La.) was unable to advance to the finals of the 400 meters for the second consecutive year, posting a semi-final effort of 54.60, for a 16th-place finish overall. Dyer came in ninth in the 400-meter race a year ago to earn All-America honors.
In the heptathlon, the Aztec duo of senior Leslie Miller (Humble, Texas) and freshman Shanon Meyer (Hesperia, Calif.) completed the first day of competition, ranking 15th (3,104 pts.) and 21st (3026 pts.), respectively, in the 27-athlete field.
Miller, who is making her second consecutive appearance at the national meet, was 10th in both the 100 hurdles (14.41) and shot put (37-05.75), 14th in the 200 meters (25.56) and tied for 22nd in the high jump (5-2.50). Meyer, meanwhile, posted her best finish of the day in the 200-meter race with the sixth-fastest time of 25.00. Georgia junior Hyleas Fountain currently leads the competition with 3,684 points.
Both Miller and Meyer will be back in action Saturday, as will the team's 4x400-meter relay, as the four-day 2003 NCAA championships comes to a close.
San Diego State's NCAA Track & Field Championships Schedule/Results
Wed., June 11 Time Student-Athlete Event Result 7:55 p.m. Nicole IrelandPrelims - 400 hurdles 57.37 (Qualified For Semis)
Thurs., June 12 Time Student-Athlete Event Result 10:15 a.m. Tonette Dyer Prelims - 200 meters 24.45 (25th of 29) 12:55 p.m. Tonette Dyer Prelims - 400 meters 52.36 (Qualified For Semis) 6:00 p.m. Nicole Ireland Semis - 400 hurdles 56.89 (Qualified For Finals) 8:15 p.m. 4x400 Relay Prelims - 4x400 relay 3:35.19 (Qualified For Finals)
Fri., June 13 Time Student-Athlete Event Result 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Leslie Miller Heptathlon - Day One 15th (3104 pts.) 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Shanon Meyer Heptathlon - Day One 21st (3026 pts.) 7:25 p.m. Nicole Ireland Finals - 400 hurdles 4th - 56.10 (All-American) 8:25 p.m. Tonette Dyer Semis - 400 meters 54.60 (16th of 16)
Sat., June 14 Time Student-Athlete Event Result 10 a.m.-2:40 p.m. Leslie Miller Heptathlon - Day Two 10 a.m.-2:40 p.m. Shanon Meyer Heptathlon - Day Two 9:20 p.m. 4x400 Finals - 4x400 relay