Feb. 27, 2004
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - For the second straight season, the San Diego State women's track and field team finds itself in third place after two days of competition at the 2004 Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Aztecs, with the help of a 1-4-6 finish in the pole vault, have 37 points and trail reigning champion BYU (78 pts.) and Colorado State (45.50 pts.) through six scored events.
Five event finals were contested Friday, with the Aztecs' best showing coming in the pole vault. Newcomer and San Diego native Erin Asay (San Diego, Calif.) won the event with an NCAA provisional height of 13-00.25, becoming just the second woman in the meet's five-year history to clear the 13-foot mark. Asay is also the second Aztec in the last three years to win the MWC indoor pole vault, joining teammate Shayla Balentine (Los Osos, Calif.), who took home the crown as a freshman in 2002.
Balentine tied for fourth in today's pole vault competition, clearing 12-04.50, while freshman Cara Walker (Huntington Beach, Calif.) tied for sixth with a mark of 12-00.50.
Other finals results for the Aztecs included a sixth-place finish by the distance medley relay in 12:53.13.
In the day's preliminaries, SDSU dominated the sprint events, setting the table for a big day on Saturday. Four Aztecs qualified for the finals of the 60 and 200 meters, while SDSU will send three student-athletes to the finals of the 400 meters.
SDSU All-American Tonette Dyer (Shreveport, La.) ran the day's fastest qualifying time in the 400 meters of 54.13, and set a school record in the 60-meter dash of 7.34, beating her previous school record of 7.42 set last season.
The Aztecs wrap up competition at the Air Force Academy's Cadet Field House Saturday with final day action of the 2004 Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships, beginning at 12:30 p.m. MST.