March 20, 2004
SAN DIEGO - In its only home meet of the year, San Diego State claimed seven event titles Saturday at the 26th annual Aztec Track & Field Classic at the SDSU Sports Deck.
Aztec All-American Tonette Dyer (Shreveport, La.) was a triple-event winner, claiming the 100 and 200 for the second straight season and also placing first in the 400. Dyer edged former SDSU standout Miesha McKelvy-Jones in the 100 meters, finishing in the fastest time in school history and an NCAA regional qualifying effort of 11.43.
Dyer beat former teammate Melinda Smedley in the 200 with a winning time of 23.2 and was the only competitor to complete the 400 race in less than 53 seconds, tallying another NCAA regional qualifying time of 52.58.
SDSU junior Heather Heron (Yakima, Wash.) beat out a talented field in the 100 hurdles, including three-time U.S. heptathlon champion Shelia Burrell, winning the race in 13.69 for her second victory in the event in as many weeks.
Junior Marie Nilsson (Kil, Sweden) kicked off the day for the Aztecs by dominating the 3,000-meter steeplechase, posting a first place and school record time of 10:32.2. Nilsson easily beat the previous SDSU best of 11:21.72 set by Alicia Stewart last season.
In the field events, Erin Asay (San Diego, Calif.) and Shayla Balentine (Los Osos, Calif.) tied for first place in the pole vault, each clearing a season-best 12-04.50, while teammate Cara Walker (Huntington Beach, Calif.) was just a slot behind with her mark of 12-00.50.
SDSU also grabbed the top two spots in the high jump, as sophomore Jamillah Titus (American Canyon, Calif.) jumped 5-06.00 and Nicole Carmier (Elk Grove, Calif.) cleared 5-04.25.
Other Aztec highlights included a second-place finish in the 4x100 relay (45.46), freshman Janine Polischuk's (Regina, Sas.) leap of 19-00.50 in the long jump (No. 9 in school history) and senior Candace Hill's (San Diego, Calif.) personal best throw of 49-08.50 in the shot put (No. 3 in school history).
SDSU will be back in action when it travels to the University of Florida for the Florida Relays in Gainesville, Fla., March 26-27.