Feb. 25, 2005
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Senior Shayla Balentine (Los Osos, Calif.) took first in the pole vault with an NCAA indoor qualifying leap of 14 feet to lead the San Diego State track and field team at the 2005 Mountain West Conference Indoor Championship meet at the Air Force Academy's Cadet House in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Friday. The Aztecs finished day two in fourth place with 25 points, one point behind Utah (26 pts.) and 10 ahead of fifth-place New Mexico (15). Brigham Young leads the eight-team meet with 78 points.
Balentine, who also set an indoor school record in the event, is only the third athlete in the nation to clear 14-0 this season.
Senior Erin Asay (San Diego) made it a one-two finish in the pole vault when she cleared 13-8.25, a mark that currently has her ranked seventh in the nation, while freshman Monica Pacas (Atascadero, Calif.) took fourth in the event with a personal-best jump of 12-8.25.
"I was very proud of the athletes today," assistant coach Jennifer Nanista said. "The (pole) vaulters came out and set the tone for the others to follow. Hopefully we can keep our momentum going for tomorrow."
In other action, the distance medley relay team of sophomore Lisa Naucler (Ljusdal, Sweden), junior Nicole Carmier (Elk Grove, Calif.), freshman Brittani Dudley (Oakland, Calif.) and sophomore Lital Azulay (Holon, Israel) took seventh with a time of 12:50.14.
Others who advanced to tomorrow's finals included Dudley in the 60, 200 and 400, freshman Sherraine Pencil in the 200, and Carmier and Naucler in the 800.
The Aztecs will return to action at 12:30 p.m. MST Saturday.