April 12, 2005
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State pole vaulter Shayla Balentine (Morro Bay HS/Los Osos, Calif.) has been named the track and field athlete of the week by the Mountain West Conference on Tuesday. Balentine took first of 15 competitors at the Azusa Pacific Meet of Champions with a MWC and school-record jump of 14 feet, 1/2 inch.
Last Saturday marked the third straight meet she has set both the conference and school record in the event. The 14-0 1/2 height is currently the top collegiate mark in the nation, the second-best outdoor mark posted in the United States and the fourth-best vault in the world this season.
It is the second time in three weeks Balentine has been tabbed the MWC athlete of the week. She won the award on March 29 after winning the pole vault at the Florida Relays with a jump of 13-6 1/4.
Balentine is coming off an impressive indoor season in which she qualified for the NCAA championship meet after placing first in the pole vault at the MWC Championships with an indoor MWC and SDSU school-record clear of 14-0. She went on to finish 10th at the NCAA indoor meet.
Balentine and the rest of the Aztec squad will participate in the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays this weekend in Walnut, Calif.