March 12, 2006
LA JOLLA, Calif. - The San Diego State track and field squad opened its 2006 outdoor campaign in impressive fashion, winning 12 events on Saturday at the San Diego City Championships in La Jolla, Calif. Because of the cold and rainy conditions at UC San Diego's Triton Track and Field Stadium, all of the participating coaches agreed not to award any points during the meet. Thus, no team scores were kept.
"I was very pleased with how we competed today," said SDSU assistant coach Jennifer Nanista. "Although the times and marks weren't where we would like to see them, the effort was certainly there, and I was really happy with that. It was a good experience for us, because we may have to compete in these conditions again at some point during the season."
Despite the inclement weather, the Aztecs dominated the day, recording a 1-2 finish in eight running events, while winning two relays and two field events.
Freshman Kristin Olafsdottir made the most of her first outdoor meet for the scarlet and black, capturing both the 100- (15.16) and 400-meter hurdles (1:01.21), while running the second leg of SDSU's victorious 4x400 relay team (3:52.02) along with freshman Nicole Stone and sophomores Mandy Upuu and Brittani Dudley. Stone and Upuu also recorded first-place finishes in the 400 (58:48) and 800 (2:15.37), respectively.
Another newcomer, junior transfer Lisa Crampton, also enjoyed a solid outdoor debut for the Aztecs, winning both the 1,500 (4:39.24) and 3,000 (10:08.22). Freshman Shana Solomon and sophomore Sherraine Pencil were multiple winners as well, finishing first in the 100 (12.58) and 200 (25.33), respectively, and then combining with Dudley and freshman Decontee Kaye to capture the 4x100 relay (48.52).
In the field events, SDSU received a pair of first-place performances from sophomore Monica Pacas (pole vault - 12-1.50) and freshman Leanne Taylor (shot put - 44-4.0). With her effort, Taylor established a new lifetime best, surpassing her old mark by two feet.
The Aztecs will return to action next weekend when they play host to the 28th Annual Aztec Track Classic at the SDSU Sports Deck. The two-day competition is scheduled to begin Friday, March 17, at 9 a.m.
(Complete results available at: http://www.nmnathletics.com/attachments1/1081.pdf)