April 1, 2006
SAN DIEGO - Buoyed by senior Erin Asay's second-place performance in the pole vault and freshman Decontee Kaye's runner-up finish in the triple jump, the San Diego track and field squad finished the weekend on positive note Saturday at the Stanford Invitational. The Aztecs also received an NCAA regional qualifying time from senior Larnie Boyd on the final day of competition at Cobb Track and Angell Field in Stanford, Calif.
"Overall, I pleased with our results today," said SDSU assistant coach Jennifer Nanista. "If everyone maintains the high effort level we've been competing at lately, we will continue to show improvement."
Asay continued her solid 2006 campaign, clearing 12-11.75 in the top section of the pole vault. The height matched that of Washington State's Tamara Diles, but Asay had to settle for second based on the number of attempts at that mark.
Kaye also competed in the top section of her event with a leap of 40-0.75 in the triple jump, followed closely by fellow classmate Shana Watson, who finished in third with a distance of 39-2.25. With her effort, Watson established an outdoor personal best for the second consecutive week.
Boyd, meanwhile, added her name to the Aztecs' growing list of NCAA regional qualifiers, when she placed fifth in the top section of the 400 meters with a season-best clocking of 54.57.
Other athletes who recorded season-best times on Saturday included senior Nicole Carmier (2:12.78) and junior Lisa Naucler (2:13.08) in the 800, freshman Shana Solomon in the 200 (24.51) and freshman Kristin Olafsdottir in the 100 hurdles (14.34).
Also of note was junior Celeste Tyson's eighth-place finish in her first-ever steeplechase. The Austin, Texas, native crossed the finish line with a time of 10:52.49, missing the NCAA regional qualifying standard by a mere two seconds.
SDSU returns to action next weekend when it travels east to compete at the Duke Invitational, April 7-8, in Durham N. C.