May 24, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Track and Field Weekly Release in PDF Format
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NCAA BIDS ON THE LINE FOR SDSU AT NCAA WEST REGIONALS THIS WEEKEND
* A total of 14 athletes from the San Diego State track and field squad will travel to Provo, Utah, this weekend to compete in the 2006 NCAA West Regional Championships, May 26-27, at Clarence F. Robison Track on the campus of Brigham Young University. This marks the fourth season that the NCAA is holding regionals as the means of qualifying for the national championships, slated for June 7-10, in Sacramento, Calif.
Friday's competition gets underway for the women at noon with the field events, while the running events are set to begin at 2 p.m. Saturday's action for SDSU commences with the pole vault at 2 p.m. and concludes with the running of the 4x400 relay at 5:10 p.m. All times are MDT. Live scoring will be available at www.byutrack.com.
The top five finishers in each individual event and the top three relays will earn automatic entries to the NCAA Championships, while the remaining berths will go to the highest ranking individuals and relays not to earn automatic bids.
The fields at the NCAA meet are expected to include approximately 25 athletes for each individual event and 18 teams in each relay.
The heptathlon (women) and decathlon (men) along with the 10,000 meters are the only events that directly qualify to the NCAA Championships and will not be contested at the regional level. Aztec freshman Kristin Olafsdottir provisionally qualified for the nationals in the heptathlon with her second-place finish of 5,402 points at the MWC meet. Despite her No. 14 national ranking in the event, the Reykjavik, Iceland, native will miss the remainder of the season with a nagging foot injury.
The West Regional consists of 42 Division I institutions from the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Other regional sites are scheduled for Texas (Midwest), Tennessee (Mideast) and North Carolina A&T (East).
PACKING THEIR BAGS FOR PROVO
* The Aztecs have qualified a program-best 15 student-athletes for this weekend's regional meet. The total eclipses the previous high of 12 qualifiers in 2003. The following is an alphabetical list of the SDSU contingent:
- Erin Asay (San Diego, Calif.) - Pole vault
- Larnie Boyd (Vallejo, Calif.) - 400 Meters, 4x400 relay
- Corri Campbell-Fell (Vancouver, Canada) - 400 hurdles
- Lisa Crampton (Livermore, Calif.) - Steeplechase
- Brittani Dudley (Oakland, Calif.) - 4x400 relay
- Decontee Kaye (Hayward, Calif.) - Triple jump
- Monica Pacas (Atascadero, Calif.) - Pole vault
- Sherraine Pencil (Toronto, Canada) - 4x400 relay
- Nicole Stone (Ontario, Calif.) - 400 meters, 400 hurdles, 4x400 relay
- Leanne Taylor (Porterville, Calif.) - Discus, shot put
- Celeste Tyson (Austin, Texas) - Steeplechase
- Mandy Upuu (Courtenay, Canada) - 4x400 relay alternate
- Dana Van Wagner (Sparr, Fla.) - Pole vault
- Shana Watson (Oakland, Calif.) - Long jump, triple jump
Kristin Olafsdottir also qualified to compete in the 400 hurdles, but will not participate due to injury.
SDSU PROMINENT IN REGIONAL RANKINGS
* Heading into regional competition, Erin Asay is the most notable Aztec performer with her 13-9.25 clearance in the pole vault, set at the UCSD Triton Invitational on April 22. The height is ranked seventh in the nation and third in the West Region.
In addition to Asay, SDSU boasts four other competitors who rank among the region's top 10, including Nicole Stone (sixth, 400 meters), Corri Campbell-Fell (ninth, 400 hurdles), Decontee Kaye (ninth, triple jump) and Leanne Taylor (ninth, discus).
The Aztecs' 4x400 relay team of Stone, Larnie Boyd, Sherraine Pencil and Brittani Dudley is also in contention for a national bid, sporting a No. 15 regional ranking.
AZTECS FINISH FOURTH AT MWC MEET
* Freshman Kristin Olafsdottir capped off an impressive weekend on May 13 with a victory in 400-meter hurdles, leading the San Diego State track and field squad to a fourth-place finish at the 2006 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships. Senior Erin Asay also captured the pole vault title as the Aztecs registered 121 team points, finishing behind champion BYU (183 pts.), Colorado State (150.50 pts.) and TCU (144 pts.).
Olafsdottir won the meet's high point award with 26 points, which included a first-place finish in the 400 hurdles with a personal-best time of 59.33 seconds. She also placed second in the heptathlon (5,402 pts.), fourth in the 100 hurdles (14.08) and sixth in the long jump (18-2.25). For her efforts, Olafsdottir was named the MWC Freshman of the Year, becoming the first female athlete in league history to garner both high point and freshman accolades in the same season.
Asay recorded an NCAA regional qualifying height in the pole vault for the eighth time in nine meets this season with a first-place clearance of 13-5.25. With her performance, the Sweetwater High alumna becomes SDSU's fourth MWC pole vault champion, joining Shayla Balentine (2002, 2005) and Aimee Crabtree (2001).
In the triple jump, freshman Shana Watson qualified for her second NCAA regional event of the season, placing second with a personal-best leap of 40-10.50, which now ranks fourth on the school's all-time list. The Oakland, Calif., native also logged a third-place effort in the long jump with a season-best mark of 19-7.50.
The Aztecs also received all-conference performances from junior Lisa Crampton in the steeplechase (third, 11:03.10), freshman Corri Campbell-Fell in the 400 hurdles (third, 1:00.10) and freshman Nicole Stone in the 400 (third, 52.94).
Meanwhile in relay competition, SDSU's 4x400 team improved on its regional qualifying time as Stone combined with senior Larnie Boyd and sophomores Sherraine Pencil and Brittani Dudley for a runner-up finish with a season-best 3:40.65. Dudley, Stone and Pencil were also joined by freshman Shana Solomon on the Aztecs' second-place 4x100 relay (45.85), which posted a season-best clocking as well.
FLASHBACK: 2005 WEST REGIONALS
* Senior Shayla Balentine finished second in the pole vault to lead the San Diego State track and field team at the 2005 NCAA West Regional in Eugene, Ore. The Aztecs finished in 16th place with 11 team points at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
Balentine cleared 13-3.75, earning a trip to the NCAA championships for the third time in her Aztec career. Fellow teammate Monica Pacas placed 19th in the event with a vault of 12-0.
Senior Heather Heron missed out on an automatic berth in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing in sixth place with a time of 13.40, just .09 seconds behind the fifth-place finisher Ashley Lodree of Washington. Heron's disappointment was short-lived, however, as she received an at-large bid in the event the following week.
Rounding the Aztecs' contingent was Nicole Carmier, who placed 12th of 19 runners in the 800 meters with a time of 2:09.63. She also competed in the high jump, but failed to clear a height.