June 8, 2006
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The San Diego State track and field squad saw its season come to an end Thursday after the second day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Senior pole vaulter Erin Asay (San Diego, Calif.) and the Aztecs' 4x400 relay team were both unsuccessful in their attempts to advance past the qualifying round of their respective events.
"We had a tremendous year," said SDSU assistant coach Jennifer Nanista. "We made a lot of progress over the course of the season and accomplished some very good things. It's unfortunate the way the meet turned out for us this week, but our youngsters will definitely grow from the experience."
Asay, who captured All-America honors with a seventh-place performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships last March, found herself out of contention for Saturday's finals after finishing in a four-way tie for 17th place with a clearance of 13 feet, 1.5 inches. It was an unexpected conclusion to an otherwise stellar collegiate career for the Sweetwater High alumna, who captured the pole vault title at the Mountain West Conference meet last month and entered Thursday's competition ranked seventh in the nation.
Meanwhile, SDSU's 4x400 relay team was also eliminated in the preliminary round of its event. The Aztec foursome of freshman Nicole Stone (Ontario, Calif), senior Larnie Boyd (Vallejo, Calif.) and sophomores Sherraine Pencil (Toronto, Canada) and Mandy Upuu (Courtenay, Canada) finished 19th overall with a time of 3:42.39. Upuu replaced sophomore Brittani Dudley into the lineup prior to the race.
2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Sacramento, Calif.--A.G. Spanos Sports Complex
SDSU Results Only
Pole Vault (Preliminary Round--Top 16 Advance)
T1. Brysun Stately, Southern California, 13-5.25
T1. Jodi Unger, Arkansas, 13-5.25
T1. Rachel Greff, Rice, 13-5.25
T1. Carly Dockendorf, Washington, 13-5.25
T1. Breanna Eveland, Kansas State, 13-5.25
T1. Dara Altman, Florida, 13-5.25
10 others also cleared 13-5.25
T17. Erin Asay, SDSU, 13-1.50
4x400 Relay (Preliminary Round--Top 8 Advance)
1. Miami, 3:29.98
2. Arkansas, 3:30.32
3. LSU, 3:30.38
4. South Carolina, 3:30.46
5. Texas A&M, 3:30.77
6. Tennessee, 3:30.80
7. Baylor, 3:31.02
8. TCU, 3:32.06
19. SDSU (Stone, Boyd, Pencil, Upuu), 3:42.39