March 26, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Track and Field Weekly Release in PDF Format
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SDSU Track and Field Set For Cal-Nevada Championships in Fresno Beginning Friday
Following a weekend in Los Angeles, the San Diego State track and field team will travel further north as it will compete in the prestigious Cal-Nevada Championships, March 30-31, in Fresno, Calif. The Aztecs will be one of more than 20 squads participating in the annual meet set to take place at Fresno State's Warmerdam Field.
SDSU, which established four more NCAA regional qualifying performances at the Trojan Invitational upping its total to 12, will be competing in its fourth straight meet within the borders of California before splitting its squad the week after for the Texas Relays (Austin, Texas) and the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Pomona, Calif.
Competition in the Lone Star State will begin April 4 and end on April 7, while the one-day Pomona-Pitzer Invitational is set for April 7.
Koehler Wins Long Jump Crown
Karoline Koehler was the lone Aztec to win an event at the Trojan Invitational this past Saturday. The sophomore from Germany finished first out of 16 competitors in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 4.50 inches. Going into the meet, she sat in a tie for fifth place on the school's all-time performance list at 19-5.25, but when the dust settled, Koehler moved into second trailing only Lisa Domico's effort of 20-5.75 in 1999. Among Mountain West Conference athletes, Koehler is the only one to surpass 20 feet and is the lone MWC athlete to qualify for the NCAA regional meet in May (as of March 26).
Relay Hitting Its Stride
For the second consecutive week, the 4x100 relay team of Sherraine Pencil, Shana Solomon, Nicole Stone and Karoline Koehler posted an NCAA regional qualifying time. At the Aztec Invitational, the quartet completed the race in 45.57, finishing second, but first among collegiate competitors and last week ran a 45.64, while coming in third behind Texas A&M and USC. The relay's performance at the Aztec Invite is the second fastest in the conference and joins TCU's relay (44.65) as the only league schools to have the opportunity to advance to the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif. (as of March 26).
Among the Conference Leaders
As of Monday afternoon (March 26), the Aztecs owned top mark in five events, including the top three in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (Celeste Tyson, Jackie Duncan, Sara Cates) and the top two in the 800-meter run (Mandy Upuu, Lisa Naucler). In addition, SDSU athletes can be found atop the league leaderboard in the pole vault (Dana Van Wagner) and long (Karoline Koehler) and triple jumps (Decontee Kaye). In the pole vault, Aztecs can be found up and down the top 10 as Van Wagner ranks first, Monica Pacas third, Stephanie Bagan fifth, Dana Jensen sixth and Christin Shibley ninth.
Any PR is Good PR
Michele Dannhausen posted three personal records (PR) in Los Angeles on Saturday at the Trojan Invitational. One of two throwers on the team, Dannhausen established personal bests in the shot put, javelin and discus. In the shot put, the Sierra Madre, Calif, native completed a toss of 41 feet, 4.50 inches, good for second at the meet and eighth in the MWC. In the javelin, she threw 125-1, good for third and was seventh in the discus at 137-0 (seventh in MWC).
SDSU at the Cal-Nevada Championships
After a two-year hiatus, SDSU will be making an appearance at the annual meet, this time in Fresno, Calif. The Aztecs have had great success at the meet, especially the last time they participated when they won the title in 2004. The `04 crown marked the second consecutive team title and the third in four seasons. Three years ago, the championships took place in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and SDSU earned 167 points ahead of second-place Cal State Northridge (119 pts.) and Nevada (113 pts.). Head coach Rahn Sheffield was named women's coach of the meet for the third time in four years, while Tonette Dyer was a two-time winner (100, 200) and Marie Nilsson (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Shayla Balentine (pole vault) set school records at the two-day event. Dyer's performance of 11.42 in the 100 was a time that ranked No. 2 nationally, beating her own time of 11.43 set earlier that year. Other Aztecs who won events were Larnie Boyd (400), Heather Heron (100 hurdles) and the 4x100 relay. In all, San Diego State won seven events, including six in the meet's second and final day.