April 24, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Track and Field Weekly Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Aztecs Travel North to Compete in California Collegiate Challenge and Asics/Steve Scott Invitational
San Diego State continues its preparation for the Mountain West Conference outdoor track and field championships this week as it is set to compete at the California Collegiate Challenge in Berkeley, Calif., and the Asics/Steve Scott Invitational in Irvine, Calif. The two-day event at Cal will begin on Friday, April 27, while the meet in Orange County will get underway for SDSU on Saturday, April 28.
Last week, the Aztecs participated at UC San Diego's Triton Invitational in La Jolla, where rain shortened Friday's action, causing the rest of the day's events to move to Saturday. San Diego State had three pole vaulters, Monica Pacas, Dana Van Wagner and Stephanie Bagan, post NCAA regional qualifying clearances, while the 4x100 relay team claimed first place.
Next week, the Aztecs are slated to compete at the Claremont Classic in Claremont, Calif., on May 5, before playing host to the conference championships at SDSU Sports Deck, May 9-12.
Distance Runners Going the Distance
At the Triton Invitational, San Diego State's distance runners posted solid efforts for a second straight week. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, seniors Celeste Tyson and Jackie Duncan both posted season-best times. Tyson completed the race in 10 minutes, 59.14 seconds, finishing third, while Duncan crossed the finish line in 11:32.14 to finish 10th. Meanwhile, in the 1,500-meter run, freshmen Darien Buc (4:55.45), Makenzie Mabry (5:00.92) and Jessica Walker (5:10.46) followed the upperclassmen's lead as they all ran season-low times. This comes one week after Mabry and Buc established new personal standards in the 5,000.
Qualifying Like It's Nothing
San Diego State pole vaulters Dana Van Wagner, Monica Pacas and Stephanie Bagan have posted NCAA regional qualifying performances this season like it's nothing, having cleared the regional standard a combined 13 times. Van Wagner leads the heralded group with six regional clearances with Pacas and Bagan following close behind with four and three, respectively. Of Van Wagner's six regional qualifying efforts, four of them having come in consecutive weeks, while Pacas and Bagan both have accomplished the same feat two weeks in a row.
Four Titles for 4x100 Relay
Last Saturday, the Aztec 4x100 relay team captured the event title after completing the race in 45.95 seconds, over a half-second faster than second place and MWC foe New Mexico (46.26). The victory was the fourth of the season for SDSU and the second for the quartet of Sherraine Pencil, Shana Solomon, Nicole Stone and Karoline Koehler. San Diego State's other two relay crowns were won by Pencil, Solomon, Alicia Lowery and Koehler earlier in the season.
A Closer Look at This Week's Meets
The California Collegiate Challenge, contested at Edwards Stadium/Goldman Field, will feature women's teams from Cal, Cal State Fullerton, Houston, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, Sacramento State, Stanford, Wichita State and SDSU. The Aztecs will start things off on Friday with the pole vault at 11 a.m., and will have representation throughout the day in the long jump (11 a.m.), high jump (3 p.m.) and the 3,000-meter steeplechase (6 p.m.), before giving way to Saturday's 10:30 a.m. start, beginning with the prelims of the 100-meter dash. Meanwhile at the Asics/Steve Scott Invitational, San Diego State will send its `B' team to Anteater Track Stadium in Irvine where things will kick off at 10 a.m.
Last Year at the Steve Scott Invitational
Last season at the Steve Scott Invitational, Larnie Boyd and Celeste Tyson each won event titles to lead San Diego State. The Aztecs received seven other top-three performances on the day as well, including a second-place finish from Nicole Stone.
Boyd captured the 400 with a winning time of 54.63, crossing the tape just barely ahead of fellow teammate Stone, who finished second with a season-best 54.95 clocking. Boyd and Stone also combined with Shana Solomon and Shana Watson on SDSU's 4x100 relay team, which finished third with a time of 46.26.
Meanwhile, Tyson emerged victorious in the 3000-meter steeplechase (10:48.35), nosing out Pilar Delgado of Cal State Los Angeles (10:48.41) by .06 seconds.
The Aztecs' throwing corps received personal bests in the javelin from Michele Dannhausen (118-9) and Kristin Olafsdottir (115-4). Olafsdottir logged a lifetime best in the 100-meter hurdles as well, finishing in fourth place with a time of 14.10.
Other highlights for SDSU included a third-place effort from Erin Asay in the pole vault. Asay was actually the top collegian in her event, finishing behind two club performers with a clearance of 13-5.25. Kristin Karhio and Decontee Kaye also chipped in with a pair of third-place finishes in the high jump (5-5) and triple jump (41-0.25), respectively.