June 8, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - San Diego State sophomore Decontee Kaye qualified for the finals of the triple jump Friday afternoon at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships contested at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif. Kaye enters Saturday's final tied with Stanford's Erica McLain for the top mark in the field.
Kaye, an all-Mountain West Conference and all-West Region honoree, needed only two jumps to secure her spot in the finals. After a jump of 41 feet, 1.5 inches in round one, the Hayward, Calif., native came back and leaped 44-2.75 in the second round to move on to the championship round Saturday. As a result of her leaping past the automatic qualifying standard of 44-1.50, Kaye was allowed to end her day after two jumps to prepare for the finals.
SDSU sophomore Karoline Koehler also competed in the event and registered a distance of 42-5.50 to finish in 19th place in the 27-person field. Her effort was her third-best performance of 2007.
Kaye and McLain will be in familiar territory on Saturday as the pair share the best leap in the field just two weeks after Kaye finished in second behind McLain at the NCAA West Regionals. The duo, along with the other 10 competitors, will take center stage on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. PDT.
2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex (Sacramento, Calif.)
Triple Jump Preliminaries - top 12 advance (top 5 and SDSU only)
1. Decontee Kaye (SDSU) - 44-2.75
1. Erica McLain (Stanford)
3. Crystal Manning (Kansas) - 43-9.25
3. Michelle Vaughn (Auburn)
5. Yvette Lewis (Hampton) - 43-7.75
19. Karoline Koehler (SDSU) - 42.5.50