June 6, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The San Diego State track and field team opened the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday evening at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif. Three Aztecs, Sherraine Pencil, Shana Solomon and Nicole Stone, were all in action as they began their quest for a national title.
Solomon got things started for SDSU with the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash and picked up where she left off two weeks ago at the NCAA West Regionals. The sophomore from Long Beach, Calif., posted her third consecutive personal record as she finished in 6th place in Heat 1 with a time of 11.50 seconds. Her clocking was the 16th-fastest in a 29-person field and was good enough to secure her a spot in Wednesday night's semifinals.
With a berth in the finals hanging in the balance, Solomon competed in Heat 1 and crossed the finish line in 11.70 to finish eighth with another set of competitors waiting in the wings. Following the running of both heats, Solomon's time was the 17th-best, ending her bid for a national title.
In the prelims of the 400-meter dash, Pencil and Stone were not as fortunate as Solomon to advance to the next round as they both failed in their bid to qualify for the semifinals. Pencil, who ran in Heat 5, posted a time of 53.67 to finish fifth in the heat and 19th overall. Her performance fell just .02 seconds short of tying her personal best of 53.65 and .14 shy of advancing to the next round. Stone, meanwhile, also finished in fifth place in her heat and came in 22nd overall as she clocked in with a time of 53.99.
Solomon and Pencil will return to the track Thursday as they will compete in the preliminaries of the 200-meter dash at 3:50 p.m. PDT. The semifinals are also set for tomorrow beginning at 5:35 p.m.
2007 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex (Sacramento, Calif.)
100-Meter Dash Preliminaries - Top 18 advance to semifinals (Top 5 and SDSU)
1. Carol Rodriguez (USC) - 11.15
2. Ebonie Floyd (Houston) - 11.19
3. Alexandria Anderson (Texas) - 11.20
4. Sherry Fletcher (LSU) - 11.25
5. Gloria Asumnu (Tulane) - 11.20
16. Shana Solomon (SDSU) - 11.50 (personal record)
100-Meter Dash Semfinals - Top 9 advance to finals (Top 5 and SDSU)
1. Ebonie Floyd (Houston) - 11.13
2. Simone Facey (Texas A&M) - 11.20
3. Chauntae Bayne (Texas) - 11.24
4. Tracy Anne Rowe (Auburn) - 11.25
5. Gloria Asumnu (Tulane) - 11.28
17. Shana Solomon (SDSU) - 11.70
400-Meter Dash Preliminaries - Top 16 advance to semifinals (Top 5 and SDSU)
1. Kineke Alexander (Iowa) - 52.13
2. Natasha Hastings (South Carolina) - 52.19
3. Shana Cox (Penn State) - 52.63
4. Clora Williams (Texas A&M) - 52.81
5. Jenna Martin (Kentucky) - 53.53
19. Sherraine Pencil (SDSU) - 53.67
22. Nicole Stone (SDSU) - 53.99