April 14, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Track and Field Weekly Release in PDF Format
Looking at the Week
After a trip to the Volunteer State last weekend for the Sea Ray Relays, the San Diego State track and field squad will stay in Southern California this week for the 50th annual Mt. SAC Relays and the Beach Invitational.
The Mt. SAC heptathlon will get underway, Wednesday, April 16, in Azusa, Calif., and will be followed by all of the track and field events on Thursday, April 17, in Walnut, Calif. The meet runs through Friday, April 18, and will resume on Sunday, April 20. Saturday competition will be for high schoolers only.
With the Aztecs taking a break from Mt. SAC, other SDSU athletes will make their way to Cerritos College for the one-day Beach Invite at Falcon Stadium.
The two-day Mt. SAC heptathlon is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday at Cougar Athletic Stadium on the campus of Azusa Pacific University. Meanwhile on the Thursday, the Mt. SAC Relays will begin at 6 p.m., while Friday action is slated for a 11 a.m. start. Final-day competition is scheduled to commence at 11 a.m. as well.
Saturday's Beach Invitational will begin at 9 a.m. with the javelin throw.
Next week, San Diego State is scheduled to compete at the Penn Relays (April 24-26) in Philadelphia, Pa., the Triton Invitational (April 25-26) in La Jolla and the Brutus Hamilton Invitational (April 25-26) in Berkeley, Calif.
Bagan Qualifies for Olympic Trials
Sophomore Stephanie Bagan continued to perform at a high level last weekend at the Sea Ray Relays as she qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials in the pole vault.
The Granite Bay, Calif., native cleared a personal-record 13 feet, 11.25 inches, to finish in a tie for second overall and in a tie for first among all Division I competitors. Bagan actually set a new Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium record at the time, but the new mark was short-lived as former SDSU All-American Erin Asay wound up clearing 14-3.25 to establish a new standard of excellence.
With her effort, Bagan moved ahead of Asay into second place on San Diego State's all-time outdoor performance list and logged her fifth NCAA regional-qualifying vault in five outdoor meets this season.
Solomon Secures Spot at Regionals
Junior Shana Solomon punched her ticket to the NCAA West Regionals over the weekend at the Sea Ray Relays by qualifying for the 100- and 200-meter dash.
The Long Beach, Calif., product finished first in her heat in the 100 with a time of 11.49 seconds, but was second overall after Charlotte's Courtney Patterson ran 11.47. However, it should be noted that Patterson achieved that time with a wind rating of 3.6, whereas Solomon logged her time with a wind aid of just 1.6.
Later in the 200, Solomon crossed the finish line in 23.63, coming in sixth place. With her effort, Solomon became the first Aztec this season to qualify for either sprinting event.
Boston-Moon Classic Review
San Diego State's pole vaulters and throwers made the trip west on Interstate 40 to Nashville, Tenn., following competition on Thursday at the Sea Ray Relays to compete at Tennessee State's Boston-Moon Classic on Saturday.
The Aztec group of five athletes (Michele Dannhausen, Andrea Martinez, Tamara McMillan, Monica Pacas and Christin Shibley) fared well as they claimed the top two spots in two events and finished second in two others.
In the hammer throw, Martinez walked away with the title after tossing 159 feet, 7 inches, and was followed by McMillan in second after she threw 147-11.
In the pole vault, Pacas was the only athlete to clear 13 feet as she finished with a final clearance of 13-0.25, while Shibley was runner-up at 12-0.00.
After winning the hammer, Martinez came in second in the discus throw (141-11) and was followed by Dannhausen in third (140-6) and McMillan in fifth (126-8). Dannhausen also the runner-up in the javelin at 122-9.
McMillan and Martinez also competed in the shot put with McMillan coming in seventh (37-8.00) and Martinez in 10th (35-5.75).
Last Year at Mt. SAC
Last year at Mt. SAC, Kristin Olafsdottir kicked things off for the Aztecs by finishing in seventh place (fifth among collegiate athletes) in the heptathlon with an NCAA provisional-qualifying effort of 5,178 points.
On the first day full day of competition, Sherraine Pencil set a lifetime best and qualified for regionals in the 400 with a winning time of 54.20. Mandy Upuu followed suit in the 800 by securing her spot at regionals with a lifetime-best effort of 2:08.77.
On the fifth and final day of competition, San Diego State posted six regional-qualifying performances (2-200, 2-triple jump, 4x100 and 4x400), eight season bests and two event victories. The two wins came in the 100 (Solomon) and 4x100 relay (Pencil, Solomon, Alicia Lowery, Karoline Koehler).