June 23, 2008
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State's Stephanie Bagan, along with Aztec alumnae Erin Asay and Melinda Smedley, will travel to Eugene, Ore., for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, which is set for June 27-July 6 at Hayward Field. The trio will compete for the right to represent the United States at the summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Bagan, from Granite Bay, Calif., is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign in which she earned All-America honors in the indoor and outdoor pole vault, won both indoor and outdoor Mountain West Conference titles and was named MWC outdoor track and field student-athlete of the year. Prior to her runner-up performance at the NCAA Championships, Bagan won the NCAA West Regional with a clearance of 14 feet, 3.50 inches (4.36m), an effort that stands as the top vault at SDSU, in the MWC and at Cal State Northridge's track facility. Bagan's 14-3.50 is the 12th-best among a deep and talented field that includes American record holder Jenn Stuczynski.
Joining Bagan in the pole vault is former Aztec indoor All-American Erin Asay. A San Diego native and current indoor school record holder, Asay travels to Track Town, USA with the sixth-best clearance of 15-1.00 (4.60m). Asay, the 2006 MWC indoor and outdoor champion, cleared 15-1.00 back in April at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif.
Smedley will make the trek north to The Beaver State and compete in the 100-meter dash. The Stockton, Calif., native, who was a part of the SDSU's 2003 MWC Outdoor Championship team, goes into the Trials with a time of 11.33 seconds.
Smedley will compete in the qualifying round of Friday, June 27, at 5:30 p.m. PT. Should she make it through the round, she would then race again in the quarterfinals later that night at 7:40 p.m. The semifinals are scheduled for June 28 at 3:25 p.m., with the finals slated for 5:48 p.m.
The pole vault, meanwhile, will commence on July 3 at 7:10 p.m. with qualifying round action. The finals of the event won't take place until July 6 beginning at 3:40 p.m.
Television coverage for the U.S. Olympic Trials is as follows:
Date Times Network June 28 5-6 p.m. NBC 9-10 p.m. USA June 29 4-5 p.m. NBC June 30 8-10 p.m. USA July 3 8-10 p.m. USA July 4 8-10 p.m. USA July 5 2-3 p.m. NBC July 6 4-6 p.m. NBC
All times are Pacific and subject to change; check local listings.