Feb. 26, 2009
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - San Diego State senior Shana Watson led the Aztecs in the pentathlon as the 10th annual Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships got underway on Thursday at the United States Air Force Academy. Watson led a group of four Aztecs on a day where numerous personal bests were established.
The lone competition of the day started with the 60-meter hurdles where Watson set a season best with a 10th-place time of 9.51 seconds. Freshman Julianne Alarcio finished just .05 seconds behind Watson as she crossed the finish line in personal-record fashion (9.56) to finish in 12th place. Classmates Sheehan Mitchell and Kelsey Kaster also posted PRs as they turned in times of 10.05 (16th) and 10.36 (17th), respectively.
Mitchell continued her strong showing in the next event, the high jump, by recording another personal record with her sixth-place clearance of 5 feet, 3.00 inches. Watson, meanwhile, leaped a season-best 4-11.50 to finish in 12th place. Alarcio and Kaster enjoyed record performances as well after clearing 4-10.25 (14th) and 4-9.00 (16th), respectively.
Staying with the field events, Watson rose to the occasion and finished fourth in the shot put with her personal-record matching toss of 37-1.00. Following Watson's lead was Alarcio (31-4.50) and Kaster (27-4.00), who both notched lifetime bests. Mitchell, meanwhile, posted a mark of 23-10.25.
In the long jump, Watson leaped 18-3.75 to notch SDSU's top performance of the indoor season and was awarded fifth place for her effort. Alarcio finished inside the top 10 with Watson with her ninth-place jump of 17-1.50. Mitchell and Kaster finished the event with personal records of 16-3.00 and 13-9.50, respectively.
In the fifth and final event, the 800-meter run, Mitchell posted San Diego State's top time after she navigated the race in 2:39.54 (personal record). Kaster finished right behind Mitchell in 10th place with her PR-time of 2:40.87. Alarcio completed the run in a personal-record 2:53.00 and Watson posted a mark of 2:55.39 (season best).
When the dust settled, Watson led the Aztecs with a season-best 3,185 points to finish 11th overall. Meanwhile, all three SDSU freshmen turned in personal-record efforts starting with Alarcio's 2,949 points (14th), Mitchell's 2,915 (15th) and Kaster's 2,546 (19th).
The MWC Championships continue on Friday beginning with the trials and finals of the weight throw at 1 p.m. MT.