May 16, 2009
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Nicole Stone and Karoline Koehler led the San Diego State track and field team on the final day of the 2009 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at the University of Wyoming. Stone won the 400-meter dash and Koehler emerged with the triple jump crown for an SDSU squad that moved up two spots in the standings from the day before and finished in fourth place with 87.50 points.
Stone, a team co-captain, finished with the second-fastest preliminary time on Friday and came out on Saturday and bettered her time by almost two seconds. Stone finished the race in 52.81, which is a Wyoming facility and personal record, an NCAA regional qualifying time and the No. 3 effort on San Diego State's all-time outdoor performance list. Stone is the first Aztec since 2004 to win the 400 at the league meet.
Prior to the 400, Stone ran the anchor leg on the 4x100 relay that posted the field's third-best time of 45.25. The junior combined with Alicia King, Koehler and Jessika Hornsby to record a regional qualifying mark and SDSU's fastest performance of 2009.
One day after winning the MWC long jump title, Koehler returned to the track and took home the triple jump crown. Similar to the long jump, Koehler was the favorite and didn't disappoint as she leaped regional qualifying 43-04.25. Her jump ranks No. 2 in MWC Championship history.
In fact, Koehler led an Aztec triple jump trio that was quite impressive on this day. Junior Kai Wheeler enjoyed her best performance of her career after finishing in third place with a personal-record jump that covered 40-11.50. With her effort, Wheeler qualified for the NCAA West Regionals and enters the school's all-time top 10 at No. 6. Freshman Thoraya Maronsey, meanwhile, finished in sixth place after leaping a personal-record 39-03.00.
Like Stone, Koehler was busy on Championship Saturday. Not only did Koehler compete in the triple jump and 4x100 relay, she vied for the 100 and 200 titles and also teamed with Stone, Hornsby and Amber Waddell in the 4x400. In the 100, Koehler posted a regional qualifying time of 11.62 and finished in third place. Later in the 200, she came in sixth after crossing the finish line in 24.13 and then capped off her day by helping the Aztecs score points in the 4x400 with a seventh-place effort of 3:52.85.
Hornsby and King joined Koehler in the 100 final and finished in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Hornsby turned a PR time of 11.90, while King clocked in at a season-best 12.00. Hornsby also finished the 200 in a season-best 24.18 and came in seventh.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Briana Johnson and Annimari Korte both posted lifetime bests and regional qualifying times. Johnson clocked in at 13.62 and finished in fifth place and Korte completed the race in 13.73, which was good for sixth.
In the throws, Leanne Taylor scored for the Aztecs by coming in seventh place in the shot put (46-01.25), while Michele Dannhausen contributed to SDSU's final point total by finishing in eighth place in the javelin throw (134-02).
At the conclusion of the meet, Koehler was named the High Point Performer after earning 30.50 total points. Over the course of two days, Koehler won the long jump and triple jump and finished third in the 100 and sixth in the 200. She also helped the 4x100 and 4x400 relays finish in third and seventh place, respectively. The award is the second of Koehler's career as she earned the same honor at the 2008 MWC Indoor Championships.
The Aztecs return to the track May 29-30 when they travel to Eugene, Ore., and Track Town USA for the NCAA West Regionals.
Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships
University of Wyoming (Laramie, Wyo.)
Team Standings
1. Brigham Young - 190 points
2. TCU - 125
3. Colorado State - 95.50
4. San Diego State - 87.50
5. Utah - 76
6. New Mexico - 75.50
7. Air Force - 62
8. UNLV - 53
9. Wyoming - 49.50