June 10, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Members of the 30th-ranked San Diego State track and field team opened competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships contested at McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark., on Wednesday. With nearly half of the scheduled events completed, inclement weather forced a delay beginning at 5:15 p.m. PT and it wasn't until three hours later before the meet resumed.
Before the Mother Nature put its stamp on day one, the SDSU quartet of Alicia King, Karoline Koehler, Jessika Hornsby and Nicole Stone stepped foot on the track for the semifinals of the 4x100-meter relay to signal the start of the track events. The foursome finished in fourth place in Heat 1, which proved to be the toughest after it advanced an event-high three teams to the finals, and posted a time of 44.90. The group entered the national meet with the 18th-best time and moved up two spots after it was all said and done and finished in 16th place overall.
Nearly an hour later, Koehler took her mark for the first round of the 100-meter dash and finished in sixth place in the fourth and final heat with a time of 11.60. Similar to the 4x100 relay, Koehler's heat was highly competitive as it was one of two to have five athletes secure spots in the semifinals. In the end, Koehler completed the sprint with the 25th-best time and was just .11 seconds off from advancing to the next round.
Following the aforementioned three-hour weather delay, Stone (400m) and Koehler (long jump) returned to the track for their respective events.
Racing in Heat 3 of the 400-meter dash, Stone, who was running in Lane 4, crossed the finish line fifth with a time of 54.61. In her third career NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance, Stone clocked in with the 23rd-best time in the field and posted the second-fastest effort among competing Mountain West Conference athletes. Stone fell just .64 seconds shy of moving on to the semifinals.
Koehler, meanwhile, posted the field of 27's second-best long jump of 21-00.50 on her first attempt to earn one of 14 spots in Friday's final. Koehler will look to add to a 2009 resume that includes All-America honors in the indoor triple jump, MWC titles in the indoor and outdoor long jump and the outdoor triple jump, the MWC outdoor High Point Award and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 8 First-Team accolades.
Koehler is San Diego State's only remaining competitor at the national meet and will compete in the finals of the long jump tomorrow, which begins at 4:45 p.m. CT/2:45 p.m. PT.
NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
McDonnell Field (Fayetteville, Ark.)
SDSU Results Only
100-Meter Dash First Round (top 18 of 27 athletes advance)
25. Karoline Koehler - 11.60
400-Meter Dash First Round (top 18 of 27 athletes advance)
23. Nicole Stone - 54.61
4x100-Meter Relay Semifinals (top 9 of 19 teams advance)
16. San Diego State (Alicia King, Karoline Koehler, Jessika Hornsby, Nicole Stone) - 44.90
Long Jump Qualifying (top 14 of 27 advance)
2. Karoline Koehler - 21-00.50q