Feb. 5, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
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Looking at the Week
The San Diego State track and field team heads to Albuquerque, N.M., to compete in the New Mexico Classic. It will be second straight meet where the Aztecs will compete at elevation as Albuquerque is listed at roughly 5,314 feet.
Twenty-five Aztecs are set to compete in 49 events. Four-time All-American Karoline Koehler is scheduled to compete in the 60-meter and 200-meter dash, as well as the triple jump.
Nearly 700 athletes representing 28 collegiate teams and several postcollegiate teams will take part in this weekend's New Mexico Classic.
In just four years of action, the indoor track and field facility at the Albuquerque Convention Center has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the premier venues in the America. The Albuquerque Convention Center will also be the home of the 2010 Mountain West Conference Championships, as well as the 2010 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships (Feb. 27-28), the NCAA Division II Championships (March 12-13), and many high school meets.
Who's Going to New Mexico?
San Diego State is one of 25 full collegiate teams (15 women, 10 men) attending the meet. Other competitors include Abilene Christian (Division II), Adams State (Division II), Air Force, Colorado School of Mines (Division II), Colorado State, Colorado State-Pueblo (women only - Division II), Mesa State (women only - Division II), Missouri Southern (men only - Division II), New Mexico, New Mexico Highlands (women only - Division II), New Mexico State (women only), Sacramento State, San Francisco State (women only - Division II), Utah State and Western State (Division II).
On the women's side, three of those teams are nationally ranked in Division II, including No. 5 Adams State, No. 15 Abilene Christian, and No. 25 New Mexico Highlands.
Other Aztecs who are scheduled to compete in more than one event besides Koehler are Sara Beyers (3,000/5,000), Jordan Davis (3,000/5,000), AnSherae Devine (800/4x400), Alex Evans (60H/400/Long Jump/Triple Jump), Jessika Hornsby (60/200/4x400), Briana Johnson (60/60H/4x400), Alicia King (60/4x400), Kierstan Kirkland (60H/4x400), Annimari Korte (60/60H/4x400), Josefine Koskinen (800/4x400), Michelle Martinez (3,000/5,000), Leigh Rutherford (400/800), Nicole Stone (200/400/4x400), Kai Wheeler (60/Long Jump/Triple Jump) and Rachel Williams (3,000/5,000).
Last Week at the Mountain T's
Seniors Karoline Koehler and Nicole Stone provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships last Saturday on the final day of the Mountain T's Invitational at the J L Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Koehler provisionally qualified in both the 60-meter dash (7.40 seconds) and the long jump (20 feet, 9 inches), taking second in each invitational event but earning top collegiate honors.
Stone, meanwhile, earned a provisionally qualifying time in the 400 meters, winning the invitational event in 54.29 seconds. She also took seventh in the 60-meter dash in 7.72.
Sophomore Josefine Koskinen was a double-winner, first taking the open mile in 5:25.90 before coming back to win the invitational 800 in 2:19.35.
Other Aztec victories on the day went to Annimari Korte in the 60-meter hurdles (8.66) and AnSherae Devine in the open 400 (58.39).
Jessika Hornsby narrowly missed winning the invitational 200 with a time of 25.25. She also was eighth in the 60 meters (7.74), while Amy Brown trailed only Koskinen in the invitational 800 (2:22.24).
Last Year at the New Mexico Classic
The San Diego State track and field team finished with two event titles and 31 top-10 performances at last year's New Mexico Classic.
Karoline Koehler turned in three top-5 efforts highlighted by her triple jump championship. The senior won the event with an NCAA provisional-qualifying and facility-record leap of 43 feet, 5.00 inches to lead an Aztec group that had six finish among the top 10. Her effort was also good enough to propel her to No. 4 in the nation. Koehler, meanwhile, came in third place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.48 seconds, which was a personal record and matched the second-best time in school history. She also finished in fifth place with a clocking of 24.66 in the 200.
Rachel Williams was the other Aztec to walk away with a title as she won the 3,000-meters in 10:26.70 and etched her name in the Aztec record book in the process by turning in the fourth-best effort in program history.
The weight throw also produced quality results as senior Tamara McMillan took third place with a toss of 56-7.50. Her personal-record effort broke the school standard of excellence previously held by classmate Andrea Martinez, who recorded a distance of 54-8.25 last season.
In the shot put, SDSU went 3-4-5-6-7 in the competition as Laura Boggeln notched the Aztecs' top performance with a personal-best toss of 42-8.00. Maria Rodriguez followed in fourth (42-4.00) with McMillan (41-3.25), Jeanette McConnell (41-3.00) and Leanne Taylor (38-7.50) coming in behind.
One week after setting a lifetime best in the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Briana Johnson bested her previous personal record by placing second in the race with a time of 8.54. An NCAA Championship qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles in 2008, Johnson entered the SDSU record book on this day with the sixth-best performance in school history.
Joining Johnson, Koehler, Williams and McMillan on the all-time San Diego State performance list was freshman Sheehan Mitchell. Mitchell finished third in the high jump with a leap of 5-3.00, which matched the 10th-best effort in the history of the program.
In addition to Koeehler, Decontee Kaye provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships with her triple jump of 42-3.50 as she finished in second place overall.