June 7, 2011
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Information
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NCAA Championship Information
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San Diego State heads to Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Three Aztecs qualified for the four-day meet, which begins Wednesday (June 8) at historic Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University.
Junior Whitney Ashley is scheduled to compete in both the discus throw and the shot put, while freshman Allison Reaser and sophomore Kelsy Hintz are entered in the heptathlon and pole vault, respectively.
Ashley kicks things off for SDSU on Wednesday in the discus, which begins at 3 p.m. CT. Ashley earned the trip to Des Moines last week in the NCAA Preliminary Rounds (west region), taking fifth of 48 competitors with a throw of 173 feet, 5 inches. The mark, which was the third-best throw in program history, has her 10th of 24 heading into this weekend's national competition. Ashley will compete in the first of two flights.
Reaser, meanwhile, begins her two-day heptathlon on Thursday at 1 p.m. CT with the 100-meter hurdles. Reaser, who qualified for the NCAA Championships with 5,408 points by winning the MWC championships meet, will follow with the high jump (2 p.m. CT), shot put (5 p.m. CT) and 200 meters (6:30 p.m. CT) on Thursday and the long jump (4 p.m. CT), javelin (5:15 p.m. CT) and 800 (7:45 p.m. CT) on Friday. Her 5,408 points rank her 13th of the 24 scheduled competitors and second among freshmen.
Hintz gets her championship meet in the pole vault underway on Friday at 5:25 p.m. CT. Hintz earned the trip to Des Moines after taking 12th (tied for 10th in height) in the west region, clearing 13-03.50. That mark, however, has her tied for 10th heading into the weekend as each of the west region participants bettered the east region athletes, where 13-01.50 got them to Des Moines. Hintz set a personal-best mark of 13-07.25 on April 23 at the UCSD Triton Invitational. That is the fourth-best vault in school history. Hintz, the MWC champion in the pole vault, has cleared 13-00.00 in five consecutive meets.
Ashley wraps up competition for San Diego State Saturday at 11 a.m. CT in the shot put. Ashley qualified for this weekend's NCAA Championships by taking 12th in the event at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds (west region) with a toss of 51-08.25. The mark, her third best of the season, has her ranked 24th of the 24 initial competitors. Ashley's best shot put this year was 51-11.25 in a victory at the MWC Championships, the second-best throw in program history.
Last Time in the NCAA Championships (2009)
This weekend's trip to nationals will be the first for the three Aztecs. SDSU's last trip to the NCAA Championships came in 2009, when it finished 25th with 11 points. It was San Diego State's first top-25 finish since 1985, when it took ninth. Karoline Koehler led the Aztecs with a runner-up finish in the long jump and a sixth-place showing in the triple jump.
A Look at Drake Stadium
One of the premier track and field facilities in the country, Drake Stadium is hosting this year's NCAA Championships after hosing the 2007 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, the 2008 NCAA Championships and the 2010 USA Championships. The stadium will also play host to next year's NCAA championship meet. Every April, Drake Stadium (capacity: 14,557) hosts the Drake Relays where numerous world, national and collegiate records have been set.
SDSU's NCAA Championship Schedule
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
3 p.m. CT - Whitney Ashley, discus throw (seeded 10th with a throw of 173-05.00)
Thursday, June 9, 2011
1 p.m. CT - Allison Reaser, heptathlon - first day (seeded 13th with 5,408 points)
Friday, June 10, 2011
4 p.m. CT - Allison Reaser, heptathlon - second day 5:25 p.m. CT - Kelsy Hintz, pole vault (seeded 12th with a mark of 13-03.50)
Saturday, June 11, 2011
11 a.m. CT - Whitney Ashley, shot put (seeded 24th with a throw of 51-08.25)