June 9, 2012
DES MOINES, Iowa -
Sophomore Shanieka Thomas earned a runner-up finish in the triple jump to lead San Diego State to a tie for ninth at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. The ninth-place showing (shared with Tennessee) tied the Aztecs' best team finish in program history (also 1985).
Thomas broke the school record three times over her six jumps, including the final attempt, when she had a mark of 45 feet, 9 ¾ inches (13.96 meters). The mark, also a Mountain West record, is also enough to qualify her for the Jamaican Olympic Trials later this month.
Thomas, who had a personal best of 44-08.00 coming into the weekend, set two weeks ago at the NCAA Prelims in Austin, Texas, broke Karoline Koehler's 2009 program record of 44-09.00 on her second jump with a leap of 44-09.75. She bettered that on her third attempt (45-06.50) and clinched the second-place showing on her final jump with the record-setting mark of 45-09.75. Only Ganna Demydova of Southern Mississippi defeated Thomas as she broke a NCAA meet record with a leap of 46-07.25 (14.20m). Thomas came into the weekend ranked third in the event.
Junior Alex Evans also had a personal-best in the triple jump as she took 14th with a leap of 42-05.25 (12.93m). It bettered her previous best of 41-08.50 (also set two weeks ago in Austin) and is the fourth-best mark in program history. Evans came into the weekend tied for 23rd in the event.
The eight points by Thomas gave SDSU 21.00 points for the meet, which tied Tennessee for ninth. Notable teams behind San Diego State included Texas (11th, 20.00), Florida (T-12th, 18.00), Colorado (T-14th, 16.00), Florida State (T-14th, 16.00), Arizona (T-19th, 15.00), UCLA (T-21st, 14.00), Georgia (T-21st, 14.00), Ohio State (T-21, 14.00), Arizona State (T-24th, 13.00), USC (T-24th, 13.00), BYU (T-30th, 10.00) and Mountain West champion TCU (T-30th, 10.00). LSU won the meet with 76.00 points, while Oregon (62.00), Texas A&M (38.00), Clemson (28.00) and Kansas (28.00) rounded out the top five.
2012 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships (Finals)
Des Moines, Iowa (Drake University)
June 9, 2012 (Day Four of Four)
Final Team Results (Top 10 only) (after 21 of 21 events)
1. LSU - 76.00
2. Oregon - 62.00
3. Texas A&M - 38.00
4t. Clemson - 28.00
4t. Kansas - 28.00
6. Stanford - 25.00
7. Oklahoma - 24.00
8. Washington - 23.00
9t. San Diego State - 21.00
9t. Tennessee - 21.00
Individual Results (Top 5 and SDSU only)
Triple Jump (out of 24 entrants)
1. Ganna Demydova (Southern Mississippi) - 46-07.25 (14.20m)
2. Shanieka Thomas (SDSU) - 45-09.75 (13.96m) (Mountain West record, school record)
3. Andrea Geubelle (Kansas) - 45-05.00 (13.84m)
4. Ciarra Brewer (Florida) - 44-09.50 (13.65m)
5. Michelle Jenije (Florida State) - 44-06.00 (13.56m)
14. Alex Evans (SDSU) - 42-05.25 (12.93m) (No. 4 all-time at SDSU)