May 25, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas - San Diego State's Shanieka Thomas (St. Andrew, Jamaica) captured first place in the triple jump on Saturday to lead the Aztec track and field team during the final day of competition at the NCAA West Region Preliminary Round inside Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus.
Thomas recorded a wind-aided leap of 46 feet, 2 inches (14.07 meters) on her fourth and final attempt, besting second-place Andrea Gaubelle of Kansas (45-01.75) by over a foot to earn her second straight trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scheduled for June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore. The SDSU junior entered the weekend ranked No. 1 nationally in the event after finishing as the NCAA runner-up at both the 2012 outdoor and 2013 indoor meets.
Thomas also combined with junior Maderia Toatley (Atlanta, Ga.), freshman Renetia James (Carson, Calif.) and senior Deyna Roberson (San Diego, Calif.) on the Aztecs' 4x400 relay that finished 14th with a time of 3 minutes, 37.73 seconds. The SDSU quartet placed sixth in the opening heat, but came up short by 3.61 seconds in its bid to advance to the NCAA meet, as Texas Tech claimed the 12th and final spot overall at 3:34.12.
Alex Evans joined Thomas in advancing to the NCAA Championships in Eugene in the triple jump with a wind-aided leap of 43-00.50 (13.12m), which was good enough for sixth place.
In the semifinals of the 200-meter dash, freshman LaQuisha Jackson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) finished sixth in the third heat and 18th overall with a time of 23.92, while sophomore Kristen Brown (Owings Mills, Md.) rounded out the list of Aztec competitors, placing sixth in heat No. 2 and 20th overall at 13.65 in the semifinals of the 100 hurdles. However, both runners were unable to punch their tickets to Oregon, as the top 12 finishers in each event qualify for the national championships.
NCAA West Region Preliminary Round
Univ. of Texas; Austin, Texas
100-Meter Hurdles (quarterfinals - out of 24 participants)
20. Kristen Brown - 13.65
200-Meter Dash (quarterfinals - out of 24 participants)
18. LaQuisha Jackson - 23.92
4x400 Relay (quartefinals - out of 24 squads)
14. San Diego State (Thomas, Toatley, James, Roberson) - 3:37.73
Triple Jump (preliminaries - out of 48 participants)
1. Shanieka Thomas - 46-02.00 (14.07m) (wind-aided) (qualified for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.)
6. Alex Evans - 43-00.50 (13.12m) (wind-aided) (qualified for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.)