Jan. 14, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU WEEKLY RELEASE - NAU/POLE VAULT SUMMIT
The San Diego State track and field team kicks off its 2016 campaign Saturday at two separate locations. The majority of the squad will head to the Northern Arizona Lumberjack Challenge in Flagstaff, Ariz., while the pole vaulters will participate at the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev.
The Aztecs will send 14 athletes to the NAU Challenge, including three - Sierra Brabham-Lawrence, Kassidy Ellis and Madison Gipson - who are entered in three events apiece. Brabham-Lawrence, making her SDSU debut, is slated to run the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles and run a leg in the 4x400-meter relay. Also making her first appearance in a San Diego State uniform after transferring from Iowa, Ellis is set for the 60 hurdles, high jump and shot put. Gipson, meanwhile, is entered in the 200, 60 hurdles and 4x400.
Seven other Aztecs - Je'Neal Ainsworth (60, triple jump), Micha Auzenne (60, 60 hurdles), Jazmen Bunch (60, 200), Alexa Evans (shot put, weight throw), Lakin Hatcher (400, 4x400), Tyra Lea (400, 4x400) and Jelena McNown (60 hurdles, high jump) are scheduled for two events apiece.
Jasmine Young is set for the 400, while Victoria Dickerson and Freja Liljedahl will compete in the weight throw, and Rachel Alesi in the shot put.
The meet kicks off at 9 a.m. MT, but SDSU doesn't start until the high jump at 10 a.m. MT. The running events start for San Diego State with the 60 meters at 10:55 a.m. MT and concludes with the 4x400 at 1:45 p.m. MT.
The Aztecs and host Lumberjacks will be joined by Arizona, Arizona State, Grand Canyon, Southern Utah, UC Irvine, UCLA, UTEP.
The meet will be scored as multiple dual meets - 5-3-2-1 (two athletes per team scoring per event), 5-3 (one relay team scoring per team) - and all track events will be run as timed finals. In the throwing and jumping events, each athlete will get three attempts with the top nine advancing to the finals for three more jumps/throws.
The UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit, meanwhile, is the largest pole vault of the year. The annual event features some of the top pole vault athletes in the world, as well as high school and college athletes, and coaches. The Summit is a grassroots developmental clinic established and continued to promote safety and encourage the advancement of pole vaulting at all levels through constant education. Numerous Olympic and U.S. champions have come to the clinic in the past, including Renaud Lavillenie (2012 Olympic men's champion) and Jenn Suhr (2012 Olympic women's champion).
All of SDSU's pole vaulters - Marissa Berry, Sara Curran, Bonnie Draxler, Courtney Jackson, Katherine Magill, Julia Newton and Karen Snapper - are expected to attend on Saturday, along with former athletes Kristen Brown and Kortney Ross.
Start times for the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit won't be released until Friday night.
Results for both meets will be posted to GoAztecs.com when they become available.