Feb. 25, 2016
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Kassidy Ellis finished fourth in the pentathlon to lead the San Diego State track and field team Thursday at the Mountain West Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M.
Ellis totaled 3,690 points, eight points better than her previous-best mark, to finish with the sixth-highest total in school history. Nevada's Nicole Wadden won the 17-entrant event with 4,060 points, while Karsen Sper (3,336) and Jelena McNown (3,332) came in 13th and 14th, respectively.
After two events (the distance medley relay was also contested on Thursday), the Aztecs sit in ninth place with five points, ahead of UNLV (4) and Utah State (2). Colorado State leads with 15 events still to go at 13 points.
Ellis ran the fastest 60-meter hurdles to open the event in personal record (PR) of 8.65 seconds for 984 points. Sper came in seventh in the event in 8.94 for 922 points, while McNown was 10th in a PR of 9.14 and 881 points.
Next up was the high jump where McNown paced SDSU in 10th, clearing 5 feet, 2 ½ inches (1.59m) and 724 points. Ellis and Sper, meanwhile, tied in 12th at 5-00.25 (1.53m) for 655 points.
Ellis led San Diego State in the shot put in 10th with a heave of 33-01.75 (10.10m) for 536 points. Sper took 13th at 31-03.00 (9.52m) for 498 points, while McNown was 16th at 27-06.50 (8.39m) and 425 points.
Ellis posted the best long jump of the competition as well with a leap of 19-00.75 (5.81m). The 19-00.75 was the ninth-best long jump in Aztec indoor history and gave her 792 additional points. McNown was fourth in a PR of 18-04.25 (5.59m) for 726 points and Sper came in 14th in 16-05.75 (4.97m) for 565 points.
The pentathlon ended with the 800, where Ellis took ninth in 2:27.61 for 723 points, Sper was 11th in 2:29.74 (696 points) and McNown finished 15th in 2:39.56 (578 points).
SDSU is back in action on Friday, starting with the long jump at 1 p.m. MT and ending with the qualifying heats of the 200 at 4:15 p.m. MT.
Friday's events will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.
2016 Mountain West Championships
Feb. 25-27, 2016
Albuquerque, N.M.
Team Results (out of 11 teams) (after 2 of 17 events)
1. Colorado State - 13
2. Nevada - 11
3. Boise State - 10
4. Fresno State - 8
5. Air Force - 7
6t. New Mexico - 6
6t. San José State - 6
6t. Wyoming - 6
9. San Diego State - 5
10. UNLV - 4
11. Utah State - 2
Individual Results (SDSU and winner of each event only)
Pentathlon (out of 17 entrants)
1. Nicole Wadden (Nevada) - 4,060 points
4. Kassidy Ellis (SDSU) - 3,690 (No. 6 all-time at SDSU)
13. Karsen Sper (SDSU) - 3,336
14. Jelena McNown (SDSU) - 3,334