May 14, 2016
CLOVIS, Calif. - Down 47 points entering the final day of the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships, San Diego State made a valiant charge, but came up 9.5 points short to finish in second place Saturday night in Clovis, Calif. Colorado State, which led the Aztecs by a 89-42 margin after three days, won the meet with 165.50 points to SDSU's 156.
The host team Fresno State came in third with 96 points, while New Mexico (88) and UNLV (68) rounded out the top five.
San Diego State won four individual events and a relay on the final day, led by Ashley Henderson. Henderson won the 100-meter dash, the 200 and anchored the winning 4x100-meter relay. For her efforts, she was named the Women's Outstanding Performer of the Meet.
Henderson started her fantastic day by anchoring the 4x100 team to a time of 44.30 seconds, the second-fastest time in school history. Starlynn Singleton, Simone Glenn and Micha Auzenne also ran a leg with Henderson and each added points to the Aztecs' score later in the meet. SDSU won the 4x100 by more than a second (Fresno State, 45.72).
Next up was the 100, where Henderson breezed to a win in a time of 11.10, which would have been a school record (11.20 by Tonette Dyer in 2004), but the wind was just over the 2.0 mph limit at 2.3 mph. Henderson won the event by 0.28 seconds over UNLV's Destiny Smith-Barnett and 0.46 seconds ahead of the third- and fourth-place finishers.
Henderson also blew away the field in the 200 final with a wind-aided time of 22.44 seconds, which is the third-fastest time in the nation this year (regardless of wind). She defeated runner-up Njeri Omawahleh of Fresno State by 1.01 seconds. Like the 100, the wind was a 2.3 mph for the 200 and was not considered a wind-legal time. Henderson now has four MW titles, including the indoor 200 earlier this year.
"I thought we fought as hard as we could today and I couldn't be more proud of our team," Henderson said. "We knew we had a long way to go to catch (Colorado State), but I didn't feel any pressure myself. More relief (that it's over) than anything else. I've never won an award like (the Women's Outstanding Performer of the Meet) so I was excited for that. It shows that all my hard work and dedication is paying off."
San Diego State also swept the hurdles events, taking down the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles. Auzenne first won the 100 hurdles in a wind-aided time of 13.18, which is tied for the 24th-fastest time in the nation this year regardless of wind. With the two MW titles today (100 hurdles and 4x100), Auzenne now has six for her career (three indoor, three outdoor).
Madison Gipson was the final winner for the Aztecs with a huge PR (personal record) in the 400 hurdles. Gipson caught defending champion Kyra Johnson of Fresno State in the final meters to take it down in 58.01 seconds, exactly two seconds faster than her previous-best time. The 58.01 is the fourth fastest in program history, tied for the 30th fastest in the country this year and just 0.01 seconds ahead of Johnson. It was the first MW title of her career. Gipson also added a seventh-place finish in the 100 hurdles in a wind-aided time of 13.79 and ended the day running a leg on the runner-up 4x400 team in 3:41.21 with Lakin Hatcher, Glenn and Tyra Lea.
"(The 400 hurdles) was a tough race," Gipson told the Mountain West Network. "Yesterday my coaches told me that I needed to get out and be aggressive on the first three hurdles. I had (Kyra Johnson) in front of me and thought if I could catch her in the beginning, then I'd be doing well. I was worried about myself, but I wanted to keep her in close proximity. When I came around (on the final turn) I thought, `I can do this.' It was all heart (at the end). I knew if I had that determination that I wanted to win it so bad that it would get my across the line and it did."
Glenn and Singleton also scored in the 100 and 200. Glenn was third in the 200 (wind-aided 23.56) and fourth in the 100 (wind-added 11.56), while Singleton was fifth in the 100 (wind-aided 11.67) and seventh in the 200 (wind-aided 24.12).
Lea (54.37) and Ellison Grove (2:07.81) each came in third in their respective event - Lea in the 400 and Grove in the 800. Other scorers on the track came from Sierra Brabham-Lawrence in the 100 hurdles (wind-aided 13.36) and Jazmen Bunch in the 200 (wind-aided 23.98).
SDSU also excelled in the field events, led by Alexa Evans' runner-up finish in the discus throw with a toss of 175 feet, 3 inches (53.41m). Rachel Alesi added a fifth-place finish in the event with a mark of 162-00 (49.39m).
Je'Neal Ainsworth, meanwhile, came in third in the triple jump with a leap of 41-04.50 (12.61m), the eighth-best mark in school history.
San Diego State, which had many athletes improve their marks this weekend, will compete at the NCAA West Prelims in Lawrence, Kan., from May 26-28.
2016 Mountain West Outdoor Championships
Veterans Memorial Stadium - Clovis, Calif.
May 11-14, 2016
Team Results (after 21 of 21 events)
1. Colorado State - 165.50
2. San Diego State - 156
3. Fresno State - 96
4. New Mexico - 88
5. UNLV - 68
6. Utah State - 59.50
7. Nevada - 42.50
8. Boise State - 39.50
9t. Air Force - 35
9t. Wyoming - 35
11. San José State - 31
Individual Results (SDSU and winner of each event only)
100 Meters (finals) (out of 9 entrants)
1. Ashley Henderson (SDSU) - 11.10 (wind-aided)
4. Simone Glenn (SDSU) - 11.56 (wind-aided)
5. Starlynn Singleton (SDSU) - 11.67 (wind-aided)
9. Jazmen Bunch (SDSU) - 11.82 (wind-aided)
200 Meters (finals) (out of 9 entrants)
1. Ashley Henderson (SDSU) - 22.44 (wind-aided)
3. Simone Glenn (SDSU) - 23.56 (wind-aided)
6. Jazmen Bunch (SDSU) - 23.98 (wind-aided)
7. Starlynn Singleton (SDSU) - 24.12 (wind-aided)
400 Meters (finals) (out of 9 entrants)
1. Njeri Onwahleh (Fresno State) - 54.05
3. Tyra Lea (SDSU) - 54.37
800 Meters (finals) (out of 9 entrants)
1. Sophie Connor (New Mexico) - 2:05.95
3. Ellison Grove (SDSU) - 2:07.81
5,000 Meters (out of 26 entrants)
1. Brenna Peloquin (Boise State) - 16:05.99
17. Elaine Ribeiro (SDSU) - 17:44.76
100-Meter Hurdles (finals) (out of 9 entrants)
1. Micha Auzenne (SDSU) - 13.18 (wind-aided)
4. Sierra Brabham-Lawrence (SDSU) - 13.36 (wind-aided)
7. Madison Gipson (SDSU) - 13.79 (wind-aided)
400-Meter Hurdles (finals) (out of 9 entrants)
1. Madison Gipson (SDSU) - 58.02 (No. 4 all-time at SDSU)
4x100-Meter Relay (out of 8 teams)
1. SDSU (Starlynn Singleton, Simone Glenn, Micha Auzenne, Ashley Henderson) - 44.30 (No. 2 all-time at SDSU)
4x400-Meter Relay (out of 10 teams)
1. Fresno State - 3:38.35
2. San Diego State (Lakin Hatcher, Madison Gipson, Simone Glenn, Tyra Lea) - 3:41.21
Triple Jump (out of 15 entrants)
1. Jannell Hadnot (New Mexico) - 42-08.25 (wind-aided)
3. Je'Neal Ainsworth (SDSU) - 41-04.50 (12.61m) (No. 8 all-time at SDSU)
Discus Throw (out of 21 entrants)
1. Kayla Hopkins (Fresno State) - 177-05 (54.08m)
2. Alexa Evans (SDSU) - 175-03 (53.41m)
5. Rachel Alesi (SDSU) - 162-00 (49.39m)
14. Anishi Desai (SDSU) - 146-07 (44.68m)