May 22, 2018
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SAN DIEGO - The Aztecs will have 11 athletes competing across seven events at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships May 24-26 at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium. This is the fourth consecutive year, the Aztecs have had at least 10 athletes qualify for prelims.
Six Aztecs will be competing in multiple events. Seniors Ashley Henderson and Simone Glenn qualified for the 100, 200 and 4x100 meter relay. Lisa-Anne Barrow, Jalyn Harris and Tyra Lea will each be competing in the 400 and 4x400 meter relay. Rochene Smith will run the 100 and 4x100 relay.
Other Aztecs that qualified include Kaitlin Heri and Marissa Berry for the pole vault, Lakin Hatcher for the 4x400 meter relay, Callista Fletcher for the 4x100 relay and Je'Neal Ainsworth in the triple jump.
For the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes, the first round will consist of six heats of eight competitors. The top three from each heat plus the next best three times will advance to the quarterfinal round, which will have three heats of eight runners. The top three from each heat plus the next best three times will advance to the semi-final round at the Final Championship competition in Eugene, Ore in two weeks.
The relay competition consists of three eight team heats. The top three from each heat plus the next best three times will move on to Eugene.
For the field events, the triple jump and pole vault, the competitors with the 12 best marks advance.
The Aztecs will compete in the first round of the 100 (6:55 p.m.) and 400 meter dashes (7:45 p.m.) on Thursday. On Friday, there will be the quarterfinals of the 400 (5:45 p.m.) and 100 (6:15 p.m.), followed by the first round of the 200 (7:55 p.m.). The pole vault will also take place on Friday, beginning at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Aztecs get started with Je'Neal Ainsworth competing in the triple jump at 4:30 p.m. The 4x100 meter relay will kick off the track events at 6:15 p.m. The Aztecs will also be competing in the 200 quarterfinals at 7:50 p.m. and the 4x400 relay, the final event of the meet, at 9:45 p.m.
Fans can watch a live stream of the NCAA Division I West Preliminary Championships as FloTrack Pro subscribers. The subscription will include access to all FloTrack live broadcasts, video on-demand from all events, documentaries, technique videos and more.
Need to Know
-The Aztecs 2018 Mountain West Outdoor Championship was their fourth in the past six years. SDSU dominated the sprinting events to jump from 11th to first place in the meet's final day. The Aztecs swept the podium in the 200, took first, third and fourth in the 100 and first and third in the 400. The Aztecs also won both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
-Ashley Henderson was named the Meet's Most Outstanding Performer, the fifth straight conference championship where she has won this award, a conference record. Shelia Burrell was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year, her fourth time taking home this award.
-For the third straight year, Ashley Henderson won the gold medal in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relays. She now has nine outdoor conference championships and 14 total, both of which are school records.
-Lisa-Anne Barrow set a new PR in the 400 meter dash two weeks ago at the MW Championships. Her time of 52.11 earned her a gold medal and is the third best time in school history and MW Championship history. She also PR'd in the 200 and her time of 23.39 was sixth in program history.
-The Aztecs took second and third in the pole vault. Kaitlin Heri earned silver with a personal best mark of 13' 5.75" and Marissa Berry came in third, clearing 13' 1.75". Rachel Craft also PR'd with a mark of 12' 6", good for seventh place. It is the seventh straight year, the Aztecs will send at least two pole vaulters to NCAA prelims.
-Jalyn Harris set new collegiate bests in the 200 (23.82) and 400 (53.59) at the MW Championships. Her time in the 400 was the tenth best mark in school history.
-In her final race as an Aztec, Jasmine Young set a new personal record in the 400 meter hurdles. She finished in 1:01.00, good for sixth place.
-Three current Aztecs (Ashley Henderson (10.98), Simone Glenn (11.51) and Rochene Smith (11.50) all are in the top ten all-time at SDSU for the 100 meter dash. That trio along with freshman Jalyn Harris ran the second fastest 4x100 relay (43.46) in school history two weeks ago.
-Ashley Henderson's time of 10.98 in the 100 meter dash on April 28 set a school and facility record (Roy P. Drachman Track & Field Stadium). Henderson now has the school record in the 100 meter dash for freshmen (11.64), sophomores (11.21), juniors (11.01) and seniors (10.98).
Ten Aztecs Earn All-Mountain West Honors
Ten members of the San Diego State Track & Field team earned all-conference honors, meaning they finished in the top three at the MW Outdoor Championships. The Aztecs had three athletes earn all-conference honors in three events: Ashley Henderson, Simone Glenn and Lisa-Anne Barrow.
Henderson, who was named the Mountain West Outstanding Performer of the Meet for the fifth consecutive championship, won the 100 (11.04w) and 200 meter (22.59) dashes. Henderson's time of 22.59 in the 200 was the second best time in Mountain West Championship history and her mark of 11.04w in the 100 was the third fastest. She also ran the anchor leg for the Aztecs' first place 4x100m relay team (44.23).
Barrow's PR of 52.11 in the 400 meter dash earned her a gold and was the third best in school history and MW Championship history. She also earned a bronze in the 200 meter dash, with a time of 23.39, the fifth best time in school history. Barrow anchored the 4x400 meter relay to help lift the Aztecs to a first place finish (3:37.39).
Senior Simone Glenn earned a silver in the 200 meter dash (23.30) and a bronze in the 100 meter dash (11.32w). She was also a part of the 4x100 relay, which had the third best finish in MW Championship history (44.23).
Kaitlin Heri and Marissa Berry picked up some crucial points for the Aztecs in the pole vault. Heri PR'd, clearing 13' 5.75", to earn a silver medal and Berry took bronze (13' 1.75").
Freshman Jalyn Harris finished in third in the 400 meter dash with a PR of 53.59 and also ran the third leg in the gold medal winning 4x400 relay.
Other Aztec All-MW honorees include Callista Fletcher and Rochene Smith for the 4x100 relay and Lakin Hatcher and Tyra Lea for the 4x400 relay.