SAN DIEGO - Asia Smith (pentathlon) and the SDSU 4x400m relay team of Jalyn Harris, Danae Dyer, Sakura Roberson and Nyjari McNeil will be competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend.
The NCAA Indoor Championships are March 13-14 at the Albuquerque Convention Center, where SDSU has already competed four times this season. The pentathlon begins March 13 at 10:15 a.m. PT and the 4x400m relay race, which will feature three heats of four teams, begins at 5:55 p.m. PT March 14. The 4x4 race will be streamed on ESPN3.
Smith, a junior from Escondido, Calif., won the gold medal in the pentathlon at the Mountain West Indoor Championships with 4,075 points, the second most in SDSU's indoor history. Smith set new PR's in all five events, winning the shot put and long jump and taking second in the 60m hurdles and high jump. Her high jump mark of 5-07.00 (1.70m), tied for the third highest jump in school history.
Smith is one of three pentathletes from non-power five schools to qualify for NCAA's. Her score was the 15th highest in the nation this season. She is the first Aztec pentathlete to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2014 (Allison Reaser).
SDSU's 4x400m relay team also won the gold medal at the Mountain West Indoor Championships with a time of 3:35.65. Earlier this year at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic (Feb. 7), they posted a time of 3:33.81 to beat the previous school record by nearly six seconds. SDSU enters the NCAAs with the 11th-best time.
This the first time an Aztec 4x400m relay team has qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships and SDSU is the only non-power five relay team competing.
The rest of the Aztec squad will continue their outdoor season. The distance squad will be competing at the Oxy Distance Carnival Spring Break Classic. Lauren Harper and Alex Lomeli will be competing in the 800m and 1,500m. Paige Comiso, Renee Phillips, Emily Burd and Naomi Smitham will run the 5,000m and Isabelle Davis and Natalie Regalado will make their debut in the 3,000m steeplechase.
Closer to home, a small contingent will compete at Point Loma's Ross and Sharon Irwin Invitational. Kasey Ebb will run the 200m and 400m dash, Sonja Andenmatten will run the 800m and 400m hurdles where she will be joined by Carina Clark and Nia Collins. The five SDSU vaulters will also be competing.
Aztec Tidbits
- SDSU has sent a 4x4 team to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in each of the last two years. Jalyn Harris was on both of those teams while Sakura Roberson and Nyjari McNeil were on it last year. This will be the first NCAA appearance for Danae Dyer.
- This is just the second time since 2014 the Aztecs have sent more than one athlete to the NCAA Indoor Championships.
- The Aztecs have had an athlete earn a silver medal in each of the last two NCAA Indoor Championships: Ashley Henderson (2018, 200m) and Bonnie Draxler (2019, pole vault)
Aztecs Set for NCAA Indoor Championships
