CLOVIS, Calif. – San Diego State totaled 130 points on the third and final day of the Mountain West Outdoor Championships propelling them to a second-place finish in the team standings. Overall, they won 12 medals on Saturday including four golds, five silvers, and three bronzes.
The Aztecs entered the day with just 22 points and faced a 55-point deficit and had it narrowed it down to just two points with two events left. Ultimately, their 152 total for the championship meet fell short of Colorado State's 165 points for the trophy.
The day started with the last two field events in the early afternoon. Jenna Fee Feyerabend won the first medal of the day, earning bronze in the high jump with a season best clearance of 1.73m (5-8). It is her second medal of the weekend after winning gold in the heptathlon on Friday.
Just moments later, a second SDSU medalist jumped on the podium as Xiamara Young won bronze in the triple jump. Just as she did in long jump the night before, she moved into third place on her sixth and final attempt with a jump of 13.22m (43-4.5). The mark moves her into fifth all-time on the SDSU top ten and goes as the best jump by an Aztec at the conference meet since 2014. Sameerah Evans also scored points in the event, jumping a personal best 12.58m (41-3.25) to finish sixth.
From there, all the attention was on the track beginning with the 4x100m relay. For the fourth consecutive year, the Aztecs took the gold medal as Hannah Waller, Jada Moore, Shaquena Foote and Aji Mbye ran a 43.96 in the victory. The time is the fifth fastest in program history and fastest by any team at the MW championships since SDSU in 2017.
In the first of three distance races on the day, Jessica Kain won silver in the 1,500m with a time of 4:17.66. It is the second consecutive year, she finished as the conference runner-up but ranks as the fastest time by an Aztec at the conference championship meet. She also ran in the 5,000m later in the evening where she finished 14th.
The 2023 runner-up in the 100m hurdles, Charlize James, took the leap forward and won gold in the event this year. Running a 13.05, she gives San Diego State their fourth straight champion in the race following Danae Dyer's three consecutive titles from 2021-23. James' time ranks fifth fastest in program history and is the fastest at the conference meet since 2021. Jada Pierre also scored points in the event, finishing fifth at 13.65 seconds.
Shaquena Foote successfully defended her crown in the 400m dash, running a 52.03 for the gold. Her time ranks fourth all-time and bests her own sophomore record as she becomes the first Aztec to ever win back-to-back 400m titles. Sydney Bentley also scored a point, taking eighth place with a season best time of 54.86 seconds.
The 100m dash was next on the schedule with four Aztecs making up the field of nine finalists. Jada Moore led the group with an 11.44 (11.432) edging out Aji Mbye's 11.44 (11.437) for the silver and bronze medals. Hannah Waller (11.48) finished fourth and Jada Pierre (11.52) finished fifth as the Scarlet and Black totaled 23 points in the event.
Alex Lomeli was next on the track and had a historic race in the 800m. The senior won silver with a personal best time of 2:05.04, improving on her number two ranked mark in the SDSU record book. The second-place finish is also the highest placement by an Aztec in the event since the inaugural Mountain West Championship back in 2000.
Rhea Hoyte followed with another silver medal for the Aztecs in the 400m hurdles. Running a time of 58.38, she moved into seventh on the SDSU all-time list. Her along with Lidia Major, who finished seventh with a 1:00.86, both scored points in the race.
The final individual sprint was the 200m dash, where once again, the field consisted of four Aztecs. Shaquena Foote picked up her second medal of the day, winning silver with a personal best time of 23.20 seconds. Right behind her was Hannah Waller claiming the bronze medal with a time of 23.28 seconds. Aji Mbye bested her own freshman record with a time of 24.37 seconds in a fifth-place finish ahead of Jada Moore's 23.57 in sixth. In total, the race added 21 points to the team total.
The final event of the day was the 4x400m relay, an event that San Diego State has dominated in recent history. That dominance continued as Rhea Hoyte, Lidia Major, Sydney Bentley, and Shaquena Foote ran a 3:33.78 to win the race. The victory marks the Aztecs' seventh consecutive 4x4 title going back to 2017. The time also ranks 5th fastest in program history and second fastest in MW Championship history.
The team's second-place finish marks the eighth consecutive year that San Diego State has finished in the top two of the team standings, and 10th time in the last 11 conference championship meets.
San Diego State will now look forward to the NCAA West Regionals in Fayetteville, Ark. on May 22-25. The qualifiers for the postseason meet will be announced on the NCAA website early next week.
Mountain West Championships Results (SDSU and winners only)
Team Standings
1. Colorado State – 165 points
2. San Diego State – 152 points
3. Fresno State – 139 points
100m Final
1. Kennedi Porter (UNLV) – 11.33
2. Jada Moore – 11.44 (8 points, season best)
3. Aji Mbye – 11.44 (6 points)
4. Hannah Waller – 11.48 (5 points)
5. Jada Pierre – 11.52 (4 points, PR)
200m Final
1. Kennedi Porter (UNLV) – 22.98
2. Shaquena Foote – 23.20 (8 points, 5th all-time)
3. Hannah Waller – 23.28 (6 points)
5. Aji Mbye – 23.47 (4 points, PR, freshman record)
6. Jada Moore – 23.57 (3 points, season best)
400m Final
1. Shaquena Foote – 52.03 (10 points, 5th all-time)
8. Sydney Bentley – 54.86 (1 point, season best)
800m Final
1. Quinn McConnell (Colorado State) – 2:04.51
2. Alex Lomeli – 2:05.04 (8 points, 2nd all-time)
1,500m Run
1. Salma Elbadra (Wyoming) – 4:17.18
2. Jessica Kain - 4:17.66 (8 points)
9. Isabella Fauria - 4:32.52
12. Samantha Wood - 4:39.40
5,000m Run
1. Sarah Carter (Colorado State) – 16:00.80
14. Jessica Kain – 16:48.37
100m Hurdle Finals
1. Charlize James – 13.05 (10 points, 5th all-time)
5. Jada Pierre – 13.65 (4 points)
400m Hurdle Finals
1. Maddie Edwards (Utah State) – 57.22
2. Rhea Hoyte – 58.38 (8 points, 7th all-time)
7. Lidia Major – 1:00.86 (2 points)
4x100m Relay
1. Waller, Moore, Foote, Mbye – 43.96 (10 points, 5th all-time)
4x400m Relay
1. Hoyte, Major, Bentley, Foote – 3:33.78 (10 points, 5th all-time)
High Jump
1. Elizabeth Tarczy (Colorado State) – 5' 9.25
3. Jenna Fee Feyerabend – 5' 8 (6 points, season best)
Triple Jump
1. Emilia Sjostrand (San Jose State) – 44' 10.25
3. Xiamara Young – 43' 4.5 (6 points, 5th all-time)
6. Sameerah Evans – 41' 3.25 (3 points, PR)
Aztecs Finish Second at Mountain West Championships
