The Aztecs are set to compete at the MWC Championships.

Feb. 25, 2008

SAN DIEGO -

San Diego State Track and Field Weekly Release in PDF Format

Looking at the Week
The San Diego State track and field team returns to action this week as it will compete at the Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. The meet, which will run from Thursday, Feb. 28 to Saturday, March 1, is set for the Air Force Academy's Cadet Field House in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Competition on Thursday will begin with the pentathlon at 11 a.m. MT. On Friday, action will commence at 1 p.m., with events on Saturday slated for a 12:30 p.m. start.

Real-time results will be available on the MWC's official website, themwc.com.

Next week, the Aztecs will open the 2008 outdoor campaign in La Jolla, Calif., where they will look to defend their San Diego City Championships crown.

MWC Championship History
In the eight-year history of the MWC Indoor Championships, the Aztecs have finished in almost every place imaginable. Twice SDSU has finished second (2003 and 2004) and fourth (2006 and 2007), to go along with a third- (2000), a fifth- (2005), a sixth- (2002) and an eighth-place finish (2001).

Last season, freshman Stephanie Bagan provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the pole vault and eventually advanced after she won the event with an effort of 13 feet, 5.25 inches. At the conclusion of the meet, Bagan was given the conference's women's most outstanding performance award.

Altogether, Bagan, Karoline Koehler (triple jump), Kristin Olafsdottir (pentathlon), Mandy Upuu (800) earned all-conference accolades for SDSU. The Aztecs' 4x400 relay and distance medley relay also earned all-league recognition joining BYU as the only schools to have a pair of relay teams honored.

The last time the conference held the indoor meet in Colorado Springs in 2005, San Diego State did not fare well as a team as it came in fifth place. The Aztecs did receive an outstanding performance from Shayla Balentine as she won the pole vault, earned the outstanding performer award and punched her ticket to nationals after a vault of 14-0.00. Teammate Erin Asay finished second that season (13-8.25) and won the event in 2006.

Aztecs in the Rankings
Junior Decontee Kaye and senior Karoline Koehler both find themselves in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I Rankings released Feb. 20.

Kaye is currently ranked No. 22 among all triple jumpers and is tied for 25th with Bethune-Cookman's Rockel Mitchell and Oregon's Jamesha Youngblood in the long jump.

Koehler, meanwhile, is rated as the 24th-best triple jumper among all Division I female athletes.

The next poll is scheduled to be released on Feb. 27 and can be found at ustfccca.com.

Upuu Moves Up in the 800
Two weeks ago at the Husky Classic, senior Mandy Upuu broke a five-year Aztec record in the 800-meter run after she completed the race in 2 minutes, 10.45 seconds. Her effort was a personal best and broke Jamillah Titus' record of 2:11.26 established in 2003. Upuu became the third SDSU athlete to set a school record through three weeks of indoor competition, joining Decontee Kaye (triple jump) and Kristin Glen (5,000).

Pushing Towards the South
For the second time this season, Decontee Kaye provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., in the triple jump at the Husky Classic.

Kaye emerged with the top triple jump performance of the meet with a leap of 41 feet, 7.25 inches, to share the event title with Texas A&M's Yasmine Regis.

Her effort marked the second time during the indoor campaign that Kaye has posted the top distance in the triple jump. The junior won the event with a provisional qualifying mark of 41-9.75 at the Mountain T's Invitational, her first meet of the season.

Shibley's Strong Start
Christin Shibley has started her senior year on a strong note, having already established a personal record on two different occasions in the pole vault.

In the first official meet of the indoor season, Shibley broke her personal record of 11-7.75 set in 2006, with a vault of 12-1.50 at the Mountain T's Invitational. Her effort placed her eighth on the school's all-time indoor performance list.

In Shibley's last time out, she bettered her personal record by one inch as she cleared 12-2.50 at the Husky Classic to strengthen her hold on eighth place. It was also the third-best vault of the season for San Diego State.

First Time Out
For the first time in her Aztec career, Karoline Koehler competed in the high jump at the Husky Classic and fared well.

The senior finished in a tie for seventh after leaping a team season-high 5-4.50. Her performance was the eighth-best in school history. In just over a year on campus, Koehler finds herself on four top-10 indoor charts (60, triple jump, long jump and high jump).