March 26, 2008

SAN DIEGO -

SDSU Track and Field Weekly Release in PDF Format

Looking at the Week
Beginning Friday, San Diego State will begin its title defense of the Cal-Nevada Championships at Warmerdam Stadium in Fresno, Calif. The Aztecs will not only look to defend their 2007 team championship, but they will also look for their fifth crown in the last six seasons in which they have competed.

The two-day event featuring schools from the Golden and Silver States will run all-day on both Friday and Saturday (March 28-29) at Fresno State's on-campus facility.

The meet will be just the second full-squad outdoor event for the Aztecs with the first coming last week at the Trojan Invitational in Los Angeles where four pole vaulters and SDSU's 4x100-meter relay team turned in regional qualifying marks.

Next week, San Diego State will split its squad with one traveling to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Invitational, while the other will make the road trip to Claremont, Calif., for the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational. Both meets are set for April 4-5.

Pole Vaulters Shine in L.A.
For a third straight week, San Diego State's pole vault group has come to compete, this time in Los Angeles at the Trojan Invitational. SDSU claimed the top two spots, three out of the top four, four of the top six and five of the top eight in a field of 17. In addition, six of seven Aztecs in both A and B sections either qualified for regionals or set a personal best.

Monica Pacas won the Section A event with a NCAA regional-qualifying clearance of 13-1.50, which also matched her personal record. The senior's performance also marked her third straight top-three finish and represented an improved height for a third week in a row.

Seven days after earning All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Stephanie Bagan cleared 13-1.50 to post her second regional-qualifying mark in as many tries. After winning the San Diego City Championships, Bagan now has a pair of top-two finishes after tying for second place in L.A.

Coming in fourth place was Dana Jensen, who set a personal record with a regional-qualifying vault of 12-7.50. Jensen will be making her first appearance at the NCAA West Regionals.

Christin Shibley also cleared 12-7.50 to match her career best and qualify for regionals for a second week in a row.

Joanna Burley improved on her only vault of the season, 11-9.75 at the San Diego City Championships, by clearing 12-1.50 to establish a new PR.

In Section B, freshman Marie Brown vaulted over 11 feet for the first time in her career with an effort of 11-1.75 to finish in seventh place.

Overall, San Diego State has four regional qualifiers in Pacas, Shibley, Jensen and Bagan, the most among all Division I schools in America.

Solomon Sailing
Shana Solomon looks to be on track to make her third consecutive appearance at the regional meet in the sprints after producing a pair of runner-up finishes at the Trojan Invitational.

The junior was clocked at a season-best 11.86 seconds in the 100-meter dash, just .11 shy of qualifying for regionals. In the 200, Solomon crossed the finish line in 24.38, less than a half second away from posting a regional qualifying time.

Besides posting two second-place performances, Solomon and her 4x100-meter relay team was victorious and in the process qualified for regionals for a second consecutive week. The quartet won the race with a time of 45.53, which was ahead of second-place and Mountain West Conference member UNLV.

Last Year at the Cal-Nevada Championships
Last year at the Cal-Nevada Championships, San Diego State took home its fourth team title since the 2001 season, but the fourth in five seasons in which it competed in the annual event. The Aztecs won titles in 2001, 2003 and 2004, but were not a part of the field, until last year, since the `04 campaign. In each of those championship seasons, SDSU head coach Rahn Sheffield was named Coach of the Meet.

The Aztecs claimed the team crown after a host of solid performances across the board beginning with Karoline Koehler's victory in the triple jump, her running on the winning 4x100 relay and her runner-up effort in the 100 and long jump.

In addition to the Koehler in the 100, Shana Solomon won the race, while Sherraine Pencil took third. Pencil, however, won the 200 and was followed by Solomon in second place.

In the 800, Mandy Upuu and Lisa Naucler finished third and fourth, respectively, while Naucler set a lifetime best coming second in the 1,500.

Other Aztecs to log top-three efforts were Kristin Olafsdottir (2nd, 400H), Corri Campbell-Fell (3rd, 400H), Celeste Tyson (2nd, steeple), Stephanie Bagan (2nd, pole vault) and the 4x100 (1st).

Overall, San Diego State earned 166 points and was followed by the 2006 champion UCLA (147), UC Santa Barbara (79.33), Fresno State (79) and Cal State Fullerton (67.33) in a field of 22 schools.