FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Aztecs 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams, fresh off winning their second consecutive Mountain West Conference gold medals, qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships to be held in Eugene, Oregon June 9-11 on Saturday night at the NCAA West Prelims.
"I'm very happy we will be taking both our relays to Eugene," Head Coach Shelia Burrell said. "We had hoped to have a couple individuals qualifiers in the pole vault, but the conditions were not favorable for us. The delays, the wind and the cold affected a lot of vaulters. Overall, I am excited to have both relays represent SDSU once again at the National Championships."
The 4x100m relay team of Tai McDonald, Jalyn Harris, Aisha Watt, and Jada Moore had to sweat out the results of three heats before finding out they had qualified. After initially finishing fourth in their heat and 13th overall in 44.60, just one place outside the automatic qualifying spot in their heat, and one spot outside the at-large qualification slot, the Aztecs got the news that another team had been disqualified, guaranteeing the Aztecs a spot at nationals.
"This was a relay where the girls competed and had to pull together as a crew," Burrell said. "They went out and gave it their best effort and were able to attain the ultimate goal of qualifying for Nationals."
As for the 4x400m relay, the Aztecs put together one of their most complete performances of the season to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The team of Harris, Watt, Danae Dyer and Sakura Roberson ran together for the first time this season and came in third in their heat, finishing 10th and ran 3:33.42. The Aztecs finished third in their heat to qualify automatically for nationals, additionally their time of 3:33.42 is the second fastest time in San Diego State history.
In the individual events the Aztecs had Simone Johnson competing in the triple jump and Jenna Fee Feyerabend competing in the high jump on Saturday afternoon. Johnson finished her strong sophomore campaign, by jumping 42-02.00 to finish 23rd in the triple jump, while Fee Feyerabend ended her freshman season by clearing 5-07.25 to finish 32nd in the high jump.
Up Next: The Aztecs 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay will head to Eugene, Oregon for the NCAA Outdoor Championships to be held June 9-11.
The Notes: This is the second consecutive year and the fifth time in the past six championships SDSU's 4x100m relay has qualified for nationals (2016, 17, 18, 21, 22).
The 4x400m relay team returns to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time since 2019. SDSU's 4x400m relay team has earned a spot in three of the last four outdoor championships (2018,19, 22).
NCAA West Prelims – Fayetteville, Ark.
First Place and SDSU Results
High Jump - Top 12 advance to Nationals
1. Lamara Distin (Texas A&M) – 5-11.25
32. Jenna Fee Feyerabend (SDSU) – 5-07.25
Triple Jump - Top 12 advance to Nationals
1. Ackelia Smith (Texas) – 46-02.50
23. Simone Johnson (SDSU) – 42-02.00
4x100m Relay – Top 12 advance to Nationals
1. Oregon – 42.74 – Q
12. SDSU – 44.60 – Q – Tai McDonald, Jalyn Harris, Aisha Watt, Jada Moore
4x400m Relay – Top 12 advance to Nationals
1. Arkansas – 3:25.16 – Q
10. SDSU – 3:33.42 – Q – Jalyn Harris, Aisha Watt, Danae Dyer, Sakura Roberson – No. 2 all-time
-SDSU-
Aztec Relay Teams Advance to Nationals
