San Diego State’s track and field team traveled to Lubbock, Texas this past weekend to compete in the Texas Tech Invitational, their first indoor competition after nearly two years.
The Aztecs did not compete in an indoor season during the last competition year yet remained successful in their outdoor season, winning their seventh Mountain West Conference Championship title.
The meet took place on Friday, Jan. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 29, and consisted of the preliminary, semifinal, and final rounds for the events.
The Aztecs started with a bang on Friday afternoon with sophomore Jada Moore running the eighth fastest time for the 60m dash in SDSU history in the preliminary round with a time of 7.442 seconds. Moore was joined in the semifinals by teammates senior Jalyn Harris and sophomore Alexus Alexander. Harris finished with a time of 7.60, with Alexander right behind her with a time of 7.62. Moore missed moving onto the finals by one place, finishing with a time of 7.51.
Senior Sakura Roberson also impressed on Friday, finishing fifth overall in the 400m dash with a time of 54.79. Junior Nyjari McNeil, sophomore Rhea Hoyte, and senior Anaya Alexander were also in the 400m dash finishing in 13th, 19th, and 25th respectively.
In the pole vault, senior Kaitlin Heri took fourth place and freshman Ashley Callahan took eighth after they both cleared 3.97m.
After waiting over 700 days to step back onto an indoor track, some athletes were hungrier than ever to showcase their talent.
Junior Sara Absten had a notable performance in the 60m hurdles with a new personal best time of 8.78 seconds. Junior Vanessa Spizewski also achieved a personal best in the long jump, jumping over 18 feet and 9 inches.
The highlight of the weekend came on the second day of the meet when the Aztecs 4x400m team ran the second-best time ever in SDSU history which earned them fourth place overall.
The 4x400m team — which included Hoyte, Harris, Roberson, and McNeil — ran a time of 3:39.44 seconds which is only six seconds off from the school’s fastest time.
Moore once again was on fire, leaving with a new personal best in the 200m dash. Moore finished in eighth place with a time of 24.08. Harris wasn’t far behind with a time of 24.52, finishing in ninth place.
Sophomore Onyi Anigobgu was solo when it came to throwing. However, she didn’t let SDSU down as she finished eighth in the shot put with a throw of 3.08m.
Freshman Jenna Feyerabend was the only Aztec to place in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.67m and earning herself 14th place.
The Aztecs continue their 2022 indoor season in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Feb. 4 and 5 where they will be competing in the New Mexico Collegiate Classic.
