The Aztec track and field team competed in the Bryan Clay Invitational this past weekend, where top NCAA and professional runners compete. San Diego State was represented strongly by 16 athletes. Among them, were track and field sprinters, hurdlers, shot putters, and discus throwers, who competed in the four-day invitational event.
The meet began Saturday in Azusa, California with four heptathlon events. To start the day, the meet began with 100m hurdles, the high jump, shot put, and the 200m dash. San Diego State was represented on the first day of the meet by sophomore Jenna Fee Feyerabend and senior Ruthie Grant-Williams.
San Diego State, well represented by Grant-Williams first competed in the 100m hurdles and earned a 15th-place finish with a time of 15.99. Moena Jennings from UC Riverside came away in first place with a time of 14.63. Grant-Williams also competed in the high jump where she placed eighth with a height of 4’11.75”. Williams finished within the top ten, while Cal Poly’s Maya Holman placed first with a 5’04.50” jump. Grant-Williams showed her skills for all to see.
Grant-Williams also participated in the shot put event, finishing seventh with a recording distance of 33’06.50. Brianna Kelpis from Cal State Northridge finished first at 39’00.25.” Grant-Williams finished her events on Saturday with the 200m dash and finished the day, placing ninth with a 26.78 time while the University of Utah’s Rachel Whipple was first at a time of 25.67. Grant-Williams ended day one with an overall standing of 10th place.
Fee Feyerabend competed in several events, including the 100m hurdles, high jump and shot put. In the 100m hurdles, Fee Feyerabend earned a new personal best after finishing ninth with a time of 14.01. Esther Conde-Turpin from Azusa Pacific placed first with a time of 13.40. Feyerabend was showing out, and taking strides during her events. This continued as the day’s events went on.
Fee Feyerabend continued to impress. In the high jump, she placed first in a six-way tie following a jump height of 5’05.75”. In her final event for day one, she placed third in shot put at a distance of 40’08.25”. Olivia Dobson from SMU placed first with a distance of 44’07.50”. Fee Feyerabend finished the first day of competition with an overall standing of 13th place.
The Aztec track and field team continued their competition Sunday at the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, California, and at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California. Senior Danae Dyer and first-year Charlize James both competed in the 100m hurdles preliminaries, earning second and ninth place to qualify spots in the finals, respectively. Once in the finals, Dyer earned a new personal best with a second-place finish and a time of 13.27, while James finished seventh (13.67), also setting a new personal record.
Junior Aisha Watt also represented the Aztecs, competing in the 200m event and finishing ninth with a time of 23.89. Ahead of Watt, blazing Megan McGinnis from Duke University took first place in the event with a time of 23.16.
During the discus throw, senior Felicia Crenshaw competed in Group B and earned a second-place finish after a heave of 158’2”. Senior Erica Grotegeer also competed in the discus throw and finished 22nd overall with a throw of 152’4″. Sophomore Vanessa Cabello raced in the 5000m event and earned a personal best by 30 seconds finishing with a time of 17:14.71, placing eighth.
At the Mt. Sac Relays, the Aztec relay team consisting of senior Jada Moore, Danae Dyer, Aisha Watt, and sophomore Shaquena Foote, competed in the 400 relays, earning a 12th-place finish with a time of 45.11. Team USA earned first place in the relay with sprinters Mary Beth Sant-Price, Jenna Prandini, Moralake Akinson, and Ashley Henderson at a time of 43.07.
Moore also represented San Diego State in the 100m dash, placing 12th place with an 11.42 time.
In the 1600 relay, seniors Sydney Bentley and Aisha Watt, and juniors Rhea Hoyte and Shaquena Foote, finished ninth with a time of 3:37.24. Team USA earned first place in the 1600 relay from sprinters Shae Anderson, Jenna Prandini, Brittany Averi, and Kendall Ellis at a time of 3:25:31.
At the Bryan Clay Invitational, Seniors Jessica Kain, Alex Lomeli, and freshman Tatum Zinkin raced in the 1500m. Kain, who competed in the invitational heat, finished 38th overall out of 165 finishers with a time of 4:17.75, earning her a new personal best by three seconds while maintaining her record of the fourth best in SDSU outdoor history. Lomeli won her heat and placed 10th overall with a finish of 4:27.39, setting a new personal record and the sixth-best in school outdoor history.
The Aztecs will return to San Diego to prepare for the Penn Relays in Philadelphia and the UCI Steve Scott Invitational in Irvine, California, from April 27— 29.
