Chuk Gawlik, Staff Photographer

This weekend, the San Diego State track and field team had its biggest challenge of the year so far.

At the Jim Click Shootout, held last Thursday through Saturday in Tucson, Ariz., SDSU went toe-to-toe with the likes of Arizona from the Pac 10 and Kansas State from the Big 12.

By the end of the three-day meet, the Aztecs had acquitted themselves well. They won three events, notched three provisional qualifying marks and set seven personal records.

But what the team received was more important than its individual results.

Better than the first-place finishes.

Better than the personal-best performances.

The team earned recognition and respect from the powerhouse squads that lined up next to it.

“It was good competition, and we stepped up,” assistant coach Jennifer Nanista said. “We were noticed, and I think overall the team is very pleased with their performance. I think Arizona was not expecting us to come in and do what we did.

“I think we definitely turned some heads.”

The person responsible for turning the most heads may have been SDSU’s multi-event freshman Kristin Olafsdottir. Though she didn’t win her event, Olafsdottir recorded a score of 5,086 in her first collegiate heptathlon – a score good enough to earn a provisional qualification to the NCAA Tournament. Her score also ranks 10th overall in program history.

Olafsdottir also helped the SDSU 400-meter relay team earn a NCAA West Regional qualification. She – along with freshman Nicole Stone, sophomore Mandy Upuu and senior Larnie Boyd – finished the relay with a time of 3 minutes, 41.22 seconds, coming in second place.

The other two regional qualifiers were freshmen Decontee Kaye and Shana Watson. Watson had a second-place jump of 19 feet, 7 inches – the fourth-best long jump in school history. Kaye also had a second-place performance, but in the triple jump – where she recorded the third-best mark for Montezuma Mesa with a distance of 41 feet, 1 3/4 inches.

Although the Aztecs only had three event winners, freshman Corri Campbell-Fell (400-meter hurdles), junior Lisa Crampton (3,000-meter steeplechase) and junior Lisa Naucler (1,500-meter), Nanista wasn’t worried.

“At this moment, it’s not about winning everything,” Nanista said. “When we get to conference, that’s when we start worrying about that. Everything that we do (right now) is preparation for conference, for regionals. And we’re going to put ourselves in the best position possible.”