2005 AZTRACK Alumni Annual Excursion

NCAA National Track and Field Championships

Sacramento State University 

Sacramento, CA (June 8 - 11, 2005)

This isn't normally a stop on the Aztrack Alumni circuit, but some of the West Coast hardcore AZTRACK supporters showed up.....

ALL-AMERICANS don't knock and ask, they come through the front door with a command presence.  At the NCAA Championships, there are two types of athletes.  Those who are happy to get there and those who demand to win.

First came the 100 HURDLES:  Heather Heron, PR 13.37, Senior.  Heron was determined after winning the MWC Outdoor championships to make it to the finals of the NCAA.  After two round and a new PR of 13.25, Heron was in the finals.  A compelling and very exciting finals round, Heron was standing on the Championship stand with an NCAA medal for 8th place and an All-American certificate, in addition to scoring 1 point for SDSU.  This mark also qualified her for the USATF meet in Carson, CA.

Grand Finally, the women's POLE VAULT: Shayla Balentine, PR 14' 0 1/2", Senior.  Balentine was ranked first for most of the year, before being knocked down to second in the last couple weeks.  Avenging an Indoor NCAA meet where she was snubbed from an All-American status, Balentine fought hard and put a scare into us during the qualifying round, making 13' 1 1/2" on her third attempt and making 13' 5 1/4", which is what was required for her to make it to the finals.

During the finals, Mark "Gubba" Sanders held the perilous task of tracking and scoring each jump, among other assistant pole vault coach duties.  During the 2 1/2 hour competition, many coaches came looking over Gubba's shoulder to see where the athletes stood.  It took Balentine a PR jump of 4.30 meters, 14' 1 1/4", to make the top 4 athletes.  None of  vaulters made the next bar, so it came down to attempts.  When the dust cleared and Gubba gave us the news, Balentine was awarded NCAA Runner-Up honors.  All-American certificate and 8 points for the Aztecs to make it a total of 9 teams points, which placed 29th overall.  A great showing.  Also the best finish by an Aztec in 20 years, since 1985, when Latonya Sheffield, 400 Hurdlers and Laura DeSnoo, Discus were named champions.

Congrats to Heather and Shayla for a fantastic finish on the 2005 Collegiate season!

Next up is the USATF Junior and Senior Nationals in Carson, Ca at the Home Depot Center! Click here for info and schedule info: USATF National Champs

AZTRACK members at NCAA meet:

Rich Fox, Mark "Gubba" Sanders, Andy Sythe, Jennifer Nanista, and Rahn Sheffeild