Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
WAC Indoor Championships
Ayala Wins Third WAC Title
2/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Feb. 27, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - Sharon Ayala successfully defended her Western Athletic Conference title Friday, winning the weight throw on the second day of the conference meet.
Ayala highlighted the day by throwing the 20-pound weight 62-feet, 11.50 inches (19.19 meters), on her fifth of six throws.
"Sharon went in with a great attitude and really pulled through for us," said head coach Scott Winsor. "She was very consistent throughout the day, in both her two- and three-turn throws. Her sixth throw of the day was a great toss, pretty close to 65-feet. She just barely fouled, which is disappointing. But she has shown she has a lot more distance in her throws."
With only four events complete, Ayala's win in the weight throw gave the Bulldogs their first points of the meet and the momentum they need going into Saturday's ten events.
"Sharon is one of the best team players we have," said Winsor. "She's out there to win it, not just for herself but for the team. This is a great place for us to build from tomorrow."
Teammate Kayla Xavier earned three more points for Fresno State in the same event, finishing sixth in the weight throw. The sophomore tossed the weight 55-2.25 (16.82m) on her second throw of the day.
Friday's preliminaries resulted in six Bulldogs securing spots in event finals.
Roxanne Sellick, the 1,500-meter champion in outdoor, earned a spot in the finals of the one mile race after a solid performance in the preliminaries Friday. Sellick ran the second-fastest time in prelims, finishing just a step behind Allix Lee-Painter of Idaho. Last season, the Bulldog was the top finisher in the preliminaries, but fell to fourth in the final.
Senior Vanessa Sautebin finished among the top competitors in the 60-meter hurdles to solidify a spot in Saturday's final.
"Roxanne looked very comfortable advancing in the mile," said Winsor. "And then we have Kayla in the shot put and Vanessa in the hurdles. Those three will give us a good start tomorrow."
Latrisha Jordan qualified for the 400 final set for Saturday. Jordan was the only freshman to qualify for the event final. Jordan grabbed a spot in the 200 final, later in the day to make her the only Bulldog with two finals set for Saturday.
Both Rayna White and Shanelle Stephens ran qualifying times in the day's fastest event, to send two Bulldogs into the final. White took seventh in the event last season.
Saturday's schedule includes all the finals from Friday, as well as the 3,000, triple jump, shot put and 4x400 relay.
Join the State - Fresno State! Click here to watch live results of the WAC Indoor Championship.
Players Mentioned
