NEW ORLEANS – A total of six San Francisco State student-athletes were named to the NCAA Division II All-West Region women's outdoor track and field team as announced Tuesday by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Keenya McDaniel was one of only five competitors from across the country to achieve all-region status in five events (100, 200, triple jump, 4x100 relay, 4x400 relay), joining Ashland's Cheryl Bourne, Samantha Elliott of Johnson C. Smith, Central Missouri's Lindsay Lettow and Jillisa Grant of New Mexico Highlands.
In addition,
Luisa Musika earned three certificates in the shot put, discus and hammer throw, while
Brionne Baucham (4x100 relay, 4x400 relay),
Maya Cabiness (400 hurdles, 4x400 relay) and
Carrie Thomas (4x100 relay, 4x400 relay) garnered two apiece. Rounding out the list of SF State honorees were
Tiana Wills (high jump) and
Alicia Chambers (4x100 relay).
McDaniel automatically qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships in the triple jump with a school-record leap of 42 feet, 2 ¼ inches at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational on April 28, which tops the region, while her program-best times in the 100 (11.84) and 200 (24.03) set at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships on May 5 are ranked second and third, respectively.
Similarly, Wills secured an automatic bid to the national meet in the high jump after establishing a new Gator standard of 5-10 at the CCAA Championships, which leads the region as well.
Both SF State relays earned at-large berths in the NCAA meet and finished the regular season ranked second in the region. The 4x100 quartet of McDaniel, Chambers, Baucham and Thomas captured the CCAA crown with a school-record time of 46.21, while the 4x400 combo of Thomas, Cabiness, Baucham and McDaniel rocketed to the top of the Gators' all-time charts with a clocking of 3:42.58 at the Brutus Hamilton Invite. In addition, Musika (shot put – 46-07.25) and Cabiness (400 hurdles – 1:00.93) produced new SF State standards at the same meet, which rank second and fourth in the region, respectively.
Earlier, Musika posted a personal-best heave of 163-07 in the hammer throw at the Sacramento State Hornet Invitational on March 17, followed by a season-long mark of 149-06 at UCLA's Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invite on April 12, which are both ranked third regionally.
As with indoor competition, the 2012 campaign marked the second year the USTFCCCA has designated all-region teams for outdoor track and field. The top five athletes from each of the eight regions in individual events and each member of a relay team ranked in the region's top three earned all-region distinction for the season. A combined 1,274 athletes received 1,876 all-region honors on both the men's and women's sides. In the team count, Grand Valley State led all DII women's squads with 32, followed by Lincoln (Mo.) (29) and Southern Connecticut (24).
SF State will now gear up for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, scheduled for May 24-26 in Pueblo, Colo.
