Track & Field's Shanon Meyer Wins The USA Junior National Heptathlon Title

Freshman moves from fifth to first in final day of competition.

Aztec Shanon Meyer claimed the heptathlon title at the USA Junior Outdoor meet in Stanford, Calif.
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June 20, 2003

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State freshman Shanon Meyer (Hesperia, Calif.) recorded a lifetime best in the 800 meters (2:17.08) to win the heptathlon by just five points Friday at the 2003 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Stanford, Calif. Meyer, who was in fifth place through four events, finished with 5,154 points to earn Verizon All-America honors at the Cobb Track and Angell Field.

Meyer trailed Danielle Ayers-Stamper of Seattle Pacific University by a seemingly insurmountable 186 points heading into the seventh and final event, the 800 meters. Meyer won the race to score 864 points, while Ayers-Stamper finished a distant ninth (2:31.60), tallying only 673 points.

Earlier in the day, Meyer was third in both the long jump (18-7) and the javelin (125-1) after finishing Thursday's four events with 2,912 total points.

With her first-place finish, Meyer earned an invitation to represent Team USA at the 2003 Pan Am Junior Championships, July 18-20, in Bridgetown, Barbados. To qualify for the USA junior championships, an athlete must meet certain performance standards and be between the ages of 14-19 in the calendar year of 2003.

Just a week ago at the NCAA meet in Sacramento, Calif., Meyer placed 15th overall in the heptathlon with 5,125 points, improving six slots from the first day of competition.

Also competing Thursday evening at Stanford were Aztec All-Americans Tonette Dyer (Shreveport, La.), Jini Hogg (San Francisco, Calif.), Nicole Ireland (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Leslie Miller (Humble, Texas). The foursome took part in the 2003 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which are being held in conjunction with the junior meet.

Miller finished the first day of the heptathlon with 2,113 points, highlighted by the ninth-best time of 25.01 in the 200 meters. Dyer (20th - 55.31) and Hogg (55.05) both missed the cut for the semifinals of the 400 meters, while Ireland was 21st in the 400 hurdles (1:00.62).

2003 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships
June 19-22 (Stanford University - Stanford, Calif.)

Final Heptathlon Results
1. Shanon Meyer, SDSU				5,154 pts.
2. Danielle Ayers-Stamper, Seattle-Pacific		5,149 pts.
3. Ashley Wilhelm, Cincinnati				4,973 pts.

2003 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
June 19-22 (Stanford University - Stanford, Calif.)

June 19
400 Hurdles - First Round
21. Nicole Ireland - 1:00.62

400 Meters - First Round
19. Jini Hogg - 55.05
20. Tonette Dyer - 55.31