NCAA Track and Field : San Diego State’s Sheffield to Defend Hurdles Title

San Diego State’s LaTanya Sheffield, the defending National Collegiate Athletic Assn. champion, qualified for the 400-meter intermediate hurdles final at the NCAA track and field championships Wednesday at Indianapolis. Sheffield advanced to Friday’s final by finishing second in her heat to Texas Southern’s Maria Usifo of Nigeria. Sheffield’s time of 56.36 seconds in Wednesday’s heat was more than a half second slower than her season best (55.74) and almost two seconds slower than her lifetime best (54.66) in the 400 hurdles.

The only other Aztec to qualify for a final Wednesday was Renee Ross in the women’s 800 meters. Ross ran a season best of 2:02.94 to finish third in her heat. The 800 meter final is scheduled for Friday.

SDSU shotputter Regina Cavanaugh of Rice broke ex-Aztec Ramona Pagel’s NCAA record with a throw of 57-feet 6 1/2-inches Wednesday. Pagel set her record of 56-8 in 1984.

San Diego State’s men’s team didn’t fare as well.

Aaron Thigpen ran a lifetime best (21.10) in the 200 meters qualifying heat but it was not good enough for a berth in the finals. Thigpen finished fifth in his heat. Andre Freeman was seventh in his 200-meter heat (21.26) and also did not qualify for the final.

Rex Brown, who qualified for the preliminary heat in the 200, scratched and did not run Wednesday.

In the 400 intermediate hurdles, SDSU’s Ed Cooper finished fourth in his heat (50.27). Craig Chalk of Texas A&M; ran 50.24 to beat out Cooper.

The Aztecs’ men’s 400-meter relay team (Thigpen, Brown, Freeman and Darryl Hudson) had a time of 40.52 and also missed out on a berth in the final.

Thigpen will attempt to qualify today for the men’s 100-meter final.

Sheffield will be going for a double, trying to qualify in the 100-meter hurdles today. Sheffield is going into today’s heats with a season best of 13.46.

SDSU’s Laura DeSnoo will try to qualify for the final in the discus and the Aztec women’s 1,600-meter relay team (Ross, Sheffield, Sonya Smith and Margaret Hemmans) also will try to qualify for the final.