SDSU Sprinter Sets Meet’s 800 Record

San Diego State sprinter Renee Ross set a Bud Light track meet record in the 800 meters and anchored the SDSU 1,600 relay team to victory Saturday at Sportsman Track on the SDSU campus.

Ross’ time of 2:03.38 in the 800 was also an NCAA qualifying mark. It brokethe 2:06.87 held by Michelle Hopper of the Puma Track Club in 1985. In the 1,600 relay, SDSU trailed USC by about 25 meters when Ross was handed the baton on the anchor leg. She ran a 52.2 split to win by 30 meters. SDSU won in 3:42.49.

Ross also anchored the 400 relay team which was beaten by 5 hundreths of a second by USC. SDSU finished at 45:46.

LaTanya Sheffield of SDSU won the 100 hurdles in 14.21. In the first year of the women’s triple jump competition, winner Wendy Brown of USC had an NCAA qualifying leap of 41-feet 7-inches. Gaylen Ames of SDSU set a school mark with her third-place leap of 39-feet 4 1/2 inches. In the long jump, Brown won with a mark of 20-1 1/2.

In men’s competition, Tom Petranoff--whose wife gave birth to a girl Saturday morning--set a meet and track record of 303-1 in the javelin. The previous mark of 274-1 was set by Rod Ewaliko of the Nike Track Club in 1983. Ed Cooper of SDSU had an NCAA qualifying mark of 50.93 in the 400 hurdles and Lewis Morales of USC won the 100 in 10.29. Bill Green of the Mazda Track Club won the hammer throw with a meet record 228-4, breaking the 223-7 set by Gian Paolo Urlando of the Italian National team in 1980.