SDSU Track Teams Take Drug Tests, Finish Second in Meet
One day after about 80 San Diego State track and field athletes underwent mandatory drug testing at the school’s training room, Dixon Farmer was setting up the public-address system at Choc Sportsman Track.
“Checking, checking,” the SDSU men’s coach said into the microphone to make sure it was working Saturday morning.
Then, it occurred to him that he should make a little change.
“Usually I say, ‘testing, testing,’ ” Farmer said. “But in light of everything that has happened this week, I thought about a half-dozen people might have had a heart attack had I said that.”
But this wasn’t another day of surprises. The Aztec men’s and women’s meets against five other schools went pretty much according to plan Saturday.
SDSU Athletic Director Fred Miller had ordered the drug testing as part of an announcement Monday that the entire squad had been suspended in the wake of allegations of anabolic steroid use by some current and former Aztec track athletes. Friday, three hours before testing, Miller reversed his original decision and allowed all of the athletes who underwent testing to compete Saturday in the Aztecs’ final home meet of the season.
The Aztecs took advantage of that opportunity. Nearly all of SDSU’s track athletes competed, and both the men and women’s track teams finished second. The Aztec men were 31 1/2 points behind Tennessee and the women were a half-point behind Wisconsin.
Of SDSU’s throwers, the group most closely linked with the recent allegations, only Tom Silva and John Knight did not compete Saturday. Silva was home in Menlo Park with his father, who is ill. Knight sat out the meet because of a sore back.
Jason Twedt, meanwhile, won the men’s javelin with a personal best of 223-feet 5-inches.
“We won the battle today even though we didn’t necessarily win the war,” SDSU women’s coach Jim Cerveny said. “With all that went on this week, I think we put on a heck of a show.”
SDSU’s LaTanya Sheffield had an especially good day, winning the 100-meter hurdles (13.74 seconds) and the 400 hurdles (57.61), and helping the Aztecs to a win in the 400 relay. Sheffield, the defending NCAA champion in the 400 hurdles, qualified for this year’s NCAA meet in June at Indianapolis with her 400 hurdle time Saturday.
“The whole situation didn’t bother me that much this week, but the fact that we weren’t going to be able to run did,” Sheffield said. “Innocent people were going to suffer because of the accusations. But everything got changed and it worked out real well.”
The results of Friday’s drug testing are due back from UCLA Medical Center at the end of next week, but until then, Farmer said, things should be back to normal.
“I hope so,” he said. “It should be back to business as usual Monday.”