TEMPE, Ariz. -The Arizona State University track and field teams will open the 2015 outdoor season this weekend, hosting the Baldy Castillo Invitational, on Friday and Saturday at Sun Angel Stadium.
“One of the things that, when I came here 19 years ago, you wanted to have was to have some differences in your events,” Director of Track and Field Greg Kraft said. “Track and field obviously has changed over the last 19 years but we wanted to have a big spring carnival, so to speak. So we limited this meet to 12 teams, and with these 12 teams it gives everybody an opportunity to have competition in all the events. That’s what this weekend is.”
Friday’s events will begin with the hammer throw at 1 p.m. PT, followed by the running of the men’s and women’s 1500m at 7:30 p.m. PT and 7:55 p.m. PT, respectively.
On Saturday, the field events will begin at 9 a.m. PT with the men’s discus, while events on the track will begin at 1 p.m. PT with the men’s 110m hurdles.
Live results will be available on FinishedResults.com, and final results will be avilable on ASU's Home Meet Info Page.
For the first time, a live stream of the meet will be available on thesundevils.com. The live stream will begin with the first running event at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Updates throughout the day from the Sun Devils will be available on Twitter by following @SunDevilTFXC.
“One of the things that has really changed in our society is the shifts in all the media opportunities out there,” Kraft said. “And it’s really good for our sport. You’re going to seek out what you want to have and so there really is a niche for our sport to be presented, and there are a lot of young people out there, which is critical for our continued growth. More and more I think the more traditional content providers are seeing that it is important, there is a place for it.”
The Sun Devils will be competing with Illinois (W), Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota (M), North Dakota State, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas A&M, UC Riverside, and Washington.
EVENT BREAKDOWN
Baldy Castillo Invitational (All times PT)
Friday’s field events at Sun Angel Stadium will begin with the men’s hammer throw at 1 p.m., with Kyle Lillie, Ryan Leslie, and Kyle Long set to compete. The women’s event will follow the completion of the men’s, with Jessika Byrd, Ashley Weber, Ginger Jarchow, and Magdalyn Ewen set to throw.
On the track, Ryan Herson, Daniel Wong, Noah Kenyawani, Jeff Bickert, and Maxwell Groves will open in the 1500m run at 7:30 p.m., with Chelsey Totten, Cristina Juan Torres, Shaina Corbin, Macy Bricks, and Natalie Krafft running the women’s race at 7:55 p.m.
Saturday’s events will also begin in the field with the men’s discus slated for a 9 a.m. start, with Michael Ohakwe, Kyle Long, and Ahmed Hassan set to throw. Ewen, Jarchow, and Alex Hartig will follow with the women’s competition.
The men’s long jump is slated for an 11 a.m. start, with Jamol James and Josh Dixon set to compete. In the following women’s competition, Jasmine Gibbs, Darreyl Woodson, Keyasia Tibbs, Kendra Purifoye, and Chelsea Chess are set to jump.
Bryan McBride and Edmond Baker will compete in the men’s high jump at noon, with Kendra Purifoye competing in the women’s event following the completion of the men’s.
Also starting at noon is the men’s pole vault, with Tanner Greeley, Josiah Becker, Jacob Flores, and Dillon Groener set to represent the ASU men. The women’s event will see Haleigh Fritts, Nicole Kennedy, and Kristiana Warth.
The first events on the track are set to begin at 1 p.m., and the first Sun Devil to compete is Kendra Purifoye in the 100m hurdles at 1:15 p.m.
CJ Albertson and Jack Balder will open in the men’s 2000m steeplechase at 1:30 p.m., while Kayla Springford and Anna Long will run in the women’s 2000m steeplechase at 1:25 p.m.
Back in the field, the men’s shot put is set to start at 2 p.m., with Ahmed Hassan, Kyle Lillie, and Kyle Long set to compete. Madgalyn Ewen and Ashley Weber will follow in the women’s side of the event.
The final field event of the day for ASU is the women’s javelin, with Alex Hartig, Alyssa Cornell, Ginger Jarchow, and Kendra Purifoye set to throw.
On the track, Ronny Hall will represent ASU in the 400m dash at 2:20 p.m., while LaTroya Franklin will run in the women’s race at 2:32 p.m.
Jamol James and Kyle Middlebrooks will run in the 100m dash at 2:40 p.m., and Jasmine Gibbs will follow at 2:53 p.m.
The men’s 800m run will start at 3 p.m. with Trevor Landry, Daniel Wong, Ryan Herson, and Jeff Bickert set to represent the men, while the women’s race will start at 3:14 p.m., with Cristina Juan Torres, Paisley Pettway, Mia Townsend, Makenna Fisher, and Chelsey Totten in the lineup.
Cody Moore will open in the 400m hurdles at 3:28 p.m., with Kiera Bulluck following in the women’s race at 3:40 p.m.
Hall and Middlebrooks will return to the track at 3:50 p.m. for the men’s 200m dash, while Sara McDonald and Melese Crozier will run in the women’s race at 4:05 p.m.
The Sun Devils will round out the meet with the running of the 4x400m relay with the team of Crozier, Purifoye, Pettway, and Townsend.
THE 2014 BALDY CASTILLO INVITE
ASU won seven events to start off the 2014 outdoor season, and swept the top-three positions in both the men’s 100m dash and 200m dash races.
Devan Spann won the 100m race in 10.37, and followed with the win in the 200m at 21.08. Former Sun Devil Keith Cleveland took second in both races at 10.61 and 21.22, respectively.
In the women’s 400m dash, LaTroya Franklin picked up the win in 54.46, while Ashley Weber won the shot put with her mark of 14.39m (47-02.50). In the hammer, Jessika Byrd took second with her PR of 61.10m (200-05), which sits as the No. 5 mark in the ASU indoor record book.
Cameron Taylor won the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.04, while the men’s 4x100m relay team debuted with a winning time of 40.08.
In the high jump, Bryan McBride won the event with a clearance of 2.14m (7-0.25)
ASU’s BALDY CASTILLO MEET RECORDS
The Sun Devils currently own 11 Baldy Castillo Invitational meet records, the most recent coming in 2012 when Christabel Nettey jumped 6.58m (21-7.25) in the women’s long jump.
On the track, Lisa Aguilera set the 1,500m record at 4:20.86 in 2001, while Kelly McDonald ran 10:10.81 in the 3000m steeplechase in 2002.
ASU owns the 4x400m relay record of 3:36.64, set in 2001, and also owns the discontinued 4x800m relay record at 9:05.39 from 2004, and the distance medley relay with a time of 11:33.38 from 2000.
Also in the field, April Kubishta set the pole vault record as she cleared 4.20m (13-09.25) in 2007.
On the track for the ASU men, Lewis Banda ran 20.72 in the 200m dash in 2004, while the 4x400m team set the record at 3:03.20 in 2001. ASU also owns the men’s distance medley record at 9:47.59 in 2000.
In the field, Mika Laiho threw 69.24m (227-02) in the hammer in 1998.
LAST TIME OUT
ASU sent four seniors to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships last week in Fayetteville, Ark., and returned to Tempe with All-Americans in the women’s mile run, the women’s 400m dash, the women’s 3000m run, the men’s 60m hurdles, and the men’s long jump.
“I think that indoor season was, for both programs, a season of growth,” Kraft said. “I think when we looked at our team, and our performances at Texas A&M, the New Mexico Team Challenge, we were challenged. I think that for both teams to be third at the MPSF meet, and you look at the results of the two teams to beat—Oregon and USC, the success they had at the NCAA meet—but also some of the teams behind us, I think it spoke well to the growth and improvement the team made.”
Bryan McBride earned his fifth career All-America honor as he placed eighth in the long jump with a mark of 7.59m (24-11.00), and also earned second-team honors with his finish in the high jump.
In the mile finals, Shelby Houlihan ran the second-fastest time in NCAA meet history as she finished with a PR and school record of 4:28.71, for second behind Michigan State’s Leah O’Connor. Houlihan followed with her second All-America honor of the day as she placed eighth in the 3000m finals with a time of 9:09.61.
After earning an automatic qualification on Friday, Cameron Taylor ran 7.75 in the 60m hurdles finals, good for fourth and his first career All-America honor.
Brianna Tate set a personal best in the 400m dash semifinals at 52.40, qualifying for the finals, where she ran 52.67 for seventh, earning her first individual All-America accolade.
As a team, the ASU women finished in 21st with 11 points, while the men finished in 31st with 6 points.
“When you look at the national championships, I think a little bit was reflective in our growth when you look at the women’s team, preseason ranked in the 70s, and finished in 21st, and I think that’s more indicative of where we were and where we ended up. So when you look at that, it’s a very fine margin between being number 25 and being number 10. And obviously you have some opportunities, and when you look at the scores it took to be in the top 10, our team had an opportunity or the potential to score that.”
NEXT TIME OUT
The Sun Devils will remain at home next week, debuting the new Arizona State Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Invitational on March 27-28. ASU will host Arizona UCLA, Indiana, Michigan, and Nebraska, in a meet that will be scored by both team and by league affiliation. The meet will be streamed via thesundevils.com.
CURRENT SUN DEVILS IN THE ASU OUTDOOR RECORD BOOK
On the current Sun Devil roster, eight women and six men have combined for 19 marks or times in the ASU outdoor record book, including a pair of school records from Shelby Houlihan.
Last season, Houlihan ran 2:01.12 in the 800m, and 4:10.89 in the 1,500m run. Houlihan also sits at No. 8 in the 5,000m run with her personal best time of 16:11.63.
In the 400m dash, Brianna Tate ran 52.32, the No. 8 time in the record book, while Payton Schutte’s 1,500m run time of 4:21.64 sits at No. 6. Rounding out the marks on the track is Adriana Olivas’ 10,000m run time of 33:55.75, the No. 5 mark in the record book.
Andrea Kemmerrer’s pole vault height of 3.73m (12-02.75) sits at No. 8 in the top-10 list.
For the throws, Alex Hartig owns the No. 2 distance in the javelin with a throw of 47.89m (157-01). She also has the No. 8 mark in the shot put at 15.93m (52-03.25), and the No. 9 distance in the discus at 54.84m (179-11).
Jessika Byrd threw 61.10m (200-05) in the hammer for No. 5 all-time, while Ashley Weber’s throw of 55.36m (181-07) sits at No. 10.
For the men, Cameron Taylor’s PR of 13.92 in the 110m hurdles sits at No. 7 for the only active mark in the sprints.
Ryan Herson owns the No. 6 time in the mile at 4:02.90. He also set the No. 4 time in the 5,000m run at 13:44.81, and the No. 10 time in the 10,000m run at 30:02.15. Also in the mile, Cody Brazeal ran the No. 10 time of 4:04.54.
In the long jump, Josh Dixon recorded the No. 9 mark of 16.03m (52-07-25), while Bryan McBride jumped the No. 2 mark in the high jump at 2.28m (7-05.75) to win the NCAA Outdoor title in the event.
For the throws, Kyle Lillie sits at No. 10 in the hammer with his mark of 58.23m (191-00).
SUN DEVILS TO HOST FOUR HOME MEETS IN 2015
ASU will host four meets at Sun Angel Stadium in 2015, opening the outdoor portion of the schedule with the Baldy Castillo Invitational on March 20-21.
“We really try to present track & field to our entire community, and it’s really a great event that is continuing to grow, but really I can’t compliment the work of Jeremy Rasmussen (Assistant Coach and Meet Director) enough as he’s really taken the bull by the horns as far as how our competitions are run and how they’re presented,” Kraft said. “I think you’ll see at the very first meet just with the signage that’s out there but also the timing devices and the displays for field events and those types of things that really, behind-the-scenes we fretted about that maybe people in the stands didn’t fret about.”
The Sun Devils will also debut the new Arizona State Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Invitational, where ASU will host Arizona UCLA, Indiana, Michigan, and Nebraska, in a meet that will be scored by team and by league affiliation.
April 9-11 will mark the running of the 36th Sun Angel Track Classic, and then the Sun Devils will close out the home slate on May 2 with the Duel in the Desert against the Pac-12 rival Wildcats.
“The competition has always been great here but now I think that the presentation of our sport will be much improved, and all that credit from my standpoint really goes to Jeremy (Rasmussen) because he’s been in that role for a year and a half and he’s really been very aggressive in enhancing how we present track and field to our community and how we present it to potential student-athletes that come here,” Kraft said.
Complete 2015 Home Schedule:
March 20-21: Baldy Castillo Invitational
March 27-28: ASU Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Invitational
April 9-11: 36th Sun Angel Track Classic
May 2: Duel In the Desert - Arizona vs. Arizona State
The 2015 Pac-12 Outdoor Championships are set for back-to-back weekends on May 9-10 and May 16-17. UCLA will host the meet at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. Athletes who qualify for the NCAA West Regional will travel to Austin, Texas, on May 28-30, with hopes to qualify for the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, June 10-13, in Eugene, Ore.
ASU TO COMPETE AT 2015 DRAKE RELAYS
On April 23-25, the Sun Devils will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to compete at the 106th Drake Relays, presented by Hy-Vee at Drake Stadium.
“The Drake Relays has really tried to do a lot of unique things for the sport of track and field,” Kraft said. “They have asked us to come for years and this year we agreed to go back and participate in the relays and be a part of the team challenge there. Obviously, Shelby Houlihan is very excited because that’s where her first great races were, winning the Iowa State Championship at Drake Stadium. It really is a neat situation for us to go back and do something a little different from a relay standpoint but also to try and support our sport of track and field as we continually fight to carve a niche and try to make ourselves a little more fan friendly and a little more TV friendly. As the stature of our program increases, we have to be sensitive to the overall needs of our program from an exposure standpoint.”
ASU’S 2014 NCAA CHAMPIONS-HOULIHAN & MCBRIDE
The Arizona State track and field squads added to its streak of producing at least one NCAA Champion since the 2006 season, adding two more in 2014 with Shelby Houlihan becoming ASU’s first-ever 1500m champion and Bryan McBride winning ASU’s first title in the high jump since Kyle Arney won the event in 1977. Houlihan won her race in 4:18.10, while McBride set a new lifetime best with a clearance of 2.28m (7-05.75), which sits as the No. 2 mark in school history.