June 1, 2002
BATON ROUGE, La. - Junior Lisa Aguilera finished sixth in the women's 3000m steeplechase final and the men's 4x400m team placed eighth, earning All-America honors and highlighting the final day of competition for Arizona State track and field at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Championships hosted by LSU at Bernie Moore Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday.
Riding Aguilera's sixth-place finish and junior Tiffany Greer's runner-up finish in the long jump Thursday, the ASU women ended the four-day meet with 11 points, tied for 22nd with Florida State. South Carolina won the women's NCAA team title with 82 points over UCLA (72 points) and defending champion USC (57).
On the men's side, ASU tallied just one point with the 4x400m relay eighth-place finish and ended in an eight-way tie for 68th place. This year is the first since 1998 that the men have not earned a top-20 national outdoor finish. Host LSU won the men's team title with 64 points, over Tennessee (57) and Southern Methodist (42).
Aguilera finished sixth in the 3000m steeplechase final, recording a time of 10:07.61. Her preliminary time of 10:05.38 set Thursday was a personal-best. BYU's Michaela Manova won the NCAA title in 9:45.94. With a top-eight finish today, it is Aguilera's fourth career All-America honor on the track and second this season after finishing runner-up in the 3000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She is also a two-time All-American in cross country.
The men's 4x400m relay team of junior Lorenzo Parham, sophomore Steve Fitch, senior Pete Lopez and freshman Seth Amoo accounted for the men's only point at this year's NCAA Championships with an eighth-place finish. The Sun Devil squad clocked a time of 3:05.65, after its season-best effort of 3:05.36 in the prelims Thursday. It is the second-straight All-America certificate for an ASU men's outdoor 4x400m relay team, and third in the last four years. South Carolina took home the NCAA title in 3:02.16.
Also competing today, senior Brandon Strong finished 12th in the men's 1500m final with a time of 3:46.43, well off pace from his personal-best of 3:41.42 set earlier this season. Strong, this year's Pac-10 runner-up in the 1500m, almost eclipsed that personal-best with a time of 3:41.54 in the preliminary Friday. He does end his ASU career as one of just two Sun Devils in school history to run a sub-four minute mile. Stanford's Donald Sage, whom Strong beat in the Pac-10 meet, won this year's NCAA 1500m crown (3:42.65).
Looking to add to his All-America certificate earned at the 2002 NCAA Indoor Championships, senior David Wood competed in the men's shot put final, but placed 17th with a mark of 59 feet, 9.75 inches. Junior Fasil Bizuneh, who placed 15th in the men's 10,000m Friday, repeated that finish today, placing 15th in the men's 5000m final (13:59.30).
For complete results of the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Championships, go to www.lsusports.net.
2002 NCAA Div. I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Bernie Moore Track Stadium - LSU - Baton Rouge, La.
Wednesday, May 29-Saturday, June 1
ASU Saturday Results
Lisa Aguilera - Women's 3000m Steeplechase - 6th (10:07.61)
Men's 4x400m Relay - 8th (3:05.65)
Brandon Strong - Men's 1500m - 12th (3:46.65)
Fasil Bizuneh - Men's 5000m - 15th (14:32.46)
David Wood - Men's Shot Put - 17th (59-9.75)