March 26, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. - For the second home meet in a row, the throwers on the Arizona State University track and field team shined as 11 marks earned regional qualification to pace the Sun Devils at the ASU Invitational Saturday inside Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe. Overall on the day, the men and women combined to win 17 events and record finishes in the Top 3 on 30 different occasions. The team also recorded 24 regional qualifying marks and one school record.
Jessica Pressley again had a stellar weekend as she won one event, recorded a personal-best mark in two events and met the regional standards in all three. In the hammer, Pressley recorded a mark of 62.52m (205-01) to not only shatter her own school record set one week earlier, but also take the national lead while becoming the first Sun Devils woman to break the 200-foot barrier. She also qualified in the discus and shot put on the day.
Also on the women's side, Porchea Carroll collected wins in both the 100m dash and the long jump to qualify in both events at the regional meet. She was joined in the winner's circle by Corey Randall (3,000m steeplechase), Rachel Ellison (1,500m run), Cassandra Reed (400m dash), Kandace Tucker (200m dash), Cassie Rios (3,000m run), Julia Pedersen (discus) and the 4x400m relay team. The men picked up seven wins including both relays (4x100m and 4x400m), Aaron Aguayo (1,500m run), Seth Amoo (200m dash), Velibor Radejovic (3,000m run), Travis Jones (shot put) and Ryan Zimmerman (triple jump).
Regionally, the following women qualified for the meet that will be held in Eugene, Ore., later this season: Randall (3,000m steeplechase), Ellison (1,500m), Reed (400m), Carroll (long jump, 100m dash), Tucker (200m), Jennifer Kowacz (shot put), Pedersen (discus), Pressley (hammer, discus, shot put), Angela Tavlarides (pole vault) and Cara Walker (pole vault). The men's qualifiers were: the 4x100m relay, Aguayo (1,500m), Amoo (200m), Kelvin Love (200m), Jones (hammer, discus, shot put), Tomas Navarro (hammer, discus), Andrew Smith (javelin) and Zimmerman (triple jump).
ASU will take a weekend off from competition before returning to the track on April 7-9 for the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas.