March 16, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. - The home meet season opened Friday night inside Sun Angel Stadium with the hammer throw as the Arizona State University track and field program played host to the start of the 2007 Baldy Castillo Invitational. Two women and four men competed for the Sun Devils with three total athletes qualifying for the NCAA regional meet while also etching their respective names on the all-time ASU Top 10 lists.
The women's hammer throw led off the evening with Tai Battle leading the charge, finishing second in her first outdoor meet in the maroon and gold with her toss of 57.89m (189-11). Not only did she qualify for the regional meet, she also recorded the fifth-best throw in school history. Teammate Sara Shisslak placed fifth with her toss of 52.81m (173-03).
In the men's competition, red-shirt freshman Jason Lewis set the pace by finishing third with a toss of 59.02m (193-08) while Andrew Smith was fourth with his mark of 56.71m (186-01). Both men qualified for the regional competition while recording the fifth and ninth-best marks in school history, respectively. Andy Haas placed seventh in 54.90m (180-01) and Tomas Navarro was eighth in 54.11m (177-06) to round out the Sun Devil entrants.
Prior to the start of the meet, the Sun Devil coaching staff and members of the women's program walked next door to Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark and were recognized for winning the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship last weekend in Fayetteville, Ark. Nearly 2,500 fans gave the women a standing ovation while Head Coach Greg Kraft, the 2007 USTFCCCA National Women's Coach of the Year, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Sun Devils faced Maine.
The Baldy continues Saturday with the discus opening the day at noon while the running events start at 6:00 p.m. with the hurdles.