April 13, 2008
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State University track and field team combined to record 29 regional qualifying marks and five victories to close out an impressive day at the 29th Sun Angel Track Classic on Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium Saturday in Tempe. The Sun Devils also placed eight marks on the all-time Top 10 lists in school history in a competition that featured one world record, six meet records and a staggering 238 regional qualifying marks.
For the women, reigning Pac-10 Women's Track Athlete of the Week Charonda Williams continued to shine as she won the 100m dash in 11.60 before helping the 4x100m relay of Dominique' Maloy, Jordan Durham and Shauntel Elcock run 44.66 in the event, the sixth-best time in school history. Williams later went on to blaze a time of 23.17 in the 200m dash, taking her up to third on the school's record list. In the field, Stephanie Garnett won the long jump with a mark of 6.37m, tying for the sixth-best mark in ASU history, while Jessica Pressley won the invitational shot put with a winning toss of 17.25m.
The men collected a pair of victories on the day as David Mehlhorn captured the 3,000m steeplechase and the men's 4x400m relay secured gold. Mehlhorn ran 8:58.30 to qualify for the regional meet for the first time in his career while also breaking the nine-minute mark for the first time. The group of Darryl Elston, Justin Kremer, Jimmie Gordon and Joel Phillip ran 3:05.85 to take the relay after the last three runners each qualified regionally in the open 400m dash with solid times. Phillip met the Olympic `A' standard in the quarter, running 45.34, the ninth-best time in ASU history, while Kremer (46.26) and Gordon (46.78) both broke 47-seconds in the event.
The women's pole vault was an exciting event as both Sun Devil entrants cleared 4.00m, marking the first time in school history that has happened. April Kubishta, the defending NCAA outdoor champion, took second with a college-leading mark of 4.21m while Alana Waterford became only the third woman in ASU history to break 4-meters as she cleared 4.00m. In the long jump, Matt Turner hit a mark of 7.94m, moving into second on the national lists while also moving into a tie on the ASU all-time lists with his 1-centimeter improvement on his career best.
In the men's high jump, Jeff Skiba (unattached) set a Paralympic World Record as the former record holder cleared a personal best 2.11m (6-11.00) to better his previous record of 2.10m. Staying in the field, Kelsie Hendry (Riversdale TC) broke her own venue record and added the meet record as well with a clearance of 4.31m. On the track, the women's meet records fell in the 200m dash (Kerron Stewart, Nike, 22.35), the 3,000m steeplechase (Danelle Woods, Illinois, 10:22.36) and the 5,000m run (Amy Hastings, adidas, 16:00.78) while men's records were set in the 400m dash (Jordan Boase, Washington, 44.82) and the 1,500m run (Lopez Lomong, Nike, 3:39.50).
Along with Hastings, several other former Sun Devils competed in the meet with two more claiming titles as Dwight Phillips won the long jump (8.00m) while Vince Mosca captured the shot put (19.70m). Other former ASU team members that competed in the event including Nick Hysong (pole vault), Kelly Strong (5,000m run), Trevell Quinley (100m dash) and Lisa Galaviz (1,500m), just to name a few.
The Sun Devils will take a weekend off from competition before heading to a pair of meets in two weeks. Several members of the team will head to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays while others will venture to Eugene, Ore., for the Oregon Relays.