May 17, 2008
TEMPE, Ariz. - Jessica Pressley posted one of the top throws in collegiate shot put history to pace the Arizona State University track and field team on day one of the 2008 Pac-10 Track & Field Championships presented by 76 Gasoline on Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe Friday night. Her victory, one of four on the day for the Sun Devils, helped both teams toward the top of the standings in the conference meet.
The women are currently leading the team race through seven events with 84 points while Stanford is second at 59 and Oregon third at 41. The Top 5 is rounded out by Washington State (31 points) and USC (27). On the men's side, Oregon leads the way with 61.5 points while UCLA (48.5), ASU (35), Arizona (30) and California (26.5) follow.
The Sun Devil women saw Pressley hit a mark of 18.79m (61-07.75) to win the shot put while setting a school record and moving up a pair of other charts. Her toss is the second-best in Pac-10 history by six centimeters and ranks fifth all-time in the history of the NCAA. ASU also saw Sarah Stevens place second at 17.11m (56-01.75) and Tai Battle finish fifth in 15.22m (49-11.25), the 10th-best mark in school history, to pick up 22 points. The trio also scored 21 points in the hammer earlier in the day as Stevens won the event with a toss of 66.11m (216-11) while Battle was third at 63.18m (207-03) and Pressley fourth in 60.47m (198-05).
ASU's men also secured a pair of titles on the day as Matt Turner successfully defended his long jump crown and Kyle Alcorn gave the Sun Devils the men's 3,000m steeplechase title for the fifth-year in a row. Turner, who the title last year at Stanford, defended that win with a mark of 7.84m (25-08.75) to claim victory by just under four inches. Alcorn, the NCAA Indoor Champion at 3,000m this year, won the steeplechase in 8:43.81 to give ASU five in a row after Aaron Aguayo won four years in a row.
Jacquelyn Johnson, the heptathlon champion last weekend with 6,307 points (a Pac-10 record), was busy during the day as she clocked the third-fastest qualifying time in the 100m hurdles (13.52), broke her school record in the javelin to place second overall at 48.58m (159-04) and took second in the long jump with a mark of 6.24m (20-05.75). So far this year, Johnson has accounted for 26 of the team's 84 points and could add to that after running the finals of the 100m hurdles and competing in the high jump on Saturday.
Ali Kielty (10,000m run) placed second overall in the 10,000m run while Krystal Duke also scored in the event, finishing eighth. Jeff Helmer placed seventh in the men's 10,000m run while Angela Spadafino took eighth in the 3,000m steeplechase. Addison McGrath, in only her second competition after playing for the ASU water polo team this season, finished eighth in the javelin with a toss of 46.77m (153-05), the second-best in school history. Brad Roth scored sixth in the javelin for the men, throwing 64.96m (213-01). The women's long jump saw Stephanie Garnett place third overall in 6.20m (20-04.25) while Ryan Whiting (second at 20.30m) and Tomas Navarro (seventh at 17.74m) each scored in the men's shot put.
Jeavon Benjamin (53.54) posted the fastest time in the 400m dash qualifier while Jordan Durham was second (53.79) and Shauntel Elcock fifth (54.14) as all three qualified for the finals. The following athletes also qualified for the finals on Saturday in their respective events: Joey Heller (1,500m), Joel Phillip (400m, 400m hurdles), Justin Kremer (400m), Charonda Williams (100m, 200m), Dominique' Maloy (100m, 200m), Calvin Abram (100m, 200m), Marcus Duncan (100m, 200m), Nectaly Barbosa (800m), Marquis Profit (400m hurdles) and Darryl Elston (200m).
The Championships will conclude Saturday in Tempe with the men's hammer at 10:30 a.m., the remaining field events starting at 5 p.m. and the finals of the running events starting at 6:30 p.m.