May 30, 2009
EUGENE, Ore. – Charonda Williams was a part of three championships and was one of eight individuals to automatically qualify for the national meet as the Arizona State University track and field team closed out competition at the 2009 NCAA West Region Championships that were held Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The Sun Devils also automatically qualified all four of its relays to the national meet while claiming three individual titles and one relay crown on the day.
The Sun Devil women scored 95 points to successfully defend the West region crown they won last year with Oregon (80.5), USC (68), UCLA (64.5) and Stanford (54) rounding out the Top 5 in the team standings. In the men’s team race, USC took the regional crown with 97 points and were followed in the Top 5 by Oregon (80.75), Washington State (66), ASU (62) and Stanford (52).
Williams and Sarah Stevens were instrumental in helping the women repeat as the team champions as both claimed a pair of individual titles on the weekend with Williams winning a pair on Saturday. The only woman to win the 100m and 200m dash titles at the Pac-10 Championships in back-to-back seasons, Williams led the charge on the day as she won the 100m dash in 11.16 and the 200m dash in 23.03 to punch her ticket to national meet while also joining forces with Dominique’ Maloy, Kayla Sanchez and Jasmine Chaney to win the 4x100m relay in 44.36.
Stevens, who won the discus and finished second in the hammer one day earlier, claimed the shot put crown with a toss of 17.01m, giving her back-to-back meets at Hayward Field in which she won both the shot put and the discus while placing second in the hammer. With her placements, Stevens has automatically qualified in all three events for the second year in a row and sets her up to try and earn All-America honors in all three throws for the second year in a row.
Back on the track, Chaney had another outstanding day. After helping the 4x100m relay win the title, she took on the hurdles and automatically qualified for the national meet in both hurdle events. First up, Chaney ran 13.30 to place third in the 100m hurdles and then she ran 58.53 to take the fifth and final qualifying place in the hurdles. She closed out her day as a member of the third-place (and final qualifier) in the 4x400m relay as the team of Maloy, Shauntel Elcock and Jeavon Benjamin ran 3:35.26. Maloy, who helped on both relays, also qualified individually in two other events as she was third in both the 100m dash (11.42) and the 200m dash (23.52).
On the men’s side of things, true freshman Allante Battle continued to make a name for himself as the rookie was a part of three automatic qualifiers on the day. Individually, Battle placed second in the 200m dash in a personal-best 21.05 after running 10.46 to finish fourth in the 100m dash. He also ran with Michael Stokes, Lawrence Trice and Ray Miller as the group clocked in at 40.14 to finish second in the 4x100m relay. Trice and Miller later ran with John Kline and Justin Kremer to finish third in the 4x400m relay (3:09.33) to earn a berth to nationals.
In the field, the duo of Ryan Whiting and Jason Lewis earned a place in the national meet in the discus as they placed third and fourth, respectively. Whiting hit a mark of 59.38m while Lewis finished at 58.31m. Lewis also competed in the hammer and took seventh in 62.84m and will now await word from the NCAA to see if he is an at-large selection into the championships. He will be joined on the waiting list by David Mehlhorn, who placed eighth in the steeplechase with a time of 9:00.76.
Next up for the Sun Devils will be the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships that will be held June 10-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Meet Highlights - 2009 NCAA West Region Championships, Day 2
Saturday, May 30 • Eugene, Ore.
West Region Champions - WOMEN
Charonda Williams - 100m dash - 11.16
Charonda Williams - 200m dash - 23.03
Sarah Stevens - Shot Put - 17.01m
4x100m relay (Maloy, Sanchez, Chaney, Williams) - 44.36
West Region Champions - MEN
none
NCAA Automatic Qualifiers (Top 5) - WOMEN
Charonda Williams - 100m dash - 11.16 (1st)
Charonda Williams - 200m dash - 23.03 (1st)
Sarah Stevens - Shot Put - 17.01m (1st)
Dominique’ Maloy - 100m dash - 11.42 (3rd)
Dominique’ Maloy - 200m dash - 23.52 (3rd)
Jasmine Chaney - 100m hurdles - 13.30 (3rd)
Jasmine Chaney - 400m hurdles - 58.53 (5th)
4x100m relay (Maloy, Sanchez, Chaney, Williams) - 44.36 (1st)
4x400m relay (Maloy, Elcock, Chaney, Benjamin) - 3:35.26 (3rd)
NCAA Automatic Qualifiers (Top 5) - MEN
Allante Battle - 200m dash - 21.05 (2nd)
Allante Battle - 100m dash - 10.46 (4th)
Ryan Whiting - Discus - 59.38m (3rd)
Jason Lewis - Discus - 58.31 (4th)
4x100m relay (Stokes, Battle, Trice, Miller) - 40.14 (2nd)
4x400m relay (Trice, Miller, Kline, Kremer) - 3:09.33 (3rd)