FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- On a day where the Arizona State track and field program would typically practice at Sun Angel, head coach Greg Kraft trekked his team north for one final meet before the MPSF Conference Championships.
The idea of having a competitive edge in a meet versus just another Friday afternoon served its purpose, as several Sun Devils turned in personal bests and some even inched their way up the national rankings.
"The NAU Tune-Up went like we hoped it would," said Kraft. "It was more of a scrimmage with some fine tuning mixed in. We had two real highlights on the afternoon."
The first came in the men's 60-meter dash, as senior Jamol James ran the best time of his young season and potentially put himself in line for the NCAA Indoor Championships with an unadjusted 6.63 for a first-place finish. Depending on the altitude-adjusted time, James would move into the top 15 to 20.
"That was a really encouraging thing (for Jamol)," Kraft said. "He needed reps and he's coming around."
His time moves him into fourth-best all-time unadjusted for a Sun Devil, and likely top-six after the adjustment.
The second highlight of the meet was redshirt sophomore Maggie Ewen in the weight throw, who moved herself into the nation's top-15 with a toss of 20.68m (67-10.25). It also became the fifth-best throw in ASU history.
In the jumps, redshirt junior Tim White and senior Josh Dixon used the meet as a short run practice, working on their technique prior to the actual jump.
But the men pole vaulters took advantage of their session in Flagstaff.
Redshirt freshman Matt Eckles and junior Nathan Hiett both broke their own records while also moving into a tie for seventh on the ASU history list. Both cleared the 5.15-meter mark (16-10.75).
Their teammate, junior Dillon Groener, also broke his personal record with a vault of 5.00m (16-04.75).
"We really did a lot of nice things," said Kraft. "All in all it was a nice day for the Devils."
ASU wastes no time getting back to work as the biggest meet of their indoor season thus far approaches with the MPSF Conference Championship starts on Friday, Feb. 26 in Seattle, Wash.