TEMPE -- The Arizona State track and field squad hits the road for their first trip of the outdoor season after hosting three home meets in four weekends.
The Mt. SAC Relay and Azusa Pacific Bryan Clay Invitational are two of the largest meets on the west coast, and feature some of the top athletes in the country.
"Being a month out from the NCAA meet, you can't really be cute and you really have to step up," said director of track and field Greg Kraft. "It will be really interesting how the descending order shakes up for our conference. This will really be one of the biggest contingencies we have, because all of the distance runners will be running, we'll have our sprinters following up the Sun Angel Classic because we'll have a week off next week. We're really starting to have a better idea of how our roster is shaping up for the men and women.
"I think this weekend we'll have more student-athletes competing than we've had at any time this year. It'll be a large group and we're looking forward to evaluating everybody who has a chance to be on our conference championship roster."
Thursday night kicks off competition for the Devils, as Shaina Corbin, Daniel Wong and J.P. Nelson run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Mt. SAC Relay. Fellow distance runners CJ Albertson, Ryan Herson, John Reniewicki, Riley Wattier, Ryan Norton, Chelsey Totten, Adriana Olivas and Jenna Maack will then take on the 5K the following night. Albertson and Totten have been at their best as of late, both cracking the ASU top-10 all-time in certain events -- Albertson in the mile and 3K steeplechase, while Totten cracked the list for the 1,500-meter run.
"For the distance runners, it's a chance to be in a good race and situation to punch a qualifying mark for the regional championship," said Kraft. "When you get to the conference meet, sometimes the tactics will make the race run a little bit slower."
In the field events, Keyasia Tibbs, Maggie Ewen and Josh Dixon highlight the field for the Devils at the Mt. SAC Relay on Friday. Tibbs, who is coming off another ASU record in the triple jump, will try to up that mark for the second-straight week in the event. While Dixon currently has a regional qualifying mark in the long jump, he still needs one in the triple jump and will need a 14.57m (47-9.75) this weekend. After setting a new personal best and tossing the fourth-best mark in ASU history, Ewen will compete in the discus event yet again.
Nearly every other athlete will be competing in the Bryan Clay Invite at Azusa Pacific. View the schedule and competitors below.
Mt. SAC Relays Cerritos College Falcon Stadium Norwalk, Calif. April 14-16 3K Steeplechase (Thursday, April 14) -Daniel Wong, J.P. Nelson (6 p.m. PT) -Shaina Corbin (6:35 p.m. PT) 5,000m Run (Friday, April 15) -Chelsey Totten, Adriana Olivas, Jenna Maack (9:35 p.m. PT) -CJ Albertson, Ryan Herson, John Reniewicki, Riley Wattier, Ryan Norton (10:30 p.m. PT) Triple Jump (Friday, April 15) -Keyasia Tibbs (3 p.m. PT) -Josh Dixon (3 p.m. PT) Discus Throw (Friday, April 15) -Maggie Ewen (3:30 p.m. PT) Bryan Clay Invitational Azusa Pacific Cougar Athletic Stadium Azusa, Calif. April 14-15 5,000m Run (Thursday, April 14) -Jeff Bickert, Nick Dale, Ryan Normand (7:20 p.m. PT) FRIDAY Pole Vault -Haleigh Fritts, Athena Masolini, Kristiana Warth (9 a.m. PT) -Matt Eckles, Nathan Hiett, Dillon Groener (2:30 p.m. PT) Javelin -Jessica Barreira, Alyssa Cornell, Ginger Jarchow, Melanie Johnson (9 a.m. PT) -Hudson Keffer (1:30 p.m. PT) Discus Throw -Maggie Ewen, Ginger Jarchow (9 a.m. PT) -Thomas Anderson, Ahmed Hassan, Kyle Long, Quaid Vuncannon (4 p.m. PT) Shot Put -Thomas Anderson, Ahmed Hassan, Kyle Long (11 a.m. PT) -Maggie Ewen, Ashley Weber (2:30 p.m. PT) Triple Jump -Jessica Barreira, Darreyl Woodson (2 p.m. PT) High Jump -Reed Bussey, Mason Ford (2 p.m. PT) 4x100 Relay -James, Underwood, Hasson, Lewis (10 a.m. PT) -Gibbs, Franklin, Irvin, Tibbs (10:10 a.m. PT) 100m Hurdles -Sydney Mosley, Alex Williams (10:50 a.m. PT) 400m Dash -Ronny Hall, Brandon Hasson, Herb Polk, Jeremy Wright (11:40 a.m. PT) -LaTroya Franklin, Sierra Irvin, Courtnee Oglesby (12:05 p.m. PT) 100m Dash -Jamol James, Ben Trotter (12:40 p.m. PT) -Jasmine Gibbs (1:20 p.m. PT) 800m Run -Kyle Elliott (2:10 p.m. PT) -Hannah Benoit-Bucher, Madison Davis, Jen Owen, Mia Townsend (2:45 p.m. PT) 400m Hurdles -Cody Moore (3:35 p.m. PT) -Kiera Bulluck, Alex Williams (4 p.m. PT) 200m Dash -Reggie Lewis, Isaiah Underwood (4:50 p.m. PT) -Jasmine Gibbs, LaTroya Franklin, Sierra Irvin (5:25 p.m. PT) 4x400 Relay -Polk, Hall, Moore, Wright (6:15 p.m. PT) 1,500m Run -Brazeal, Boys, Elliott, Montoya, Roberts (6:55 p.m. PT) -Benoit-Bucher, Davis, Juan Torres, Owen (8 p.m. PT)