SAN FRANCISCO -- The 51-member Pac-12 All-Century Women’s Track & Field team was announced Monday night during Pac-12 Networks’ flagship show, ‘Pac-12 Sports Report', with four honorees representing the Arizona State program.
Sun Devil Hall of Famers Maicel Malone and Lynda Tolbert-Goode made the list along with more-recent student-athletes Jacquelyn Johnson and Shelby Houlihan.
Malone was a four-time NCAA champion in the 400-meter dash -- three-straight years indoors from 1990-92 and outdoors in 1990 -- as well as a member of two NCAA championship relay teams -- the 4x400 in 1991 and the 4x100 in 1988. The former great still holds the school record in the 400m dash, sits second in the 200m dash and ninth in the 100m dash. After graduating, Malone earned a gold medal in the 4x400 relay in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The 2000 Sun Angel Classic meet honoree graduated from ASU in 1995 with a bachelor of arts degree in communications.
Tolbert-Goode earned eight All-America honors at ASU from 1986-1990 while also capturing NCAA titles in 1988 and 1990 in the outdoor 100-meter hurdles. In 1990, she also earned the NCAA indoor title in the 55-meter hurdles and was on the winning 4x100-meter relay team at the 1988 NCAA Championships along with Malone. At one point, Tolbert-Goode also held the collegiate record in the indoor 60-meter hurdles. That same year, she also was the Pac-10 Champion in the 100m hurdles and 4x100m relay. In
Arguably one of the most accomplished athletes in Sun Devil history, Johnson won five NCAA titles, six All-America honors, 2006 USTFCCCA Women's Co-National Field Athlete of the Year, 2006 West District Field Athlete of the Year, named to the NCAA Division I Silver Anniversary Team in 2007 and two-time Pac-10 heptathlon champion. In 2006, Johnson's 29 points in the Pac-10 meet helped the Devils to their first conference title.
The Sun Devils most recent National Champion, Shelby Houlihan, compiled a long list of accomplishments during her time at ASU. Her 12 All-American honors tied her for the second most in program history while her seven Pac-12 All-Academic honors tied her for the most by a Sun Devil track and field/cross country female. In 2014, Houlihan captured her first and only NCAA Championship in the 1,500-meter run, becoming the first title in that event in program history as well. She finished 2nd in the event at the 2015 NCAA Championships, but set the ASU record for the event in the process. That same year, Houlihan was a finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
In the conference, Houlihan was a four-time Pac-12 Champion with back-to-back victories in the 1,500m and 5,000m events. During her freshman year in 2012, she was the first Pac-12 student-athlete to earn both the cross country and track and field Newcomer of the Year honor since its inception in 2000.
This team was voted on by a panel of 35 consisting of coaches, former athletes, administrators and members of the media. The top two vote getters in each of the 19 events automatically qualified for the squad. The remaining 12 spots, including ties, were selected from a wildcard ballot consisting of the third, fourth and fifth place vote getters in each event. Athletes with two events next to their name finished in the top two in each of those events. Judging criteria was based on achievements during collegiate careers.
Within the coming weeks, the conference will announce the Men's Track and Field All-Century team.