TEMPE, Ariz. -- Eleven members of the Arizona State track and field program will compete in 10 events at the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Tracktown USA in Eugene, Ore.
Competition begins on Wednesday, June 8 and lasts four days through Saturday, June 11 with Director's Cup points up for grabs for the Sun Devils.
"When we start off the year, our team goals are always top-three in the conference and top-10 nationally," said Director of Track and Field Greg Kraft. "Those are our goals and those are something you have to strive for each and every year. The bi-product is Territorial Cup points, which we earned five of six this season, and Director's Cup points, which for our program has been very disappointing. If our student-athletes take care of their individual business, then the team business takes care of itself."
Of the 11 Sun Devils competing, five of them are making their first appearances on the national stage -- with three more being a part of men's 4x100 relay.
The three first timers on the men's 4x100 relay -- senior Ben Trotter, redshirt senior Isaiah Underwood and freshman Brandon Hasson -- will have no time to take in the atmosphere, as they will start off the festivities at 4:32 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday with the semifinal event. The trio -- along with graduate transfer Reggie Lewis -- ran the second-fastest time in the NCAA West Regional Preliminary, defeating SEC runner-up Arkansas and Big 12 Champion Texas straight up.
While Kraft is unsure whether senior Jamol James will return for the championship meet, he praises the job Trotter has done filling in for him and is confident no matter what way the cards fall.
"Those guys are just getting healthy and collectively are running the best they have all year," said Kraft. "All four of them are better than they've been any time in the season. It really comes down to passing the stick. It's not that easy of a task, but when you do it well, it looks easy. They've been doing a great job with it and Coach Williams has been doing a wonderful job keeping those guys on task."
If the men advance through the semifinal, they will compete in the final on Friday at 5:32 p.m. (PT).
Also on the track on Wednesday evening will be redshirt junior CJ Albertson in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase and Lewis running in the men's 200-meter dash.
Albertson qualified after locking up the final spot at the West Regional, running an 8:51.29. His personal best this season, which he ran at the Pac-12 Championships, would have qualified him with the third-best time in the region.
After being on the wrong end of a qualifying adjustment due to weather at the West Regional -- thus missing a spot in the 100-meter dash this weekend by .001 seconds -- Lewis bounced back and secured a spot in the 200-meter dash. He'll compete in the semifinal event on Wednesday at 6:44 p.m. (PT).
"I think that set us back because I do believe in our heart of hearts if we had an additional round of racing, then Reggie Lewis would have also qualified in the 100-meter dash," said Kraft in regards to the qualifying being adjusted due to weather in Kansas at the West Regional. "He made it in the 200, but there's no question that he has the ability and mindset to compete in both of those races along with our 4x100 relay at the NCAA Championships."
In Wednesday's field events, two NCAA Championship rookies -- one on each side of their college careers -- will represent ASU. Freshman Hudson Keffer, who finished third at the Pac-12 Championships and fifth at the NCAA West Regional, competes in the javelin throw at 5:45 p.m. (PT), while senior Ahmed Hassan throws in the shot put at 6:30 p.m. (PT).
No other Sun Devil men compete on Wednesday, and none will until Friday if any of the three track athletes qualify for the finals. However, the men's triple jump featuring another first-time competitor, redshirt junior Tim White, and senior returner Josh Dixon will take place Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. (PT).
"When you go to the meet with the men, you look at the people who have the potential to be in the finals (to earn points)," said Kraft. "Obviously the 4x1 being the conference champions and Tim White being the West Regional champion, those are guys that have the opportunity to get us quality points. Reggie in the 200, CJ Albertson in the steeplechase and Josh Dixon in the triple jump have the potential to be scorers as well. I think Hudson Keffer has had an unbelievable freshman year and I think he has the ability to have a throw that could be in scoring position. When you're looking at an NCAA finish, with the number of quality entrants that they have, our guys have a fighter’s chance of being a top-25 team in the country. If we were to walk away with a top-25 finish, I think that would be a nice ending to our outdoor season."
Of all the men, Kraft gives White the best shot of earning a national championship. Between the East and West Regional events, White had the second-best jump of the 24 qualifying student-athletes -- and Kraft believes he still has a bigger jump in him as White has only jumped from a long run in one other event during the outdoor season since returning from spring football. That mark became a new personal best.
The women's events are on the opposite days of the men, with the men on Wednesday and Friday and women on Thursday and Saturday.
"Our women's side is light on entries being led by team Maggie Ewen," said Kraft. "The way the system is set up, you're rewarded for big points. I tell the team that champions win championships, and it sounds silly, but the champion scores 10 points. If you need to have 20 points to be a top-10 program and you have a winner, then you're halfway there. Maggie is going in as the 2-seed in the hammer, but not in scoring position in the discus or shot put -- just as Keyasia Tibbs isn't in the triple jump -- but they have the ability to garner points. If we were to get to the double digit threshold, our women as well would be a top-25 finisher. The top-25 for all of the sports in our department is kind of like a standard of excellence that everyone relates to."
Ewen raised the bar for her already remarkable redshirt sophomore season, qualifying in all three of her events -- hammer throw, discus and shot put -- at the West Regional. Not only did she qualify, but she obliterated her old personal best in the hammer throw by 15 feet while breaking the Pac-12 record that was set in 2008 with a mark of 70.50m (231-03).
"Coach Dumble was in earlier and we were talking about how Maggie was one inch off the high school record in the shot, and now three years later, the shot is her third-best event -- all behind two events she never threw in high school," said Kraft. "She's always had unbelievable ability. She came in as a true freshman and was second on our task for lifting out of all of our lifters. She's incredibly strong and dynamic, so we're really not surprised by it. She doesn't have the mass of a typical thrower, particularly a typical shot putter, but she's so dynamically strong and such a great athlete and it correlates well to her success in the hammer.
"Also the coaching job Coach Dumble has done in teaching her from square one to the point where she is one of the finest hammer throwers in the NCAA."
Last but certainly not least is junior jumper Keyasia Tibbs, who is the last one making her first NCAA Championship appearance. Tibbs has had a record-breaking season, setting the new ASU records in both the indoor and outdoor triple jump. She snatched the last spot at the West Regional while pushing through a minor injury suffered earlier this month. Her personal best of 13.10m would have qualified her with the fifth-best mark at the West Regional.
The entire week of competition can be watched live on ESPN3 or periodically live on ESPN, ESPNU or ESPN2:
Wednesday, June 8
- 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. (ESPNU or ESPN2)
- 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPN)
- 12:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Thursday, June 9
- 4:30 p.m.-5 p.m. (ESPNU)
- 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
- 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Friday, June 10
- 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. (ESPN)
- 12:30 p.m.-8 p.m. (ESPN3)
Saturday, June 11
- 3:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN)
- 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN3)
For more information, visit the NCAA Track and Field Championships home page here.