FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Half of the Sun Devil track and field squad treks north for the NAU Tune Up on Friday evening at the J L Walkup Skydome, which will serve as the final regular season indoor invitational.
Thirty-six student-athletes will compete this week either attempting to earn NCAA qualifying marks or open up their 2017 season for the first time. In order to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, athletes must be within the top-16 on the indoor qualifying list -- and top-12 for relays.
"We try to keep everyone's performance within context of their own training plan, so when you go there, you're really evaluating everyone individually," said head coach Greg Kraft. "We're two weeks out from the Mountain Pacific meet, which is one of the events we point towards during the indoor season, but we also have to start getting the roster ready for the outdoor season.
Friday and next weekend in Seattle for the indoor conference championships are the final two opportunities for the Sun Devils to record qualifying marks.
Senior jumper Keyasia Tibbs – who competed at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the triple jump, earning a Second-Team All-American honor – is one of the Devils aiming to move into qualifying range. After nursing a minor injury to start the 2017 season, Tibbs currently sits in 44th with a best of 12.61m (41-4.50) and would need a mark of at least 13.08m (42-11.00). Her personal best, which ranks first all-time in ASU indoor history, is 12.92m (42-04.75).
Her and teammate Darreyl Woodson sit with the 4th and 5th best marks in the conference currently at 12.61 meters and 12.47 meters, respectively.
The only other two women within striking distance will not be competing this weekend in Flagstaff, as they turn their focus directly to the conference meet. Redshirt junior Maggie Ewen currently holds the 2nd best mark in the shot put and 10th-best in the weight throw, while senior Chelsey Albertson is in 20th in the 5,000-meter event with a personal best and third-best time in ASU history at 16:03.47.
For the men, senior Herb Polk is on the outside looking in currently in the 400-meter dash. He sits in 29th overall in the country with a time of 46.86, which is .40 seconds shy of the 16th-best time. Like Tibbs, Polk hasn't competed in as many events as he may have liked so far this year.
"You do have some athletes that have missed reps," said Kraft. "Herb Polk has had different ailments and illnesses, so it gives him another opportunity. Paul Lucas, who just recently transferred, also gets another chance to run the 60-meter dash for a qualifying time."
Lucas just ran in his first meet of the season for the Devils in New Mexico, and clocked a 6.88 to qualify for the 60-meter semifinal before false starting.
In the jumps, redshirt sophomore Joey Bryant is right on the cusp as well of a top-16 mark. Last weekend in New Mexico, he leapt to 2.15m (7-0.50) in the high jump and got three good chances at the 2.18m (7-1.75) bar, which is currently what it would take to qualify for the NCAA meet.
Redshirt senior Garrett Starkey is in the same boat as Bryant, as he also got three good looks at the qualifying mark in the pole vault at 5.42m (17-9.25) last weekend. He cleared his season-best of 5.30m (17-4.50) last weekend at the Don Kirby Elite as well, which is also a personal best.
"In the vertical jumps, the best practice you can have right now is practicing at high bars," said Kraft. "Garrett and Joey were jumping at bars that would get them into the national championships. They had three looks at the bar last week, so hopefully they can get another three this week as you get ready for the Mountain Pacific. The good thing is that they're jumping at those bars. The other athletes are creating their own momentum -- Matt Eckles did a nice job and Elijah Hughes is progressing."
Competition in Flagstaff begins at 3 p.m. MST with the women's pole vault, women's long jump and men's shot put. Track events start at 4 p.m. MST with the women's 60-meter dash prelims.
You can find a full schedule of the events here.
NAU Tune-Up
Friday, Feb. 17
J L Walkup Skydome
Track Events
Men's 60m Dash
-Paul Lucas
-Bryson Echols
-Brandon Hasson
Women's 200m Dash
-Courtney Oglesby
Women's 200m Dash
-Brandon Hasson
Women's 400m Dash
-Brooke Coltelli
Men's 400m Dash
-Herb Polk
-Jeremy Wright
-Ronny Hall
Women's 800m Run
-Bianca Tinoco
-Carissa Diaz
Women's 1-Mile Run
-Alexis Nichols
-Adriana Olivas
Men's 1-Mile Run
-Kyle Shinn
Women's 60m Hurdles
-Kendra Purifoye
Men's 60m Hurdles
-Liam Henshaw
-Richard Thiel
-Odi Nwuda
Field Events
Men's High Jump
-Joey Bryant
-Elijah Hughes
-Mason Ford
-Reed Bussey
-Liam Henshaw
Women's Long Jump
-Keyasia Tibbs
-Jessica Barreira
-Shaunie Morrison
Men's Long Jump
-Joey Bryant
-Liam Henshaw
Women's Triple Jump
-Keyasia Tibbs
-Darreyl Woodson
-Jessica Barreira
Women's Shot Put
-Ashley Weber
-Courtney McCartney
Men's Shot Put
-Michael Titherington
Men's Weight Throw
-Michael Titherington
Thirty-six student-athletes will compete this week either attempting to earn NCAA qualifying marks or open up their 2017 season for the first time. In order to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, athletes must be within the top-16 on the indoor qualifying list -- and top-12 for relays.
"We try to keep everyone's performance within context of their own training plan, so when you go there, you're really evaluating everyone individually," said head coach Greg Kraft. "We're two weeks out from the Mountain Pacific meet, which is one of the events we point towards during the indoor season, but we also have to start getting the roster ready for the outdoor season.
Friday and next weekend in Seattle for the indoor conference championships are the final two opportunities for the Sun Devils to record qualifying marks.
Senior jumper Keyasia Tibbs – who competed at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the triple jump, earning a Second-Team All-American honor – is one of the Devils aiming to move into qualifying range. After nursing a minor injury to start the 2017 season, Tibbs currently sits in 44th with a best of 12.61m (41-4.50) and would need a mark of at least 13.08m (42-11.00). Her personal best, which ranks first all-time in ASU indoor history, is 12.92m (42-04.75).
Her and teammate Darreyl Woodson sit with the 4th and 5th best marks in the conference currently at 12.61 meters and 12.47 meters, respectively.
The only other two women within striking distance will not be competing this weekend in Flagstaff, as they turn their focus directly to the conference meet. Redshirt junior Maggie Ewen currently holds the 2nd best mark in the shot put and 10th-best in the weight throw, while senior Chelsey Albertson is in 20th in the 5,000-meter event with a personal best and third-best time in ASU history at 16:03.47.
For the men, senior Herb Polk is on the outside looking in currently in the 400-meter dash. He sits in 29th overall in the country with a time of 46.86, which is .40 seconds shy of the 16th-best time. Like Tibbs, Polk hasn't competed in as many events as he may have liked so far this year.
"You do have some athletes that have missed reps," said Kraft. "Herb Polk has had different ailments and illnesses, so it gives him another opportunity. Paul Lucas, who just recently transferred, also gets another chance to run the 60-meter dash for a qualifying time."
Lucas just ran in his first meet of the season for the Devils in New Mexico, and clocked a 6.88 to qualify for the 60-meter semifinal before false starting.
In the jumps, redshirt sophomore Joey Bryant is right on the cusp as well of a top-16 mark. Last weekend in New Mexico, he leapt to 2.15m (7-0.50) in the high jump and got three good chances at the 2.18m (7-1.75) bar, which is currently what it would take to qualify for the NCAA meet.
Redshirt senior Garrett Starkey is in the same boat as Bryant, as he also got three good looks at the qualifying mark in the pole vault at 5.42m (17-9.25) last weekend. He cleared his season-best of 5.30m (17-4.50) last weekend at the Don Kirby Elite as well, which is also a personal best.
"In the vertical jumps, the best practice you can have right now is practicing at high bars," said Kraft. "Garrett and Joey were jumping at bars that would get them into the national championships. They had three looks at the bar last week, so hopefully they can get another three this week as you get ready for the Mountain Pacific. The good thing is that they're jumping at those bars. The other athletes are creating their own momentum -- Matt Eckles did a nice job and Elijah Hughes is progressing."
Competition in Flagstaff begins at 3 p.m. MST with the women's pole vault, women's long jump and men's shot put. Track events start at 4 p.m. MST with the women's 60-meter dash prelims.
You can find a full schedule of the events here.
NAU Tune-Up
Friday, Feb. 17
J L Walkup Skydome
Track Events
Men's 60m Dash
-Paul Lucas
-Bryson Echols
-Brandon Hasson
Women's 200m Dash
-Courtney Oglesby
Women's 200m Dash
-Brandon Hasson
Women's 400m Dash
-Brooke Coltelli
Men's 400m Dash
-Herb Polk
-Jeremy Wright
-Ronny Hall
Women's 800m Run
-Bianca Tinoco
-Carissa Diaz
Women's 1-Mile Run
-Alexis Nichols
-Adriana Olivas
Men's 1-Mile Run
-Kyle Shinn
Women's 60m Hurdles
-Kendra Purifoye
Men's 60m Hurdles
-Liam Henshaw
-Richard Thiel
-Odi Nwuda
Field Events
Men's High Jump
-Joey Bryant
-Elijah Hughes
-Mason Ford
-Reed Bussey
-Liam Henshaw
Women's Long Jump
-Keyasia Tibbs
-Jessica Barreira
-Shaunie Morrison
Men's Long Jump
-Joey Bryant
-Liam Henshaw
Women's Triple Jump
-Keyasia Tibbs
-Darreyl Woodson
-Jessica Barreira
Women's Shot Put
-Ashley Weber
-Courtney McCartney
Men's Shot Put
-Michael Titherington
Men's Weight Throw
-Michael Titherington