EUGENE, Ore. – Along with capturing Pac-12 individual titles, Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards and even the Pac-12 Female Athlete of the Meet Award, the Arizona State track and field program helped clinch the Territorial Cup® Series for the 2016-17 athletic season over the University of Arizona.
The Sun Devil women, led by three-event Pac-12 Champion Maggie Ewen, ran away from the Wildcats with a 58.5 to 46 victory, while the men narrowly defeated UA, 51-50.
"I tell our team it's always our obligation to contribute to the Territorial Cup®," said head coach Greg Kraft. "I tell the team we can't go 4-2 during the season, it's pretty hard to win the cup. We needed to go 5-1 and we did. It speaks to our team of the type of student-athletes we have on our team. Maggie set an unprecedented feat by winning the hammer, discus and shot and being the high-point athlete of the meet. But also CJ Albertson and Keyasia Tibbs being the Pac-12 Scholar Athletes of the Year was a great accomplishment for our program."
"Then when you have someone like Matt Eckles, who is a walk-on athlete, become a Pac-12 Champion, that is just impressive. I'm just really impressed by how the kids did."
All in all, the Sun Devils boasted four Pac-12 individual titles and another four top-three finishes, as the women placed sixth overall and the men finished eighth. The women improved from their ninth-place finish in 2016.
That came large in part to Ewen, who won the Pac-12 Female Athlete of the Meet behind a meet-best 30 points scored. The redshirt junior became the second-ever Pac-10/12 female thrower to win three conference titles in the same meet along with UCLA's Seilala Sua in 1999. She's the first ASU thrower (male or female) to do so in the history of the program.
"It makes it remarkable and it speaks volume of one, her character and her willingness to learn, and two, the job coach Blutreich has done with her. Coach [David] Dumble's resume speaks for itself. For her to come in and accept a little different tone, a little different teaching style and technique, and buy in, the results speak for itself. It speaks volumes for her and coach Blutreich."
Ewen is the first ASU female to win the conference female athlete of the meet since Jasmine Chaney in 2011, and is just the second-ever female to total 30 points in the Pac-12 meet along with former heptathlete and seven-time NCAA Champion Jacquelyn Johnson.
Her counterpart, senior Kyle Long, returned for more points on Sunday as well. After placing third in the hammer throw and eighth in the shot put, Long boomed his fourth throw for a new personal best at 58.54m (191-01) to move into first place. He maintained that positioning until the very final throw by Oregon's Ryan Hunter-Simms, who got into one to surpass Long by a miniscule six inches.
While the eight points gained were substantial, it was the one point earned in the shot put that proved to be the most significant.
"On the first day in the shot put, we knew it would be close," said Kraft. "On his last throw, Kyle Long passed the UA shot putter to take eighth. That's a two-point swing. If they get it, now it's a 51-50 loss. You try to educate the team the importance of just competing one thing at a time. There's a lot of unsung heroes."
Two more of those heroes stood out on Sunday in the form of Joey Bryant and CJ Albertson.
Bryant, who had competed in his first triple jump event just two weeks ago at the Duel in the Desert, entered the Pac-12 Championships with the 9th-best mark this season. On his second attempt, Bryant soared for a new personal best and into second place with a mark of 15.28m (50-1.75), and would end up finishing fourth in the event. It moved him into a qualifying spot for the NCAA West Regional as well at 44th.
Albertson, who was named the Pac-12 Male Scholar Athlete of the Year and also finished third in the 3k steeplechase on Saturday, returned Sunday to earn a crucial point in the second-to-last event of the meet. He had his best-ever Pac-12 finish in the 5k in eighth place to put the Sun Devil men up nine points with the 4x400 relay remaining. Arizona would end up finishing second and coming within a point of the Devils.
On the women's side, senior Keyasia Tibbs contributed for the second-straight day, as she finished second in the triple jump on Sunday. On her sixth and final attempt, Tibbs broke the ASU triple jump record – which she already owned – with a leap of 13.22m (43-4.50).
Redshirt freshman Kaylee Antill (fifth) in the hammer throw, Darreyl Woodson (eighth) in the triple jump, and Kristiana Warth (seventh) in the pole vault also contributed to the women's scoring.
Back on the track, junior Shaunie Morrison placed fourth in the women's 100-meter hurdles final, capturing five points for ASU with a new personal best time of 13.30.
The women's 4x100 and 4x400 relays also scored, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively.
Other than CJ, the men's 4x100 relay was the only male event to score on Sunday, as they finished fourth.
ASU men's team moves to five for their last six in capturing Territorial Cup® points against the UA and nine for their last nine in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. Indoor and outdoor track has captured 19 of the last 24 points.
The Devils now prepare to take an even smaller field of athletes to the NCAA West Regional in Austin, Texas on May 25-27. The top 48 marks in each event and top 24 relays will qualify for the regional.
Pac-12 Championships
May 13-14, 2017
Historic Hayward Field
Sunday Field Events
Men's Discus Throw
2. Kyle Long – 58.54m (192-01)*
Women's Hammer Throw
1.Maggie Ewen – 70.20m (230-04)^
5. Kaylee Antill – 57.71m (189-04)
12. Ashley Weber – 52.20m (171-03)
Men's Triple Jump
4. Joey Bryant – 15.28m (50-1.75)
9. Liam Henshaw – 13.91m (45-7.75)
Women's Triple Jump
2. Keyasia Tibbs – 13.22m (43-4.50)
8. Darreyl Woodson – 11.99m (39-04)
Women's Pole Vault
7. Kristiana Warth – 3.92m (12-10.25)
Women's Discus Throw
1.Maggie Ewen – 59.81m (196-02)
11. Kaylee Antill – 46.58m (152-10)
Sunday Track Events
Men's 4x100 Relay
4. Arizona State (Bramwell, Polk, Hasson, Wright) – 40.56
Women's 4x100 Relay
6. Arizona State (Morrison, Franlin, Oglesby, Flanagan) – 46.61
Women's 100m Hurdles Final
4. Shaunie Morrison – 13.30
Men's 200m Dash Final
--Drelan Bramwell – DQ
Men's 5k Run
8. CJ Albertson – 14:07.68
19. John Reniewicki – 14:43.74
Women's 5k Run
9. Chelsey Albertson – 16:21.42
29. Alexis Nichols – 17:10.70
31. Brittany Alexander – 17:18.64
33. Adriana Olivas – 17:27.46
34. Megan Reniewicki – 17:28.55
36. Courtney Lewis – 17:56.75
Men's 4x400 Relay
9. Arizona State (Polk, Wright, Hasson, B. Elliott) – 3:14.57
Women's 4x400 Relay
8. Arizona State (Williford, Flanagan, Crozier, Franklin) – 3:45.91
Saturday Field Events
Men's Hammer Throw
3. Kyle Long – 64.03m (210-01)
15. Michael Titherington – 52.48m (172-02)
Men's Long Jump
11. Joey Bryant – 6.88m (22-07)
12. Liam Henshaw – 6.87m (22-6.50)
Men's Pole Vault
1.Matt Eckles – 5.07m (16-7.50)
6. Garrett Starkey – 4.87m (15-11.75)
--Jacob Flores – NH
Men's Shot Put
8. Kyle Long – 17.79m (58-4.50)
12. Tom Anderson – 17.02m (55-10.25)
Women's Shot Put
1.Maggie Ewen – 17.18m (56-4.50)
11. Ashley Weber – 14.30m (46-11.00)
Women's Long Jump
5. Keyasia Tibbs – 5.87m (19-3.25)
9. Shaunie Morrison – 5.76m (18-10.75)
Women's Javelin Throw
19. Melanie Johnson – 38.11m (125-00)
Men's High Jump
6. Joey Bryant – 2.05m (6-8.75)
8. Elijah Hughes – 2.05m (6-8.75)
Saturday Track Events
Men's 4x100 Relay Prelim
4. Arizona State (Bramwell, Polk, Hasson, Wright) – 40.56Q
Women's 4x100 Relay Prelim
7. Arizona State (Morrison, Franklin, Oglesby, Flanagan) – 47.10q
Women's 1500m Prelim
17. Alexis Nichols – 4:32.25
Women's 100m Hurdles Prelim
4. Shaunie Morrison – 13.42Q
Men's 400m Dash Prelim
8. Jeremy Wright – 47.74
17. Herb Polk – 49.75
Men's 100m Dash Prelim
9. Drelan Bramwell – 10.52
15. Brandon Hasson – 10.76
Men's 800m Run Prelim
14. Blake Elliott – 1:54.01
Women's 800m Run Prelim
11. Melese Crozier – 2:09.57
14. Christine Williford – 2:09.94
Men's 3k Steeplechase
3. CJ Albertson – 8:49.53
Women's 3k Steeplechase
13. Courtney Lewis – 11:06.13
14. Billie Jo Dytrt – 11:08.82
Men's 200m Dash Prelim
8. Drelan Bramwell – 21.17Q
10. Brandon Hasson – 21.34
Women's 10k Run
8. Chelsey Albertson – 34:01.68
18. Jenna Maack – 35:47.17
Team Scores
Women
1.Oregon – 189
2. USC – 135
3. Colorado – 78
4. Washington – 72
5. UCLA – 63
6. Arizona State – 58.5
7. Stanford – 47
8. Arizona – 46
9. Washington St. – 45
9. California – 45
11. Oregon State – 21.5
12. Utah – 16
Men
1.Oregon – 175
2. USC – 115.5
3. UCLA – 101
4. Colorado – 73
5. California – 72
6. Washington St. – 68.5
7. Washington – 61
8. Arizona State – 51
9. Arizona – 50
10. Stanford - 49
The Sun Devil women, led by three-event Pac-12 Champion Maggie Ewen, ran away from the Wildcats with a 58.5 to 46 victory, while the men narrowly defeated UA, 51-50.
"I tell our team it's always our obligation to contribute to the Territorial Cup®," said head coach Greg Kraft. "I tell the team we can't go 4-2 during the season, it's pretty hard to win the cup. We needed to go 5-1 and we did. It speaks to our team of the type of student-athletes we have on our team. Maggie set an unprecedented feat by winning the hammer, discus and shot and being the high-point athlete of the meet. But also CJ Albertson and Keyasia Tibbs being the Pac-12 Scholar Athletes of the Year was a great accomplishment for our program."
"Then when you have someone like Matt Eckles, who is a walk-on athlete, become a Pac-12 Champion, that is just impressive. I'm just really impressed by how the kids did."
All in all, the Sun Devils boasted four Pac-12 individual titles and another four top-three finishes, as the women placed sixth overall and the men finished eighth. The women improved from their ninth-place finish in 2016.
That came large in part to Ewen, who won the Pac-12 Female Athlete of the Meet behind a meet-best 30 points scored. The redshirt junior became the second-ever Pac-10/12 female thrower to win three conference titles in the same meet along with UCLA's Seilala Sua in 1999. She's the first ASU thrower (male or female) to do so in the history of the program.
"It makes it remarkable and it speaks volume of one, her character and her willingness to learn, and two, the job coach Blutreich has done with her. Coach [David] Dumble's resume speaks for itself. For her to come in and accept a little different tone, a little different teaching style and technique, and buy in, the results speak for itself. It speaks volumes for her and coach Blutreich."
Ewen is the first ASU female to win the conference female athlete of the meet since Jasmine Chaney in 2011, and is just the second-ever female to total 30 points in the Pac-12 meet along with former heptathlete and seven-time NCAA Champion Jacquelyn Johnson.
Her counterpart, senior Kyle Long, returned for more points on Sunday as well. After placing third in the hammer throw and eighth in the shot put, Long boomed his fourth throw for a new personal best at 58.54m (191-01) to move into first place. He maintained that positioning until the very final throw by Oregon's Ryan Hunter-Simms, who got into one to surpass Long by a miniscule six inches.
While the eight points gained were substantial, it was the one point earned in the shot put that proved to be the most significant.
"On the first day in the shot put, we knew it would be close," said Kraft. "On his last throw, Kyle Long passed the UA shot putter to take eighth. That's a two-point swing. If they get it, now it's a 51-50 loss. You try to educate the team the importance of just competing one thing at a time. There's a lot of unsung heroes."
Two more of those heroes stood out on Sunday in the form of Joey Bryant and CJ Albertson.
Bryant, who had competed in his first triple jump event just two weeks ago at the Duel in the Desert, entered the Pac-12 Championships with the 9th-best mark this season. On his second attempt, Bryant soared for a new personal best and into second place with a mark of 15.28m (50-1.75), and would end up finishing fourth in the event. It moved him into a qualifying spot for the NCAA West Regional as well at 44th.
Albertson, who was named the Pac-12 Male Scholar Athlete of the Year and also finished third in the 3k steeplechase on Saturday, returned Sunday to earn a crucial point in the second-to-last event of the meet. He had his best-ever Pac-12 finish in the 5k in eighth place to put the Sun Devil men up nine points with the 4x400 relay remaining. Arizona would end up finishing second and coming within a point of the Devils.
On the women's side, senior Keyasia Tibbs contributed for the second-straight day, as she finished second in the triple jump on Sunday. On her sixth and final attempt, Tibbs broke the ASU triple jump record – which she already owned – with a leap of 13.22m (43-4.50).
Redshirt freshman Kaylee Antill (fifth) in the hammer throw, Darreyl Woodson (eighth) in the triple jump, and Kristiana Warth (seventh) in the pole vault also contributed to the women's scoring.
Back on the track, junior Shaunie Morrison placed fourth in the women's 100-meter hurdles final, capturing five points for ASU with a new personal best time of 13.30.
The women's 4x100 and 4x400 relays also scored, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively.
Other than CJ, the men's 4x100 relay was the only male event to score on Sunday, as they finished fourth.
ASU men's team moves to five for their last six in capturing Territorial Cup® points against the UA and nine for their last nine in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. Indoor and outdoor track has captured 19 of the last 24 points.
The Devils now prepare to take an even smaller field of athletes to the NCAA West Regional in Austin, Texas on May 25-27. The top 48 marks in each event and top 24 relays will qualify for the regional.
Pac-12 Championships
May 13-14, 2017
Historic Hayward Field
Sunday Field Events
Men's Discus Throw
2. Kyle Long – 58.54m (192-01)*
Women's Hammer Throw
1.Maggie Ewen – 70.20m (230-04)^
5. Kaylee Antill – 57.71m (189-04)
12. Ashley Weber – 52.20m (171-03)
Men's Triple Jump
4. Joey Bryant – 15.28m (50-1.75)
9. Liam Henshaw – 13.91m (45-7.75)
Women's Triple Jump
2. Keyasia Tibbs – 13.22m (43-4.50)
8. Darreyl Woodson – 11.99m (39-04)
Women's Pole Vault
7. Kristiana Warth – 3.92m (12-10.25)
Women's Discus Throw
1.Maggie Ewen – 59.81m (196-02)
11. Kaylee Antill – 46.58m (152-10)
Sunday Track Events
Men's 4x100 Relay
4. Arizona State (Bramwell, Polk, Hasson, Wright) – 40.56
Women's 4x100 Relay
6. Arizona State (Morrison, Franlin, Oglesby, Flanagan) – 46.61
Women's 100m Hurdles Final
4. Shaunie Morrison – 13.30
Men's 200m Dash Final
--Drelan Bramwell – DQ
Men's 5k Run
8. CJ Albertson – 14:07.68
19. John Reniewicki – 14:43.74
Women's 5k Run
9. Chelsey Albertson – 16:21.42
29. Alexis Nichols – 17:10.70
31. Brittany Alexander – 17:18.64
33. Adriana Olivas – 17:27.46
34. Megan Reniewicki – 17:28.55
36. Courtney Lewis – 17:56.75
Men's 4x400 Relay
9. Arizona State (Polk, Wright, Hasson, B. Elliott) – 3:14.57
Women's 4x400 Relay
8. Arizona State (Williford, Flanagan, Crozier, Franklin) – 3:45.91
Saturday Field Events
Men's Hammer Throw
3. Kyle Long – 64.03m (210-01)
15. Michael Titherington – 52.48m (172-02)
Men's Long Jump
11. Joey Bryant – 6.88m (22-07)
12. Liam Henshaw – 6.87m (22-6.50)
Men's Pole Vault
1.Matt Eckles – 5.07m (16-7.50)
6. Garrett Starkey – 4.87m (15-11.75)
--Jacob Flores – NH
Men's Shot Put
8. Kyle Long – 17.79m (58-4.50)
12. Tom Anderson – 17.02m (55-10.25)
Women's Shot Put
1.Maggie Ewen – 17.18m (56-4.50)
11. Ashley Weber – 14.30m (46-11.00)
Women's Long Jump
5. Keyasia Tibbs – 5.87m (19-3.25)
9. Shaunie Morrison – 5.76m (18-10.75)
Women's Javelin Throw
19. Melanie Johnson – 38.11m (125-00)
Men's High Jump
6. Joey Bryant – 2.05m (6-8.75)
8. Elijah Hughes – 2.05m (6-8.75)
Saturday Track Events
Men's 4x100 Relay Prelim
4. Arizona State (Bramwell, Polk, Hasson, Wright) – 40.56Q
Women's 4x100 Relay Prelim
7. Arizona State (Morrison, Franklin, Oglesby, Flanagan) – 47.10q
Women's 1500m Prelim
17. Alexis Nichols – 4:32.25
Women's 100m Hurdles Prelim
4. Shaunie Morrison – 13.42Q
Men's 400m Dash Prelim
8. Jeremy Wright – 47.74
17. Herb Polk – 49.75
Men's 100m Dash Prelim
9. Drelan Bramwell – 10.52
15. Brandon Hasson – 10.76
Men's 800m Run Prelim
14. Blake Elliott – 1:54.01
Women's 800m Run Prelim
11. Melese Crozier – 2:09.57
14. Christine Williford – 2:09.94
Men's 3k Steeplechase
3. CJ Albertson – 8:49.53
Women's 3k Steeplechase
13. Courtney Lewis – 11:06.13
14. Billie Jo Dytrt – 11:08.82
Men's 200m Dash Prelim
8. Drelan Bramwell – 21.17Q
10. Brandon Hasson – 21.34
Women's 10k Run
8. Chelsey Albertson – 34:01.68
18. Jenna Maack – 35:47.17
Team Scores
Women
1.Oregon – 189
2. USC – 135
3. Colorado – 78
4. Washington – 72
5. UCLA – 63
6. Arizona State – 58.5
7. Stanford – 47
8. Arizona – 46
9. Washington St. – 45
9. California – 45
11. Oregon State – 21.5
12. Utah – 16
Men
1.Oregon – 175
2. USC – 115.5
3. UCLA – 101
4. Colorado – 73
5. California – 72
6. Washington St. – 68.5
7. Washington – 61
8. Arizona State – 51
9. Arizona – 50
10. Stanford - 49