TEMPE, Ariz. – This weekend, Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe will host eight ranked teams from across the country in the Pac-12+/Big Ten Challenge that will also feature one of the top SEC programs for the first time in meet history.
"For us, this format was the brainchild of coach Rasmussen and was totally just a Pac-12 vs. Big Ten challenge that was just a neat way to have the two conferences square off, and it has really been quite successful," coach Greg Kraft said. "We really try to showcase all-around Power Five conference schools and give our kids and the public the opportunity to see programs they don't normally see like a Penn State or a Michigan, and this year, an LSU."
The Sun Devil women are one of those ranked teams as they come into the meet ranked 14th. They're the second-highest ranked women's squad in attendance and for good reason with senior Maggie Ewen expected to open her season in the hammer throw Friday afternoon. Ewen is the defending NCAA champion in the hammer throw and the collegiate record-holder in the event.
"This type of ranking for our team lends itself to more events," Kraft said. "I think adding the outdoor events, 400-hurdles, discus, javelin and others, it makes us more formidable. but I think it really reflects the performances of Maggie Ewen because it's based on where your athletes stand in their events."
The highest ranked women's team in attendance, and highest ranked team overall in Tempe this weekend, will be in that "+" category. No. 7 LSU comes in fresh off an indoor championships appearance two weeks ago where they finished just off the podium by three points in sixth-place.
"We had a last-minute scratch on the Pac-12 side, so LSU is kind of coming in there to fill in for us," Kraft said.
The Big Ten will be represented by Indiana, a top-10 men's team and No. 16 women's team from Nebraska, 24/18 Michigan and 16/NR Penn State.
Along with NR/14 host ASU, the Pac-12 fields both Cal squads, and NR/15 Colorado along with honorary Pac-12 member for the weekend, LSU.
The Pac-12+/Big Ten Challenge gets underway Friday at 1 p.m. with the women's hammer throw. The men's 3,000-meter steeplechase will close out the first day at 7 p.m.
Saturday gets started at 1:30 p.m, and will run until the conclusion of the 4x400-meter relays, scheduled to begin at 8:27 p.m. A full schedule of events, ticket information and a live results link is available online.
Rankings Update
The first USTFCCCA polls of the season were released this week and the women's version featured the Sun Devils in the top-15.
Two weeks after finishing 13th as a team at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Arizona State debuted at No. 14 in the preseason outdoor poll with a boost from defending hammer throw champion Maggie Ewen and newcomer Alethia Marrero.
Ewen gives the Devils points for her marks last season in the hammer throw, discus throw and shot put, While Marrero brings points from her 800-meter and 400-meter hurdles times from last season when she was at Indiana State.
In the conference, ASU is the fourth-highest ranked team behind No. 2 Oregon, No. 4 Southern Cal and No. 10 Stanford.
The Pac-12 is tied with the SEC with five teams in the top-15. Colorado checks in at No. 15.
Sprinters on Double-Duty
At last weekend's Baldy Castillo Invitational, sprints coach Devin West's women's group showed its depth and range as four of his top athletes ran in three different events at different distances.
Perhaps the most dynamic performance of the trio's came from graduate transfer Alethia Marrero who tripled in the open 400, 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays. Although a common grouping, for Marrero – an 800-meter All-American, the outing displayed the newcomer's extensive range in the sprints.
Shaunie Morrison won the 100-meter hurdles, then competed in the open 200 and 4x100-meter relay for the Sun Devils, while Sha'Maya Flanagan matched Marrero's triple.
Kalei Matthews had the busiest day of any athlete, though. the JUCO transfer was the fastest Sun Devil on the day in the 100-and 200-meter dashes, and ran legs on ASU's 4x100-meter A team and its 4x400-meter quartet.
Watch the Throne
The Sun Devils enter the outdoor season with two defending Pac-12 champions in Maggie Ewen and Matthew Eckles on their team.
While it is every champion's expectation to repeat, both Sun Devils will have some work to do to ensure the men's pole vault title and women's shot put, hammer throw and discus titles stay in Tempe.
For Ewen, her biggest hurdle may be herself. She made history last year when she swept the shot, hammer and discus titles for the time in conference history, and the pressure is on to make history again.
But Ewen has overcome pressure already once this year when she swept the throwing events at the MPSF Championships and won the NCAA Indoor shot put title as the No. 1 seed in all three events, and even finished fourth in the weight throw at the NCAA Championships despite entering the meet as the six seed.
Eckles' competition may come from ASU as well as the Devils field five of the best pole vaulters in the conference.
Along with the defending Pac-12 champ, Michael Chadwick and Cole Riddle tied for third at the MPSF Championships indoors, and senior Nathan Hiett took fifth in Seattle while Eckles finished sixth to give ASU 19 of its 22 points at the championships.
Seniors Leading the Way Early
It's early, but the Sun Devil seniors have already staked their claim as the leaders on this team with their outings at the Baldy Castillo Invitational.
Canada's own Shaunie Morrison won the 100-meter hurdles competition in a dominant 13.49-second dash. She then led off the Sun Devil 4x100-meter relay team to its best time in three seasons.
On that 4x1 quartet was another senior, a graduate transfer from Indiana State, Alethia Marrero. She opened with a solid 54.85 in the 400, and also ran a leg on the 4x400-meter team that also ran ASU's fastest time since 2015.
In the field, both Kristiana Warth and Haleigh Fritts are likely to compete for the best marks of the season in the pole vault, and Maggie Ewen will open her season in the hammer throw this weekend, an event she holds the collegiate record in.
Nathan Hiett finished fifth in the pole vault in his opener, and Grant Sisserson will look to make his mark on the program in his only season of competition as a Sun Devil.
Mason Ford went back and forth with sophomore Elijah Hughes for the best mark during the indoor season, and the competition will continue outside. Hughes took the early lead with his outing at the Baldy Castillo Invitational.
Ewen vs. Ewen
Last season, Maggie Ewen had a season for the ages that was capped off with a place in the final three for the women's Bowerman Award.
This season, while Ewen already has surpassed her achievements at this point in the season a year ago with her 15 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a shot put national title, the real challenge will come outdoors for the senior Sun Devil.
Her 2017 outdoor performance is what solidified her as a Bowerman Award finalist. She won the shot put, hammer throw and discus throw titles at the Pac-12 Championships, becoming the first woman to do so, then scored 21 points at the NCAA Championships when she won the hammer throw title, and finished second and sixth in the discus and shot put, respectively.
Should she accomplish the same, Ewen will leave ASU having scored 165 points at conference championships and 47 points at NCAA Outdoor Championships in her four years.
The point total at the national meet would put her at fourth all-time in scoring in school history.
"For us, this format was the brainchild of coach Rasmussen and was totally just a Pac-12 vs. Big Ten challenge that was just a neat way to have the two conferences square off, and it has really been quite successful," coach Greg Kraft said. "We really try to showcase all-around Power Five conference schools and give our kids and the public the opportunity to see programs they don't normally see like a Penn State or a Michigan, and this year, an LSU."
The Sun Devil women are one of those ranked teams as they come into the meet ranked 14th. They're the second-highest ranked women's squad in attendance and for good reason with senior Maggie Ewen expected to open her season in the hammer throw Friday afternoon. Ewen is the defending NCAA champion in the hammer throw and the collegiate record-holder in the event.
"This type of ranking for our team lends itself to more events," Kraft said. "I think adding the outdoor events, 400-hurdles, discus, javelin and others, it makes us more formidable. but I think it really reflects the performances of Maggie Ewen because it's based on where your athletes stand in their events."
The highest ranked women's team in attendance, and highest ranked team overall in Tempe this weekend, will be in that "+" category. No. 7 LSU comes in fresh off an indoor championships appearance two weeks ago where they finished just off the podium by three points in sixth-place.
"We had a last-minute scratch on the Pac-12 side, so LSU is kind of coming in there to fill in for us," Kraft said.
The Big Ten will be represented by Indiana, a top-10 men's team and No. 16 women's team from Nebraska, 24/18 Michigan and 16/NR Penn State.
Along with NR/14 host ASU, the Pac-12 fields both Cal squads, and NR/15 Colorado along with honorary Pac-12 member for the weekend, LSU.
The Pac-12+/Big Ten Challenge gets underway Friday at 1 p.m. with the women's hammer throw. The men's 3,000-meter steeplechase will close out the first day at 7 p.m.
Saturday gets started at 1:30 p.m, and will run until the conclusion of the 4x400-meter relays, scheduled to begin at 8:27 p.m. A full schedule of events, ticket information and a live results link is available online.
Rankings Update
The first USTFCCCA polls of the season were released this week and the women's version featured the Sun Devils in the top-15.
Two weeks after finishing 13th as a team at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Arizona State debuted at No. 14 in the preseason outdoor poll with a boost from defending hammer throw champion Maggie Ewen and newcomer Alethia Marrero.
Ewen gives the Devils points for her marks last season in the hammer throw, discus throw and shot put, While Marrero brings points from her 800-meter and 400-meter hurdles times from last season when she was at Indiana State.
In the conference, ASU is the fourth-highest ranked team behind No. 2 Oregon, No. 4 Southern Cal and No. 10 Stanford.
The Pac-12 is tied with the SEC with five teams in the top-15. Colorado checks in at No. 15.
Sprinters on Double-Duty
At last weekend's Baldy Castillo Invitational, sprints coach Devin West's women's group showed its depth and range as four of his top athletes ran in three different events at different distances.
Perhaps the most dynamic performance of the trio's came from graduate transfer Alethia Marrero who tripled in the open 400, 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays. Although a common grouping, for Marrero – an 800-meter All-American, the outing displayed the newcomer's extensive range in the sprints.
Shaunie Morrison won the 100-meter hurdles, then competed in the open 200 and 4x100-meter relay for the Sun Devils, while Sha'Maya Flanagan matched Marrero's triple.
Kalei Matthews had the busiest day of any athlete, though. the JUCO transfer was the fastest Sun Devil on the day in the 100-and 200-meter dashes, and ran legs on ASU's 4x100-meter A team and its 4x400-meter quartet.
Watch the Throne
The Sun Devils enter the outdoor season with two defending Pac-12 champions in Maggie Ewen and Matthew Eckles on their team.
While it is every champion's expectation to repeat, both Sun Devils will have some work to do to ensure the men's pole vault title and women's shot put, hammer throw and discus titles stay in Tempe.
For Ewen, her biggest hurdle may be herself. She made history last year when she swept the shot, hammer and discus titles for the time in conference history, and the pressure is on to make history again.
But Ewen has overcome pressure already once this year when she swept the throwing events at the MPSF Championships and won the NCAA Indoor shot put title as the No. 1 seed in all three events, and even finished fourth in the weight throw at the NCAA Championships despite entering the meet as the six seed.
Eckles' competition may come from ASU as well as the Devils field five of the best pole vaulters in the conference.
Along with the defending Pac-12 champ, Michael Chadwick and Cole Riddle tied for third at the MPSF Championships indoors, and senior Nathan Hiett took fifth in Seattle while Eckles finished sixth to give ASU 19 of its 22 points at the championships.
Seniors Leading the Way Early
It's early, but the Sun Devil seniors have already staked their claim as the leaders on this team with their outings at the Baldy Castillo Invitational.
Canada's own Shaunie Morrison won the 100-meter hurdles competition in a dominant 13.49-second dash. She then led off the Sun Devil 4x100-meter relay team to its best time in three seasons.
On that 4x1 quartet was another senior, a graduate transfer from Indiana State, Alethia Marrero. She opened with a solid 54.85 in the 400, and also ran a leg on the 4x400-meter team that also ran ASU's fastest time since 2015.
In the field, both Kristiana Warth and Haleigh Fritts are likely to compete for the best marks of the season in the pole vault, and Maggie Ewen will open her season in the hammer throw this weekend, an event she holds the collegiate record in.
Nathan Hiett finished fifth in the pole vault in his opener, and Grant Sisserson will look to make his mark on the program in his only season of competition as a Sun Devil.
Mason Ford went back and forth with sophomore Elijah Hughes for the best mark during the indoor season, and the competition will continue outside. Hughes took the early lead with his outing at the Baldy Castillo Invitational.
Ewen vs. Ewen
Last season, Maggie Ewen had a season for the ages that was capped off with a place in the final three for the women's Bowerman Award.
This season, while Ewen already has surpassed her achievements at this point in the season a year ago with her 15 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a shot put national title, the real challenge will come outdoors for the senior Sun Devil.
Her 2017 outdoor performance is what solidified her as a Bowerman Award finalist. She won the shot put, hammer throw and discus throw titles at the Pac-12 Championships, becoming the first woman to do so, then scored 21 points at the NCAA Championships when she won the hammer throw title, and finished second and sixth in the discus and shot put, respectively.
Should she accomplish the same, Ewen will leave ASU having scored 165 points at conference championships and 47 points at NCAA Outdoor Championships in her four years.
The point total at the national meet would put her at fourth all-time in scoring in school history.
Sun Devil Men's Entries:
Ryan Bright, Michael Chadwick, Matthew Eckles, Gregory Fernandez, Mason Ford, Nathan Hiett, Ivan Hinson, Marcus Howard, Elijah Hughes, Jackson Lewis, Jesus Llanez, C.J. Maree, Adam Meyer, J.P. Nelson, Ryan Normand, Khalil Parris, John Reniewicki, Grant Sisserson, Kevin Wilkinson
Sun Devil Women's Entries:
Kaylee Antill, Jessica Barreira, Billie Jo Dytrt, Katie Eidem, Maggie Ewen, Sha'Maya Flanagan, Hannah Flodin, Haleigh Fritts, Emily Gallegos-Francksen, Anastasia Hancock, Daan Haven, Tommi Hintnaus, Melanie Johnson, Alethia Marrero, Kalei Matthews, Shaunie Morrison, Alexis Nichols, Samantha Noennig, Courtnee Oglesby, Samantha Ortega, Maya Perkins, Anna Pruter, Megan Reniewicki, Angela Saitta, Bianca Tinoco, Kristiana Warth, Alexandra Williams, Darreyl Woodson