TEMPE – Following a hectic three-meet weekend in the Los Angeles area, the Sun Devils take on just one challenge as they head south to the Desert Heat Classic in Tucson Saturday.
Although it's a slower week of competition, the Sun Devil student-athletes are just as busy with finals week at ASU just around the corner.
"It's a difficult time for our students as they're finishing up classes and transitioning into final exams," coach Greg Kraft said. "Fortunately for us, our team has consistently been academic All-America and all-conference, so their ability to manage their time between academics and athletics has, over time, been proven to be exemplary."
The Desert Heat Classic is also the final chance for the Devils to tuneup before the Pac-12 Championships in May.
While lining up with in-state rival Arizona for a pre-Pac-12 showdown where two Territorial Cup Series points will be there for the taking is a bonus for Kraft and his squad, at this time of the year, health takes precedent.
"The sample size is pretty large at this point in time, so we've seen them and they've seen us and I think we both know where we stand," Kraft said, "On the women's side, we do have that big impact from Maggie Ewen, but we really won't know about the women's point until we get down to the 4x4.
"One of the things that's been rather precarious for us is luck," Kraft said. "We've had some tough injuries, but you try to stress to your team that every program is battling their own issues and it's how we handle our own that's going to make us better."
The trip to Tucson won't be a long one as the Desert Heat Classic is just a single-day meet, but it will be a good one with Pac-12 powerhouse Oregon, and mid-major threats NAU and UTEP heading to Roy P. Drachman Stadium.
The meet begins at 2:30 with the women's hammer throw that will feature Maggie Ewen, Samantha Noennig and Kaylee Antill, and the meet will wrap up with a moonlit men's 4x400-meter relay at 9:25 p.m.
Live results will be available on finishedresults.com.
Rankings Update
Despite an overall successful weekend at three meets in Los Angeles, the Sun Devil women's track and field program fell one place to No. 14 in the week four USTFCCCA poll.
The Devils have held in the top-15 for a majority of the season with efforts from Maggie Ewen, Samantha Noennig and Alethia Marrero, but as the season has advanced toward the regional, more Devils are moving up the qualifying list.
In the conference, Southern Cal and Oregon are still in the poll positions at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, and Stanford continued its climb into the top-10 to No. 7. No other Pac-12 program is ranked behind ASU, but the Buffaloes of Colorado are just on the outside looking in at No. 30.
While the men are still unranked, ASU has seven men in position to make the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, led by newcomers Cole Riddle in the pole vault and Khalil Parris in the 400-meter hurdles.
The women have 16 marks in the top-48 and Ewen, Noennig and Marrero each have more than one, with Ewen leading the nation in three events.
U.S. Distance Renaissance Led by Sun Devils
Former Sun Devil Desiree Linden made history last week by becoming the first American woman in 33 years to win the Boston Marathon.
Linden was a Sun Devil from 2001-2005, and her groundbreaking victory is just the latest achievement by former distance Devils who have been leading the way for Team USA.
Just last August, Amy Hastings medaled in the marathon at the IAAF World Championships, making her the first American woman to medal in that event in more than 30 years as well.
Allie Kieffer finished fourth at the New York Marathon last year and Shelby Houlihan doubled at the U.S. Indoor Championships with gold medal performances in the 1,500-and 3,000-meter runs.
Houlihan went on to finish fourth in the 1,500 and fifth in the 3,000 at the World Championships this past March.
Wild Wild West Region
The ultimate prize is a place in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, but first, athletes must qualify for, and advance out of, the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Sacramento, California, this year.
So far this season, seven men and 12 women are in position to make the prelims this season, and two of the Sun Devil women's relay squads are in the hunt for a qualifying place as well.
While it's mostly the seniors leading the way with Maggie Ewen, Alethia Marrero, Nathan Hiett, Khalil Parris and Shaunie Morrison all in the top-15 in their respective events, two freshmen have stood out this season in Samantha Noennig and Cole Riddle.
Noennig is eighth in the region in the shot put and nearly advanced to the NCAA Indoor Championships in the same event just over a month ago.
Riddle sits in ninth in the West in the men's pole vault and is second in the Pac-12 in the event he took third in at the MPSF Championships in February.
Only 48 athletes earn places in the preliminary rounds, and 24 relay teams will advance to Sacramento. Of the 48, just 12 will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 8-10.
What to Watch For
The Sun Devils already have a good idea of where they stand in the conference with less than two weeks until the Pac-12 Championships, but this weekend still provides one last chance to move up in the descending order list.
Late season meets require more of a balancing act than usual from the coaching staff and their student-athletes with finals week upcoming and the importance of staying healthy for a postseason run on everyone's minds.
There's a stress on staying sharp, but also staying fresh this weekend as some of the Devils who took last weekend off will return for the trip to Tucson.
Maggie Ewen already leads the nation in all three of her events, but she'll return to the ring to get in one more series before she looks to defend her three conference titles at the Pac-12 Championships.
On the other hand, senior standout Alethia Marrero will sit out the weekend in open competition, but is scheduled to run with the women's 4x400-meter relay team as they hope to improve their standing in the region.
There won't be a javelin series for do-it-all athlete Jessica Barreira, but the Portugal international will return to the runway in the long jump as well as the triple jump with senior Darreyl Woodson.
For the men, the pole vault group is already one of the best in the nation, but they'll jump once again with intentions of making a statement in the conference and the NCAA.
Khalil Parris leads the 400-meter hurdlers back onto the track after he ran one of the fastest times in school history in the event in his last outing.
To keep up with Saturday's events, visit finishedresults.com and follow @SunDevilTFXC on Twitter for live updates.
Ewen's Super Senior Season
Sun Devil senior Maggie Ewen has followed up her phenomenal junior season that put her in the final three for the Bowerman Award with marks that have propelled her into the conversation as one of the greatest throwers in NCAA history.
Ewen opened her outdoor season without recording a mark in the discus but two weeks later had an incredible performance in all three of her events in which she recorded the NCAA record in the hammer throw, the second-best shot put mark in collegiate history and the NCAA-lead in 2018 in the discus.
She has been named as the USTFCCCA Female Athlete of the Week and Pac-12 Women's Field Athlete of the Week twice.
For her outdoor success, coupled with her first indoor title and two All-America honors during the indoor season, Ewen remained on the latest Bowerman Award watch list released by the USTFCCCA Wednesday.