TEMPE – Elite athletes from across the nation will converge on the Birmingham Crossplex in Alabama's largest city this weekend for a shot at bringing home a national title, and three Sun Devils will make the trip to the biggest meet of the year thus far, looking to end their indoor campaigns atop the podium.
The Sun Devil with the best position on the descending order list is sophomore Samantha Noennig with her No. 2 shot put mark in the nation. The 2018 outdoor All-American is no stranger to the big stage, but will be making her first appearance at an indoor championship this weekend.
"Sam Noennig started the year with a bang, took the national lead and she's been hard to beat this year, so I believe she's in a good place heading into the national championships," director of track and field Greg Kraft said.
ASU's other two representatives heading to the deep south this weekend will be making their indoor championship debuts as well, with Jessica Barreira going to compete in the women's long jump, and William Paulson lining up for the men's mile.
"Jess has been very consistent this year and one of things I've tried to stress to her is to be who she's been all year," Kraft said. "She's come out banging on her first two jumps in series, so if she's at her best, she has an opportunity to make the final. If you can do that, you can pick up one or two points."
Continuing a dominant tradition of excellence in the throws, Noennig has the chance to become ASU's eighth woman to earn All-America honors in the shot put since 2010, and could give coach Brian Blutreich his 18th NCAA title as a coach and fifth in three years in Tempe.
While ASU brings just two women to the championships, the Devils have a history of making the most out of small group.
Last year, Maggie Ewen alone finished 13th in the final team standings indoors, and Noennig and Ewing combined to put the Devils in the top-10 at the 2018 Outdoor Championships.
For Paulson, carrying ASU into the double digits will be difficult in what is typically an unpredictable field of talented men's milers.
"You just don't know how the race will play out because in championships, the races are a little more cat and mouse," Kraft said. "At the other events he's run during the indoor season, they were set up to run as fast as you could and this one is strictly going to be tactical. The one thing that bodes well for Will is that he's a vet and between him and coach Cory Leslie, they've probably seen it all, so he'll be prepared."
With the two-time NCAA champion and collegiate record-holder now a professional, 14 of the 16 qualifying men are within one second of each other this season and only 10 earn a place in Saturday's final.
The 2019 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be live streamed on ESPN3 with Friday's broadcast beginning at 4:30 p.m. MST, and Saturday's starting at 3 p.m.
Result and a full recap will be available on thesundevils.com following the conclusion of each day's events, and updates will be made on @SunDevilTFXC on Twitter.
Rankings Update
The penultimate poll of the season saw Texas Tech and Arkansas retain their positions at the top of the men's and women's rankings, respectively, heading into the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Tech is the lone Big 12 program in the top-five as 2-5 all come from the SEC.
The MPSF has the most women's teams in the top-five as conference champion Southern California comes in at No. 2 and Oregon checks in at 3.
There are six men's programs from the MPSF with spots in the top-25 with No. 9 Oregon earning the highest place on the list. Stanford holds the 14 spot, conference champion BYU is two places lower at 16, Southern Cal and UCLA are Nos. 21 and 22, respectively, and the school down south cracks the top-25 at No. 24.
Along with USC or Oregon on the women's side, Stanford (No. 8) and BYU (22) hold top-25 spots.
A Look Back: 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships
Sun Devil great Maggie Ewen was the only ASU representative at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships, but her efforts alone helped the Devils finish 13th overall in the team standings.
Ewen scored 15 points in College Station, Texas, winning the shot put title and finishing fourth in the weight throw competition.
Her dominant win in the shot put was her second national title in as many years, and Brian Blutreich's 15th as a coach.
The two All-America honors completed what was a historic indoor campaign for Ewen, during which she threw the shot put 19.20m/63-0.0 feet to move to third in NCAA history and set the school record.
Fun in the Sun: 2019 Outdoor Season
Arizona State University will host three outdoor track meets this season with Sun Angel Stadium opening its gates for the Baldy Castillo Invitational March 15-16, the ASU Invitational the following weekend and the 40th Sun Angel Classic April 5-6.
Just as it's been in the past, the Baldy Castillo Invitational, named for the legendary Sun Devil head coach will open the outdoor campaign for ASU just a week after the NCAA Indoor Championships.
While a majority of the action on the track is scheduled to take place Saturday, there is always plenty taking place Friday including the women's hammer throw, javelin and pole vault, as well as the men's shot put and several events on the Joe Selleh Track.
Teams planning to attend the Baldy Castillo Invitational and all of ASU's collegiate meets must register online through Direct Athletics. As for individuals, please contact meet director Kris Alexander to discuss possible entry and final approval. Students of Arizona State will have the entry fee waived, but still are required to contact Alexander for approval. Links for registering as a team can be found on the Home Meet Info page.
One of the biggest changes for this year's meets will be the location of team camps for the Baldy Castillo Invitational and Sun Angel Classic.
Team camps will be located on the Performance Field to the east of the track facility across Rural Road. A map to the new camp area is provided on page 10 of the Home Meet Info packet.
Teams will use the Performance Field for their team camps and warm-up area for the Baldy Castillo Invite and the Sun Angel Classic only. Teams camp space will be available on the east side of Sun Angel Stadium during the ASU Invite.
Results for the meets will be provided by Finished Results, and the home finale will be streamed live on FloTrack.
What to Watch For
Three Sun Devils head to the NCAA Indoor Championships to compete with the best athletes in Division I track and field for a shot at indoor supremacy.
William Paulson is entered in the men's mile and will be making his first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships thanks to his school-record time of 3:58.07 from the MPSF Championships two weeks ago.
Despite the conference title and school record under his belt, Paulson goes into the weekend as the 12th-fastest qualifier. Paulson will need to finish either in the first four places of heat two or have one of the two-fastest non-automatic-qualifying times to advance to Saturday's final.
The first event for the Sun Devils will be the women's shot put, and Samantha Noennig heads into the event with the second-best throw in the nation, looking to grab her second first-team All-America honor after taking seventh outdoors in 2018.
Noennig nearly reached the NCAA Indoor Championships last season, but was left on the outside looking in once final declarations were made.
This year, Noennig is one of four women to record a mark over 58 feet in the event, and has a chance to give ASU back-to-back titles in the shot put for the first time since Jordan Clarke won two-straight men's crowns in 2012 and 2013.
Another indoor championship debutante will be Jessica Barreira who advanced to Birmingham in the women's long jump for the first time in her career.
The senior is the second jumper scheduled in the flight of 16 women and could become the first NCAA Indoor champion for the devils in the indoor long jump. Should she score, Barreira will be the first All-American in the event since Canadian record holder Christabel Nettey earned an All-America honor in 2013.
Coach's (Championship) Corner: Coach Kraft
On coach Brian Blutreich
"We've always had a wonderful history in the women's throws going back to coach Aguayo, coaches Dawn and Dave Dumble, so when we brought in coach Blutreich, we knew it to continue. He's done everything we expected him to do, which is to not miss a beat. The production has been outstanding and I think we'll be better outside when he adds the javelin throwers and some of our indoor athletes get to throw hammer or discus."
On coach Cory Leslie
"In the short amount of time that Cory has been with us, the biggest thing he's brought has been an injection of energy and enthusiasm. Having the graduate transfers has brought us an injection of talent and experience, and that's exactly why you bring them in, but I think the synergy that I've seen in practice with the whole group makes us feel optimistic about the future of this distance program. It's evident in the recruiting class Cory was able to bring in that the men's distance group really feels reenergized."
On the goals for this weekend
"You're always looking at Director's Cup points, and that comes down to how many points you can score, not how many people you bring to nationals. For Sam to have a chance to win the title, it gives us a shot at collecting a significant point total this weekend. If Jess can score in the long jump we have a chance to be a top-25 team on the women's side."
The Sun Devil with the best position on the descending order list is sophomore Samantha Noennig with her No. 2 shot put mark in the nation. The 2018 outdoor All-American is no stranger to the big stage, but will be making her first appearance at an indoor championship this weekend.
"Sam Noennig started the year with a bang, took the national lead and she's been hard to beat this year, so I believe she's in a good place heading into the national championships," director of track and field Greg Kraft said.
ASU's other two representatives heading to the deep south this weekend will be making their indoor championship debuts as well, with Jessica Barreira going to compete in the women's long jump, and William Paulson lining up for the men's mile.
"Jess has been very consistent this year and one of things I've tried to stress to her is to be who she's been all year," Kraft said. "She's come out banging on her first two jumps in series, so if she's at her best, she has an opportunity to make the final. If you can do that, you can pick up one or two points."
Continuing a dominant tradition of excellence in the throws, Noennig has the chance to become ASU's eighth woman to earn All-America honors in the shot put since 2010, and could give coach Brian Blutreich his 18th NCAA title as a coach and fifth in three years in Tempe.
While ASU brings just two women to the championships, the Devils have a history of making the most out of small group.
Last year, Maggie Ewen alone finished 13th in the final team standings indoors, and Noennig and Ewing combined to put the Devils in the top-10 at the 2018 Outdoor Championships.
For Paulson, carrying ASU into the double digits will be difficult in what is typically an unpredictable field of talented men's milers.
"You just don't know how the race will play out because in championships, the races are a little more cat and mouse," Kraft said. "At the other events he's run during the indoor season, they were set up to run as fast as you could and this one is strictly going to be tactical. The one thing that bodes well for Will is that he's a vet and between him and coach Cory Leslie, they've probably seen it all, so he'll be prepared."
With the two-time NCAA champion and collegiate record-holder now a professional, 14 of the 16 qualifying men are within one second of each other this season and only 10 earn a place in Saturday's final.
The 2019 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be live streamed on ESPN3 with Friday's broadcast beginning at 4:30 p.m. MST, and Saturday's starting at 3 p.m.
Result and a full recap will be available on thesundevils.com following the conclusion of each day's events, and updates will be made on @SunDevilTFXC on Twitter.
Rankings Update
The penultimate poll of the season saw Texas Tech and Arkansas retain their positions at the top of the men's and women's rankings, respectively, heading into the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Tech is the lone Big 12 program in the top-five as 2-5 all come from the SEC.
The MPSF has the most women's teams in the top-five as conference champion Southern California comes in at No. 2 and Oregon checks in at 3.
There are six men's programs from the MPSF with spots in the top-25 with No. 9 Oregon earning the highest place on the list. Stanford holds the 14 spot, conference champion BYU is two places lower at 16, Southern Cal and UCLA are Nos. 21 and 22, respectively, and the school down south cracks the top-25 at No. 24.
Along with USC or Oregon on the women's side, Stanford (No. 8) and BYU (22) hold top-25 spots.
A Look Back: 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships
Sun Devil great Maggie Ewen was the only ASU representative at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships, but her efforts alone helped the Devils finish 13th overall in the team standings.
Ewen scored 15 points in College Station, Texas, winning the shot put title and finishing fourth in the weight throw competition.
Her dominant win in the shot put was her second national title in as many years, and Brian Blutreich's 15th as a coach.
The two All-America honors completed what was a historic indoor campaign for Ewen, during which she threw the shot put 19.20m/63-0.0 feet to move to third in NCAA history and set the school record.
Fun in the Sun: 2019 Outdoor Season
Arizona State University will host three outdoor track meets this season with Sun Angel Stadium opening its gates for the Baldy Castillo Invitational March 15-16, the ASU Invitational the following weekend and the 40th Sun Angel Classic April 5-6.
Just as it's been in the past, the Baldy Castillo Invitational, named for the legendary Sun Devil head coach will open the outdoor campaign for ASU just a week after the NCAA Indoor Championships.
While a majority of the action on the track is scheduled to take place Saturday, there is always plenty taking place Friday including the women's hammer throw, javelin and pole vault, as well as the men's shot put and several events on the Joe Selleh Track.
Teams planning to attend the Baldy Castillo Invitational and all of ASU's collegiate meets must register online through Direct Athletics. As for individuals, please contact meet director Kris Alexander to discuss possible entry and final approval. Students of Arizona State will have the entry fee waived, but still are required to contact Alexander for approval. Links for registering as a team can be found on the Home Meet Info page.
One of the biggest changes for this year's meets will be the location of team camps for the Baldy Castillo Invitational and Sun Angel Classic.
Team camps will be located on the Performance Field to the east of the track facility across Rural Road. A map to the new camp area is provided on page 10 of the Home Meet Info packet.
Teams will use the Performance Field for their team camps and warm-up area for the Baldy Castillo Invite and the Sun Angel Classic only. Teams camp space will be available on the east side of Sun Angel Stadium during the ASU Invite.
Results for the meets will be provided by Finished Results, and the home finale will be streamed live on FloTrack.
What to Watch For
Three Sun Devils head to the NCAA Indoor Championships to compete with the best athletes in Division I track and field for a shot at indoor supremacy.
William Paulson is entered in the men's mile and will be making his first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships thanks to his school-record time of 3:58.07 from the MPSF Championships two weeks ago.
Despite the conference title and school record under his belt, Paulson goes into the weekend as the 12th-fastest qualifier. Paulson will need to finish either in the first four places of heat two or have one of the two-fastest non-automatic-qualifying times to advance to Saturday's final.
The first event for the Sun Devils will be the women's shot put, and Samantha Noennig heads into the event with the second-best throw in the nation, looking to grab her second first-team All-America honor after taking seventh outdoors in 2018.
Noennig nearly reached the NCAA Indoor Championships last season, but was left on the outside looking in once final declarations were made.
This year, Noennig is one of four women to record a mark over 58 feet in the event, and has a chance to give ASU back-to-back titles in the shot put for the first time since Jordan Clarke won two-straight men's crowns in 2012 and 2013.
Another indoor championship debutante will be Jessica Barreira who advanced to Birmingham in the women's long jump for the first time in her career.
The senior is the second jumper scheduled in the flight of 16 women and could become the first NCAA Indoor champion for the devils in the indoor long jump. Should she score, Barreira will be the first All-American in the event since Canadian record holder Christabel Nettey earned an All-America honor in 2013.
Coach's (Championship) Corner: Coach Kraft
On coach Brian Blutreich
"We've always had a wonderful history in the women's throws going back to coach Aguayo, coaches Dawn and Dave Dumble, so when we brought in coach Blutreich, we knew it to continue. He's done everything we expected him to do, which is to not miss a beat. The production has been outstanding and I think we'll be better outside when he adds the javelin throwers and some of our indoor athletes get to throw hammer or discus."
On coach Cory Leslie
"In the short amount of time that Cory has been with us, the biggest thing he's brought has been an injection of energy and enthusiasm. Having the graduate transfers has brought us an injection of talent and experience, and that's exactly why you bring them in, but I think the synergy that I've seen in practice with the whole group makes us feel optimistic about the future of this distance program. It's evident in the recruiting class Cory was able to bring in that the men's distance group really feels reenergized."
On the goals for this weekend
"You're always looking at Director's Cup points, and that comes down to how many points you can score, not how many people you bring to nationals. For Sam to have a chance to win the title, it gives us a shot at collecting a significant point total this weekend. If Jess can score in the long jump we have a chance to be a top-25 team on the women's side."