TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona State wrapped up the final day of the Pac-12 Championships in style by claiming a Territorial Cup Series point, winning two conference titles and placing six Sun Devils on the podium, Sunday in Tucson.
"It's always a hard fought point and the meet really had an ebb and flow to it," coach Greg Kraft said. "U of A really had a big swing in the high jump, but coming into the meet we felt we had an advantage on the women's side and we really leaned on a couple of people pretty heavily."
The ASU women finished the meet with 69.5 points to best the Wildcats by 12 and earn the T-Cup Series point on the women's side for the third-straight year. Thirty-three of those points came from two women as NCAA champion Samantha Noennig and All-American Jessica Barreira led the Sun Devils' charge at Roy P. Drachman Stadium.
Noennig won her first Pac-12 title and second conference title of the season Sunday afternoon in the women's shot put. Although the Sun Devil sophomore entered the event as the No. 2 seed in the conference, she managed to take the outright lead with her first throw and coast to a win by more than two feet.
She followed up her first Pac-12 gold by scoring eight more points in the discus. Her new lifetime best of 55.09m/180-9 feet was good enough to put her on the podium again, this time collecting a runner-up honor and closing her championship weekend with a team-high 18 points.
Barreira added 15 points to the Sun Devils' final score with all of them technically coming on Sunday. While the javelin throw started late Saturday night because of a weather delay, it didn't conclude until early Sunday morning.
Along with her point in the javelin, the senior added a runner-up finish in the long jump and a third-place finish in the triple jump later in the day. With her Pac-12 career complete, Barreira walks away having scored 45 points at both indoor and outdoor conference championships in her time as a Sun Devil.
On the men's side, William Paulson made history when he became the first Sun Devil since Dan Raby in 1981 to win a conference title in the 1,500-meter run.
The All-American came into the final as the top-seed after the prelim, but the win didn't come easy as Paulson had to navigate his way through one of the elite fields in the country for the win.
He turned it on with just over a lap to go and though several athletes gave chase, none caught up to the Sun Devil senior as he leaned at the line to grab his first Pac-12 title in 3:49.18.
"It really kind of begins and ends with Will Paulson on the men's side," Kraft said. "He's won the conference mile indoors, set a couple of school records, he's just been great for us and that win in the 1,500 was big for him and the program. We're just really excited to see what he can do the rest of the year."
Paulson's win gives ASU its first Pac-12 men's title since 2017.
In one of the last events of the evening, newcomer Fearghal Curtin clocked the seventh-fastest 5,000-meter time in Sun Devil history en route to taking seventh overall in the championship race.
The success in the throws from Saturday carried over into Sunday when Beatrice Llano and Kaylee Antill opened the scoring for ASU in the women's hammer throw. Llano finished third for her first Pac-12 podium finish and Antill took fifth.
Ian Schulz completed his double for the Devils by adding three points to the men's score with a 54.85m/179-11-foot throw that got him a sixth-place finish in the discus. It was his second personal best of the weekend after he launched the shot more than 18 meters Saturday.
Already the fastest Sun Devil woman this decade, Josephine Anokye broke a four-year scoring drought for the Devils in the 100 when she took sixth place in the final. She went on to top her 100-meter result by taking fourth in the 200 in 23.35 seconds. In total, the newcomer scored in four events for ASU, including the 4x1, 100, 200 and 4x4.
Marcus Reaves also found himself on the scoresheet in the 100 when he ran a 10.49 and took seventh in the conference final.
The Devils had scorers in the men's and women's pole vault thanks to senior Matthew Eckles and sophomore Tommi Hintnaus. Eckles closed the Pac-12 chapter of his career with a sixth-place finish, and Hintnaus scored at a Pac-12 meet for the first time when she finished seventh.
Since coming up short of recording a height in his first conference championship, Eckles finished his Sun Devil career scoring in five-straight conference championships and won the Pac-12 title in the men's vault in 2017.
Bianca Tinoco and Jeminise Parris both earned a point apiece as they finished eighth in the 800-meter run and 100-meter hurdles, respectively.
"We had a number of people have outstanding days," Kraft said. "Josephine stands out with the way she competed in four events today and I thought Bianca competed really well in the 800."
True freshman Sydnee Larkin scored in the triple jump by jumping 12.40m/40-8.25 feet and anchored the women's 4x1 team to a fifth-place finish. The women's 4x4 team grabbed eighth in a season's best 3:41.97.
The University of Oregon took home the men's team title and the Trojans of Southern California claimed top-prize on the women's side. ASU's women finished sixth, earning the T-Cup series point, and the men took 10th.
"The team results overall aren't what we're accustomed to at ASU, but the individual efforts coupled with the recruiting class we've put together I think it bodes well for the future of this program," Kraft said. "In the meantime, we're going to wait and see who gets into the regional meet.
"I really believe our women have the firepower to get another top-10 finish at the national meet and I think Will Paulson has the ability to contend for a national title just like he did indoors," Kraft said.
Next up for the Sun Devils will be a trip to Sacramento, California, for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds where the top-athletes in the region will compete for a shot at advancing to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for early next month.
Pac-12 Championships | May 12, 2019 | Tucson, Ariz.
Women's Results
100 Meters Final
6. Josephine Anokye – 11.55
9. Nia Brown – 11.72
200 Meters Final
4. Josephine Anokye – 23.35
800 Meters Final
8. Bianca Tinoco – 2:06.32
5,000 Meters Final
28. Courtney Lewis – 17:05.10
32. Megan Reniewicki – 17:30.26
33. Daan Haven – 17:31.88
100-Meter Hurdles Final
8. Jeminise Parris – 13.77
4x100-Meter Relay Final
5. Arizona State Team A – 45.38
J. Anokye, A. Bailey,
N. Brown, S. Larkin
4x400-Meter Relay Final
8. Arizona State Team A – 3:41.97
J. Anokye, A. Bailey,
B. Tinoco, C. Oglesby
Hammer Throw
3. Beatrice Llano – 66.78m/219-1
5. Kaylee Antill – 60.35m/198-0
Discus Throw
2. Samantha Noennig – 55.09m/180-9
9. Kaylee Antill – 48.75m/159-11
Shot Put
1. Samantha Noennig –17.59m/57-8.5
Long Jump
2. Jessica Barreira – 6.21m/20-4.5
23. Sydnee Larkin – 5.47m/17-11.50
Triple Jump
3. Jessica Barreira – 12.89m/42-3.5
7. Sydnee Larkin – 12.40m/40-8.25
Pole Vault
7. Tommi Hintnaus – 3.93m/12-10.75
10. Myka Steinbeisser – 3.68m/12-0.75
High Jump
14. Katie Eidem – 1.61m/5-3.75
Men's Results
100 Meters Final
7. Marcus Reaves – 10.49
200 Meters Final
12. Marcus Reaves – 21.26
800 Meters Final
10. Adam Meyer – 1:51.58
27. CJ Maree – 1:56.61
1,500 Meters Final
1. William Paulson – 3:49.18
5,000 Meters Final
7. Fearghal Curtin – 13.53.31
400-Meter Hurdles Final
11. Quinten Bankston – 54.38
12. Richard Thiel – 54.60
4x100-Meter Relay Final
--. Arizona State Team A – DNF
4x400-Meter Relay Final
10. Arizona State Team A – 3:20.56
Q. Bankston, A. Meyer,
W. Paulson, C. Maree
Discus Throw
6. Ian Schulz – 54.85m/179-11
Triple Jump
10. Ivan Hinson – 13.88m/45-6.5
11. Tyrek McNeese – 13.70m/44-11.5
Pole Vault
6. Matthew Eckles – 5.02m/16-5.5
10. Michael Chadwick – 4.92m/16-1.75
High Jump
10. Reed Bussey – 1.98m/6-6
--. Elijah Hughes – NH
"It's always a hard fought point and the meet really had an ebb and flow to it," coach Greg Kraft said. "U of A really had a big swing in the high jump, but coming into the meet we felt we had an advantage on the women's side and we really leaned on a couple of people pretty heavily."
The ASU women finished the meet with 69.5 points to best the Wildcats by 12 and earn the T-Cup Series point on the women's side for the third-straight year. Thirty-three of those points came from two women as NCAA champion Samantha Noennig and All-American Jessica Barreira led the Sun Devils' charge at Roy P. Drachman Stadium.
Noennig won her first Pac-12 title and second conference title of the season Sunday afternoon in the women's shot put. Although the Sun Devil sophomore entered the event as the No. 2 seed in the conference, she managed to take the outright lead with her first throw and coast to a win by more than two feet.
She followed up her first Pac-12 gold by scoring eight more points in the discus. Her new lifetime best of 55.09m/180-9 feet was good enough to put her on the podium again, this time collecting a runner-up honor and closing her championship weekend with a team-high 18 points.
Barreira added 15 points to the Sun Devils' final score with all of them technically coming on Sunday. While the javelin throw started late Saturday night because of a weather delay, it didn't conclude until early Sunday morning.
Along with her point in the javelin, the senior added a runner-up finish in the long jump and a third-place finish in the triple jump later in the day. With her Pac-12 career complete, Barreira walks away having scored 45 points at both indoor and outdoor conference championships in her time as a Sun Devil.
On the men's side, William Paulson made history when he became the first Sun Devil since Dan Raby in 1981 to win a conference title in the 1,500-meter run.
The All-American came into the final as the top-seed after the prelim, but the win didn't come easy as Paulson had to navigate his way through one of the elite fields in the country for the win.
He turned it on with just over a lap to go and though several athletes gave chase, none caught up to the Sun Devil senior as he leaned at the line to grab his first Pac-12 title in 3:49.18.
"It really kind of begins and ends with Will Paulson on the men's side," Kraft said. "He's won the conference mile indoors, set a couple of school records, he's just been great for us and that win in the 1,500 was big for him and the program. We're just really excited to see what he can do the rest of the year."
Paulson's win gives ASU its first Pac-12 men's title since 2017.
In one of the last events of the evening, newcomer Fearghal Curtin clocked the seventh-fastest 5,000-meter time in Sun Devil history en route to taking seventh overall in the championship race.
The success in the throws from Saturday carried over into Sunday when Beatrice Llano and Kaylee Antill opened the scoring for ASU in the women's hammer throw. Llano finished third for her first Pac-12 podium finish and Antill took fifth.
Ian Schulz completed his double for the Devils by adding three points to the men's score with a 54.85m/179-11-foot throw that got him a sixth-place finish in the discus. It was his second personal best of the weekend after he launched the shot more than 18 meters Saturday.
Already the fastest Sun Devil woman this decade, Josephine Anokye broke a four-year scoring drought for the Devils in the 100 when she took sixth place in the final. She went on to top her 100-meter result by taking fourth in the 200 in 23.35 seconds. In total, the newcomer scored in four events for ASU, including the 4x1, 100, 200 and 4x4.
Marcus Reaves also found himself on the scoresheet in the 100 when he ran a 10.49 and took seventh in the conference final.
The Devils had scorers in the men's and women's pole vault thanks to senior Matthew Eckles and sophomore Tommi Hintnaus. Eckles closed the Pac-12 chapter of his career with a sixth-place finish, and Hintnaus scored at a Pac-12 meet for the first time when she finished seventh.
Since coming up short of recording a height in his first conference championship, Eckles finished his Sun Devil career scoring in five-straight conference championships and won the Pac-12 title in the men's vault in 2017.
Bianca Tinoco and Jeminise Parris both earned a point apiece as they finished eighth in the 800-meter run and 100-meter hurdles, respectively.
"We had a number of people have outstanding days," Kraft said. "Josephine stands out with the way she competed in four events today and I thought Bianca competed really well in the 800."
True freshman Sydnee Larkin scored in the triple jump by jumping 12.40m/40-8.25 feet and anchored the women's 4x1 team to a fifth-place finish. The women's 4x4 team grabbed eighth in a season's best 3:41.97.
The University of Oregon took home the men's team title and the Trojans of Southern California claimed top-prize on the women's side. ASU's women finished sixth, earning the T-Cup series point, and the men took 10th.
"The team results overall aren't what we're accustomed to at ASU, but the individual efforts coupled with the recruiting class we've put together I think it bodes well for the future of this program," Kraft said. "In the meantime, we're going to wait and see who gets into the regional meet.
"I really believe our women have the firepower to get another top-10 finish at the national meet and I think Will Paulson has the ability to contend for a national title just like he did indoors," Kraft said.
Next up for the Sun Devils will be a trip to Sacramento, California, for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds where the top-athletes in the region will compete for a shot at advancing to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for early next month.
Pac-12 Championships | May 12, 2019 | Tucson, Ariz.
Women's Results
100 Meters Final
6. Josephine Anokye – 11.55
9. Nia Brown – 11.72
200 Meters Final
4. Josephine Anokye – 23.35
800 Meters Final
8. Bianca Tinoco – 2:06.32
5,000 Meters Final
28. Courtney Lewis – 17:05.10
32. Megan Reniewicki – 17:30.26
33. Daan Haven – 17:31.88
100-Meter Hurdles Final
8. Jeminise Parris – 13.77
4x100-Meter Relay Final
5. Arizona State Team A – 45.38
J. Anokye, A. Bailey,
N. Brown, S. Larkin
4x400-Meter Relay Final
8. Arizona State Team A – 3:41.97
J. Anokye, A. Bailey,
B. Tinoco, C. Oglesby
Hammer Throw
3. Beatrice Llano – 66.78m/219-1
5. Kaylee Antill – 60.35m/198-0
Discus Throw
2. Samantha Noennig – 55.09m/180-9
9. Kaylee Antill – 48.75m/159-11
Shot Put
1. Samantha Noennig –17.59m/57-8.5
Long Jump
2. Jessica Barreira – 6.21m/20-4.5
23. Sydnee Larkin – 5.47m/17-11.50
Triple Jump
3. Jessica Barreira – 12.89m/42-3.5
7. Sydnee Larkin – 12.40m/40-8.25
Pole Vault
7. Tommi Hintnaus – 3.93m/12-10.75
10. Myka Steinbeisser – 3.68m/12-0.75
High Jump
14. Katie Eidem – 1.61m/5-3.75
Men's Results
100 Meters Final
7. Marcus Reaves – 10.49
200 Meters Final
12. Marcus Reaves – 21.26
800 Meters Final
10. Adam Meyer – 1:51.58
27. CJ Maree – 1:56.61
1,500 Meters Final
1. William Paulson – 3:49.18
5,000 Meters Final
7. Fearghal Curtin – 13.53.31
400-Meter Hurdles Final
11. Quinten Bankston – 54.38
12. Richard Thiel – 54.60
4x100-Meter Relay Final
--. Arizona State Team A – DNF
4x400-Meter Relay Final
10. Arizona State Team A – 3:20.56
Q. Bankston, A. Meyer,
W. Paulson, C. Maree
Discus Throw
6. Ian Schulz – 54.85m/179-11
Triple Jump
10. Ivan Hinson – 13.88m/45-6.5
11. Tyrek McNeese – 13.70m/44-11.5
Pole Vault
6. Matthew Eckles – 5.02m/16-5.5
10. Michael Chadwick – 4.92m/16-1.75
High Jump
10. Reed Bussey – 1.98m/6-6
--. Elijah Hughes – NH