Cortney Jones | Justin Robinson | Jamar Marshall | Mya Lesnar | Keira Christie-Galloway | Jazmine Hobson | Amanda Carty | Jorinde van Klinken
TEMPE – First-year Sun Devil director of track and field Dion Miller has made his presence felt in Tempe and across the country in the first six months of his tenure by signing one of the most-talented track and field recruiting classes in the nation, and in ASU history.
Although the current class is made up of six women and two men, the eight newcomers bring dozens of national and international accolades and accomplishments to the Valley.
"With this being my first year as the head coach, the most important thing we wanted to accomplish was establishing a culture," Miller said. "That starts and ends with recruiting, and we wanted to make sure we were bringing in the best prospects we could possibly get to establish that culture."
The first of the new Devils is the most-decorated when it comes to NCAA achievements.
All-American hurdler Cortney Jones signed on early to the Miller regime and came to Arizona State after a storied tenure as one of Florida State's sprint cornerstones. While in Tallahassee, Jones blossomed into one of the best short-hurdlers in Seminole track history, setting the FSU records in the 100-meter hurdles (12.72) and 60-meter hurdles (8.02).
"Cortney is probably one of the most-talented hurdlers in the country, regardless of age group," Miller said. "She's without a doubt the best hurdler I've ever signed and she's going to be an athlete that can put ASU on the national or even international stage."
She won the ACC 100-meter hurdles title in her final season at FSU to finish her ACC campaign with eight all-conference honors, including four second-place finishes and three bronze medals.
A four-time first-team All-American, Jones' best finish came when she took third in the hurdles final at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Later that year, success on the collegiate circuit would carry into international competition as she went on to take bronze for Team USA at the IAAF U20 Championships in Finland.
The men's sprints group in 2020 will include the No. 1 recruit in the country when St. Louis, Missouri's Justin Robinson joins the squad next season.
A highly-touted recruit with the historic times and trophy cabinet to back up his No. 1 ranking, Robinson's 2019 was one of the best by a high school athlete in U.S. history.
"ASU has a rich history in the 400 and 4x400-meter relay, and we think Justin has the ability to add another chapter to that history," Miller said. "With his times and the level he's already raced at, we feel he'll add a much needed presence across the board in the men's sprints."
Whether the 100, 200 or arguably his best event the 400, Robinson has been dominant on the track at the state, national and even international level.
Robinson swept the Missouri state crowns in the 100, 200 and 400 as a junior, and ran the fastest times in the state for each of the three events, clocking a 10.32, 20.98 and 44.84, respectively. His remarkable 400-meter run at the Great Southwest Classic gave him the fastest U20 400-meter time and the 24th-best 400 time overall in the world this year. After cleaning up at the state level, Robinson proved he was the top U20 400-meter athlete in the U.S. when he bested a field that included six collegiate athletes to win the USATF U20 title in 45.59 seconds.
He then went on to take gold in the open 400 for Team USA at the U20 Pan America Championships, and anchor the U20 4x400-meter relay team to gold in an age-group world-record of 2:59.30. Robinson's sub-44 second anchor leg lifted him to a place at the senior competition where he ran the third leg of the 4x400 for the U.S. and took silver.
Heading into his senior year, Robinson is two-tenths of a second off of the American high school record in the 400-meter dash that has been held by Darrell Robinson for nearly 40 years.
The men will also welcome a top-hurdler, but from the high school ranks in Stockton, California's Jamar Marshall.
As a junior, Marshall became the second-fastest high school hurdler in U.S. history when he clocked a 13.22 at the USATF U20 Championships in 2019. Prior to his historic run at the U.S. meet, Marshall dominated his high school competition by winning 12-straight 110-meter hurdles finals races and running away with the California state crown.
An outstanding 300-meter hurdler as well, Marshall ran the sixth-fastest time in America in the longer event, and finished third at the CIF Championships.
"Any time you get a chance to sign two No. 1 guys like Jamar and Justin, it's exciting," Miller said. "He's the No. 1 hurdler in the world in his age group and he's run the fastest time ever in the state of California all before his senior year. That's the kind of talent we have to keep getting to set up that culture."
Arizona State found a star the last time they signed a thrower from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and the Devils are hoping they struck gold again with Minnesota state shot put champion Mya Lesnar.
"Mya definitely has the tools to be able to take it to the next level," throws coach Brian Blutreich said. "What we loved about her was her work ethic and her drive to become the best she can be. She's a little more on the raw side, which is exciting because she has a lot of upside and already has a state title to her name."
After earning bronze her freshman year and silver as a sophomore, Lesnar outdueled her own teammate to win her first state title by nearly a foot with a throw of 13.14m/43-1.5 feet. Her championship weekend didn't end with the shot put, though. Lesnar took runner-up in the discus throw and threw the third-farthest throw in the state that year.
She's the No. 6 returning senior in the nation in the shot put, and No. 22 in the discus heading into her senior year at Alexandria High School.
"I think you know you it's a great fit when they're on their visit and the current kids forget that she's not already on the team," Blutreich said. "That just kind of tells you that you've got a good one coming in."
Just south of Minnesota, in Ames, Iowa, Keira Christie-Galloway had one of the best freshman seasons in Iowa State history before deciding to transfer to the Valley this fall.
Originally from Ottawa, Ontario, Christie-Galloway made an instant impact on the Cyclone roster as she ran her way to two school records, two conference titles, an outdoor All-America honor and a Big 12 Freshman of the Year award in just one season in Ames.
"Keira has already proven herself in the Big 12 and we're excited to have her at ASU to provide some depth and give this sprints group another great talent to build around," Miller said. "Any time you can sign someone who's already been to the national meet like she has, it's big for your team and we're excited to have her join the Sun Devil family."
She set the school record and won the conference title in the 60-meter hurdles at her first Big 12 Championship event, then went on to complete the sweep of the hurdles titles at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships by setting another school record in the 100-meter hurdles.
The sweep was the tenth 60-100 sweep in conference history, and Christie-Galloway was the first Cyclone in school history to claim both titles in the same year. Her 13.10 in the 100-meter hurdles gave her a place in the NCAA West Prelims where she went on to finish 10th and advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships where she took 16th overall.
Christie-Galloway will be eligible to compete for the Sun Devils in the spring semester.
The No. 1 female sprinter in Georgia as also making her way to Tempe in three-time state champion Jazmine Hobson.
A talented sprinter in all three distances, Hobson made a name for herself in Georgia and in the nation as a 100 and 200-meter specialist, owning the No. 1 times in the state and top-25 times nationally in both as a junior. She heads into 2020 as the 10th-fastest rising senior in the 100 and the12th-fastest in the 200 in the country.
"We feel like Jazmine will be a great asset automatically for the team," assistant sprints coach Shannon Hatchett said. "She's a very versatile athlete, so she can run all three sprints for us at a high level, which will be important for the team because it means she can contribute on both relays."
Hobson won the Georgia high school and Junior Olympics titles in the 100 and 200, and won an additional AAU Junior title in the 100 in 2019. She won her first state title as a sophomore and paired that 100-meter crown with a bronze medal in the 200.
First-year jumps coach John Ellis will add a veteran name to his young group in Iowa transfer Amanda Carty.
The former Hawkeye junior was an all-Big Ten honoree three times in one season at Iowa, earning two top-eight finishes in the triple jump. She advanced to the NCAA West Regional in her first and only season in Division I track and field, and was an All-American at the junior college level in 2017 and 2018.
Carty won the NJCAA outdoor title in the long jump and took sixth in the triple jump in her final season at Barton County Community College in Kansas, and earned two more All-America honors during the indoor season when she took fourth in both events.
Crossing the Atlantic, from The Netherlands is Jorinde van Klinken, a Dutch thrower with a national title and a World Championships appearance to her name.
Van Klinken represented Holland in the discus at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, but the meet in Qatar wasn't her first on the international stage. She won gold in the shot put earlier in 2019 at the European U20 Championships, she finished third in 2018 at the World U20 Championships and earned silver at the European U20 Championships in 2017.
Her personal best mark in the discus throw would have gotten her third at the NCAA meet in 2019, and her shot put PR would have earned her fourth at the same meet.
"I give a lot of credit to the staff we have here for scouting and bringing in these recruits," Miller said. "We have a great young and energetic staff that's doing a great job of recruiting the student-athletes that we need at Arizona State."
The 2020 Sun Devil track and field season gets going on January 10 as ASU takes the first of three drives up the hill to Flagstaff for the season-opening NAU Friday Night Duals. Follow @SunDevilTFXC on Twitter and Instagram and like Sun Devil track and field on Facebook to keep up with the program.