April 3, 2002
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This Week --
Originally scheduled to compete at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, this weekend, Arizona State track and field will now take the week off to prepare for the 23rd Annual Sun Angel Classic at Sun Angel Stadium, Saturday, April 13. Field events are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. MT, followed by running events at 4:30 p.m. MT. ASU's women are tied for 25th in the first Trackwire 25 poll of the 2002 outdoor season, released Tuesday.
National Rankings --
Trackwire 25 released its first men's and women's rankings for the 2002 outdoor season April 2, with ASU's women making their season debut tied for 25th with Weber State. ASU's men are not ranked. Trackwire's 25 is based on predictions for team standings at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Championships hosted by Louisiana State in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, May 29, through Saturday, June 1.
23rd Annual Sun Angel Classic --
The 2002 edition of the Sun Angel Classic will feature both collegiate and high school competition, welcoming athletes from some of the nation's top track and field programs. Among those schools joining ASU on the track will be Alabama (men), Arizona, Auburn, BYU (women), Colorado State, Florida, Louisiana State, Texas and USC. Ranked in the opening Trackwire 25 for the outdoor season are USC (No. 1 women), LSU (No. 2 men and women), Auburn (No. 9 women, No. 14 men), Alabama (No. 13 men), BYU (No. 9 women), Arizona (No. 14 women), Texas (No. 14 women), Florida (No. 12 women, No. 17 men) and Arizona State (No. 25 women). This year's Sun Angel Classic meet honoree is former ASU distance standout Chuck LaBenz, the first Sun Devil to break the four-minute mile barrier. Accepted entries for the meet will be posted on ASU's website, www.thesundevils.com, by 5 p.m., Tuesday, April 9.
Last Time On The Track --
Last weekend ASU had five distance runners at the Stanford Invitational, while the rest of the squad remained at home for the ASU Invitational. At Stanford, junior Fasil Bizuneh automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000m, finishing fifth in a personal best 28:46.88 and improving upon his previous school record time. Earning provisional qualifying times and personal bests at Stanford were junior Brianna Torres in the women's 5,000m (sixth in 16:22.31) and redshirt freshman Juan Reyes in the men's 5,000m (12th in 13:57.52). Closer to home, junior Tiffany Greer won three individual events and was member to ASU's winning women's 4x100m relay team, leading the Sun Devils at the ASU Invitational. Greer won the long jump with a NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 20 feet, 7.75 inches, and also finished first in the 100m (11.61) and the 200m (23.88). The women's 4x100m team of freshman Porchea Carroll, Greer, freshman Cassandra Reed and junior Joni Smith clocked a provisional qualifying time of 45.07. As a team, the Sun Devils came away with 15 meet titles and 27 Pac-10 qualifying efforts, competing mainly against athletes from Oregon, Air Force and Colorado.
Up Next --
The Sun Devils will send a handful of athletes to compete at the Mesa Classic, Friday, April 12, at Mesa Community College before hosting the 23rd Annual Sun Angel Classic, Saturday, April 13, at Sun Angel Stadium. The Mesa Classic, held at Riggs Stadium on the Mesa C.C. campus, features field events at 3 p.m. and running events at 5 p.m. Field events for the Sun Angel Classic begin at 9:30 a.m., with running events at 4:30 p.m.