April 27, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. - State bragging rights are on the line again this weekend as the Arizona State University track and field teams play host intrastate rivals Arizona and Northern Arizona in the annual Double Dual Saturday at Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium. Field events begin at 2 p.m. with the hammer while the 3,000m steeplechase kicks off the running events at 7 p.m.
PAC-10 HONOR
Last weekend at the Oregon Invitational (April 23), Aaron Aguayo clocked a time of 13:49.11 in the men's 5,000m run to break a 15 year-old school record in the event, set in 1990 by Todd Lewis (3:51.40). For his effort, Aguayo was selected as the Pac-10 Male Track Athlete of the Week. He is the second honoree on the team this year (Trevell Quinley, April 11).
ARE YOU ON THE LIST?
In the latest national rankings released Monday by Trackwire.com, the Arizona State men enter the weekend ranked No. 6 while the women are tied for 15th. The only other team competing in Tempe this weekend with a national ranking is the Arizona men, coming in this week at No. 3.
HISTORICAL VIEW
Looking back into the record files, the Sun Devils, Wildcats and Lumberjacks have met on the track dating as far back as mid-1960s. Since 1986, the Double Dual has been conducted 18 times for the men and women at the same time (excluding 1989). Prior to 1986, the mens' teams met one another either in a double dual format or on separate occasions.
LAST TIME IN THE DOUBLE DUAL
The 2004 outdoor edition of the annual meet saw the Sun Devils sweep both Arizona and Northern Arizona in the meet held in Tucson on May 1. On the men's side, ASU recorded a 104-96 decision over UA while defeating NAU, 130-60. The Sun Devil women won by similar scores as they downed the Wildcats, 103-95, and the Lumberjacks, 125-60.
WHERE THEY STAND
Since the 1986 outdoor season, the men and women of Arizona State, Arizona and Northern Arizona have met on the track for the Double Dual 18 times. Here is how the series shake out:
Men - ASU vs. Arizona:
Leader: Arizona, 12-6 (5-4 in Tempe)
Streak: Arizona State, 2 in a row
Last: ASU def. UA, 104-96
Women - ASU vs. Arizona:
Leader: Arizona, 10-8 (5-4 in Tempe)
Streak: Arizona State, 4 in a row
Last: ASU def. UA, 103-95
Men - ASU vs. Northern Arizona:
Leader: ASU, 13-4-1 (7-2 in Tempe)
Streak: Arizona State, 7 in a row
Last: ASU def. NAU, 130-60
Women - ASU vs. Northern Arizona:
Leader: ASU, 15-3 (8-1 in Tempe)
Streak: Arizona State, 8 in a row
Last: ASU def. NAU, 125-60
POWER SURGE
In the latest update of the Team Power Rankings, both the Sun Devil men and women rank among the Top 10 nationally based on a formula calculating a team's Top 2 marks of the year in each event. The women lead the way at No. 2 overall while the men sit No. 9.
WHERE IN THE WORLD
As of Monday, two Sun Devils remain among the Top 20 in the world this season in their respective events. On the track, Domenik Peterson clocked a 45.15 in the 400m dash at the Sun Angel Classic to post the sixth-fastest time in the world. He is joined by Trevell Quinley, who also ranks sixth in the long jump.
KING OF THE (SAND) CASTLE
At the 2005 Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays (April 7-9), Trevell Quinley won the men's long jump in his first outdoor competition in the event since finishing as the national runner-up indoors in March. Not only did he win, he won big as he recorded a mark of 8.17m (26-09.75), the best mark not only in the collegiate ranks so far in 2005, but also the top mark among all Americans this year. His leap also ranks him second all-time on the ASU lists behind 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Dwight Phillips, who set the bar at 8.21m.
For his efforts in Austin, Quinley was selected as the Pac-10 Male Field Athlete of the Week (week ending April 10).
YOU KNOW WHY I PULLED YOU OVER?
Speed has always been a staple of the ASU track and field program and, so far, this season, that tradition is holding strong among the marks posted in the Pac-10 as the men and women each hold the top spot in the 100m, 200m and 400m dashes while the men's 4x100m and 4x400m relays also lead the conference.
For the women, Porchea Carroll is the leader in the 100m dash (11.49) while Kandace Tucker sits first in the 200m dash (23.61) and Cassandra Reed is tops in the 400m dash (53.84). On the men's side, Seth Amoo (10.29) leads the way at 100m while Domenik Peterson leads both the 200m (20.43) and 400m (45.82). Both men are members of the top relays, joining Steven Koehnemann and Lewis Banda on the 4x100m (38.96) and teamming with Banda and Jason Barton on the 4x400m relay (3:02.77).
MORE LEADERS OF THE PAC(-10)
The sprinters are not the only Sun Devils that currently sit atop the Pac-10 lists. Casey Burchill and Amy Hastings are leading the way in the men's and women's 10,000m runs, respectively. In the field, Jessica Pressley holds the No. 1 position in the women's shot put while Trevell Quinley holds the top mark in the men's long jump so far in 2005.
TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER!
In the latest update of the NCAA Order Lists, only one Sun Devil currently holds the top spot in the collegiate ranks as Trevell Quinley sits atop the long jump ranks with a mark of 8.17m.
REGIONAL REGISTRATIONS
So far this outdoor season, 62 Sun Devils have posted marks that qualify them for the either the national or regional NCAA meets. Between men and women, the breakdown is very close as the ladies hold 29 of the marks with the men holding 33. Nationally, two women and one man have earned the automatic berths.
DOING IT DIFFERENT THIS SEASON
Prior to the start of the season, the Pac-10 Conference coaches voted on how student-athletes would qualify for the conference championship meet at the end of each season. Following the vote, it was decided that no standards will be created for an athlete to try and surpass, rather, the head coach of each team selects up to 24 men and up to 24 women to compete at the Pac-10 meet. Athletes can be entered in as many events as the coach sees fit, but no more than eight per school can enter into one event.
I'LL TAKE SPEED FOR 200, ALEX
On the latest Pac-10 performance lists, the men's 200m dash looks like a smaller version of the ASU roster as the Top 5 times belong to Sun Devil sprinters. Domenik Peterson leads the way with Seth Amoo, Lewis Banda, Kelvin Love and Jason Barton rank 2nd through 5th, respectively.
THROWING IM-PRESSLEY
Jessica Pressley has been very dominant in her first collegiate outdoor season with the Sun Devils in 2005. Not only does she lead the nation in the shot put, she also ranks second overall in the discus and fourth in the hammer.
So far this season, Pressley not only threw her way onto the Top 10 lists at ASU, she has set one record and put all three of her marks among the Top 6 all-time. In the hammer, her mark of 62.52m (205-01) not only is a school record, but also marked the first time that an ASU woman has thrown past the 60m mark and broken 200 feet. Her marks in the other two events are 16.68m (54-08.75) in the shot put and 55.07m (180-08) in the discus.
DOM-INATING
Domenik Peterson has been faring well this season as he leads the Pac-10 in one event and is one leg of a conference-leading relay. So far in 2005, Peterson leads the Pac-10 in the 400m dash and joins Seth Amoo, Lewis Banda and Steven Koehnemann, the 2004 NCAA runners-up in the event, as the league leaders in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
KEEPING UP WITH JONES
Travis Jones also is having a stellar start to his outdoor season as he has entered five events in two meets and posted regional qualifying marks in all five. So far, Jones has punched his ticket to Eugene, Ore., in the hammer, shot put and discus.
JUMPING IN
This Saturday at the Double Dual, the Sun Devils will add another stellar performer to their men's roster as football standout Rudy Burgess will compete in the long jump and triple jump. Burgess, a running back, receiver and kick returner for the Sun Devil football team, had an impressive prep career that included a fourth-place finish in the state meet in the long jump with a mark of 24-01.00. The CIF Southern Section Division XII record holder in the long jump at 24-08.00, he has personal bests of 47-11.00 in the triple jump, 6-8.00 in the high jump and 10.80 in the 100m dash.
ALL-AMERICANS
On March 11-12, the NCAA Championships were held in Fayetteville, Ark., with 12 members of the ASU program participating in the national event. When the two-day national meet concluded, four Sun Devils emerged as All-Americans, including Trevell Quinley in the long jump (2nd), Domenik Peterson in the 200m dash (4th) and Brandon Glenn in the pole vault (7th) for the men and Amy Hastings in the 5,000m run (5th) for the women.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Including the 2004 cross country season, the Sun Devil track and field program will see 11 of its student-athletes return to the track this season following a 2004 season in which they collectively earned 13 All-America honors.
Outdoors, Seth Amoo, Lewis Banda, Jason Barton, Domenik Peterson and Steven Koehnemann each return following a stellar spring that saw awards earned in both relays, as well as individual awards from Banda and Barton, both in the 400m. The women's 4x400m relay returns, minus one runner. Christina Hardeman, Cassandra Reed and Kandace Tucker were members of the relay while the third leg, Marcia Smith, graduated. Jaquelyn Johnson also returns after garnering the national honor in the heptathlon.
A trio of cross country runners with All-America honors return to the track this year, including two-time award honoree Amy Hastings. She is joined by Desiree Davila and Aaron Aguayo.
LONG JUMP SUCCESS
Arizona State long jumping has seen success in the past year with two solid finishes in competitive meets. Most recently, Trevell Quinley finished second at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a leap of 7.92m (26-00.00) and earned the third All-America honor of his career. More recently, he recorded the longest leap in the collegiate and American ranks in 2005 (8.17m) outdoors at the Texas Relays (April 8). Seven months prior to Quinley's indoor meet performance, former Sun Devil jumper Dwight Phillips captured gold at the Athens Olympics with a mark of 8.59m (28-02.25). Both men are one six ASU jumpers to jump over 26 feet.
IT'S BEEN A LITTLE WHILE SINCE ...
Brandon Glenn finished seventh in the indoor pole vault competition at the NCAA meet (March 11) to capture his first All-America honor. Glenn's accolade also was the first since 1994 when Nick Hysong captured the national honor. That same year, Glenn was nine years old.
And speaking of Hysong, the 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist competed in the Baldy Castillo Invitational over the weekend and won the event with a clearance of 5.15m. Although the winning mark was not close to his personal best and school record clearances, the result still goes down as a Sun Angel Stadium record, surpassing the 5.10m clearance attained by a trio of men.
A TRIPLE CROWN ... OF SORTS
Amy Hastings is two-thirds of the way toward history following her All-American performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 11) where she placed seventh in the 5,000m run. Prior to the track season, she garnered the accolade in cross country. If she attains All-America honors during this outdoor season, she would do what only one other Sun Devil, male or female, has ever done: earn All-America honors in cross country, indoor and outdoor track in one season.
Lisa Aguilera is the only runner (so far) in school history to pull off the `triple crown' as she earned the national honor in 2000. She finished fifth at the NCAA cross country meet before placing seventh in the indoor mile and 8th in the outdoor 1,500m.
NATIONAL RECORD
Last season, Seth Amoo helped the men's 4x400m relay set the NCAA collegiate national record in the indoor version of the race as he and his teammates clocked a 3:03.43 at the Iowa State Last Chance meet. Feb. 11, Amoo, the former school record holder in the 200m dash, set a national record on his own by finishing second in the 200m at the Holiday Inn Team Invitational in 20.95. The time made him the first representative of Ghana to run under 21 seconds, giving the senior the national record.
ALL RECORDS GO THROUGH JB
Looking over the men's record book for the indoor season, several impressive things standout. One of those is the men's 4x400m relay of Jason Barton, Steve Fitch, Seth Amoo and Domenik Peterson, who stand No. 1 on the lists with a collegiate record 3:03.43. Looking at all five of the top times for the relay event, one name keeps appearing: Jason Barton. In his four years in Tempe, Barton has helped his teammates record the fastest times around while securing All-America honors and conference championships.
TAKING OVER
The indoor men's 200m dash record section looks almost like a shortened version of the team roster as all five ranks are currently occupied by student-athletes on the 2005 team roster. Domenik Peterson leads the group at 20.43 set this season while placing fourth at the NCAA meet.
Seth Amoo (20.95) and Lewis Banda (21.19) are second and fourth, respectively. The marks by Amoo and Banda are the oldest on the current list as both were achieved in the 2003 season. The remaining two marks were both attained in Flagstaff two weeks ago with Kelvin Love (21.15) and Steven Koehnemann (21.24) sitting third and fifth, respectively.
JOHNSON TAKES INDIVIDUAL TITLE
No Sun Devil had brought home a nation title since 1996. No woman had done so since 1992. That all changed when true freshman Jacquelyn Johnson went to Austin, Texas, and won the NCAA heptathlon crown. Johnson showed why she was touted as one of the premier athletes in the nation as she finished first at the outdoor national meet in the heptathlon, second in the national indoor pentathlon and added conference championships in both the heptathlon and the high jump. Johnson did not compete during the indoor season this year as she was playing for Charlie Turner Thorne and the Sun Devil women's basketball team. ASU advanced to the Sweet 16 of the tournament.
HISTORICAL HARRIER
Amy Hastings accomplished a feat that no other Sun Devil cross country student-athlete, male or female, had in school history: win a conference title. Hastings led the women to a runner-up team finish as she won the Pac-10 championship crown, and earning the first conference gold of any kind for the program as neither the men nor women have won a team title either.
MAROON AND GOLD (MEDAL)
Arizona State was represented by one current and two former student-athletes at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Lewis Banda, who is the lone current runner, competed for Zimbabwe in the 400m dash and finished in ninth place, one spot shy of making the finals on the largest stage of athletics.
Although Banda fared well, one former athlete stole the spotlight. Dwight Phillips, the world leader in the long jump for the entire year, did not disappoint as he won the gold medal on his first jump of the competition. His win was the 10th gold medal won by a Sun Devil track and field athlete and also marked the third Summer Olympiad in a row that a former ASU standout returned home with gold after Nick Hysong won the pole vault in 2000 and Maicel Malone helped the 4x400m relay win in Atlanta in 1996.
The final 2004 Olympian with ASU ties was Michael Campbell. Representing Jamaica, Campbell ran in the 4x400m relay, but his team was disqualified in the first round of competition.
HOME OF THE SUN DEVILS
Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium became the home of the Sun Devils at the open of the 1976 season. In the 28 years the track has been open, it has played host to seven conference championship meets and, on April 16, will welcome athletes to the 26th annual Sun Angel Classic presented by Coca-Cola.
NEXT TIME OUT
The championship season gets underway next weekend as the Pac-10 Multi-Event meet awaits several Sun Devils May 7-8 at UCLA. One week later, the remainder of the team will head to Pasadena for the Pac-10 Championships May 14-15.