March 8, 2012
NCAA Championships - ASU Notes 
TEMPE -The Arizona State University track and field teams will send eight student-athletes to represent the Sun Devils in Nampa, Idaho, on March 9-10 at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. The No. 10 ASU men will have six competitors in the field while the Sun Devil women will have two student-athletes in the competition. The event will take place at the Jacksons Indoor Track Facility and will take place for the majority of the day on both Friday and Saturday. There will be live video coverage of the events on both days available through the NCAA at www.ncaa.com and highlights will be made available at the conclusion of the competition. Neither the men nor women placed in the top 25 at last year’s event but have been among the nation’s top teams over the past decade, posting a combined seven top-10 finishes and three national championships in the span.
OUT OF THE BLOCKS
• The Sun Devil men are currently ranked #10 in the country and have six individuals in action this weekend: Ryan Milus (60m), Mason McHenry (800m), Nick Happe (Mile), Chris Benard (TJ), Bryan McBride (HJ) and Jordan Clarke (SP)
• The Sun Devil track team scored six individual conference champions at the MPSF Championships in Seattle: Rashad Ross (200m), Ryan Milus (60m), Brian Pierre (5000m), Chris Benard (TJ), Jordan Clarke (SP) and Keia Pinnick (Pentathlon)
• The ASU women will have two in action this weekend: Anna Jelmini (SP) and Christabel Nettey (LJ)
• There have been five school records set or tied during the indoor season thus far: Chris Benard (TJ), Nick Happe (Mile), Bryan McBride (tied HJ), Brian Pierre (5000m) and Shelby Houlihan (Mile)
• The ASU men did not score at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships after three consecutive top-10 finishes prior - including the 2008 national title - while the ASU women finished 40th.
• The men’s team has posted just four indoor top-10 championships since 1976 and, on paper, look to add to that total this year
• Anna Jelmini is the only member of the current ASU championship roster to have earned a first-team All-America honor in her career, doing so in the shot put last season
IN THE RANKINGS: USTFCCCA TOP 25
The Sun Devil men’s team remains dropped to No. 10 in the final USTFCCCA computer rankings released prior to the NCAA Championships. The men had been in seventh for the past couple weekends. The final USTFCCCA ranks take only qualifiers to the NCAA Championships into consideration.
IN THE RANKINGS: USTFCCCA WEST REGION
The ASU men solidified themselves as the top team in the West, winning the MPSF Indoor Championships decisively in Seattle with a 50-point margin of victory.
A LOOK BACK: 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships
The Arizona State track and field team had just one first-team All-American at last year’s NCAA Championships in Anna Jelmini, who took fifth in the shot put last season. Jasmine Cheney (200m) and the 4x400-meter relay of Sarah Geren, Keia Pinnick, Kayla Sanchez and Cheney all earned second-team honors for the women. On the men’s side, the team did not score and Jordan Clarke was the only individual in action, finishing ninth overall in the shot put and earning second-team All-America honors.
A REWARDING YEAR
It was a big year for the Sun Devils in the awards category during the 2012 indoor season. The ASU men took home their first MPSF title in school history, scoring 131.5 points for a 50-point margin of victory over second place Stanford - both landmarks sitting as the best in the past decade in MPSF competition. Greg Kraft was awarded the MPSF Men’s Coach of the Year as well as the USTFCCCA West Region Men’s Coach of the Year. Chris Benard took home USTFCCCA West Region Field Athlete of the Year honors courtesy of his school-record setting year in the triple jump and 18 points scored at the MPSF Championships.
TRIPLE THE EXCITEMENT
Senior Chris Benard had an impressive season for the Sun Devils last year, advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the triple jump after transferring from Riverside College. Benard got 2012 started with a bang though with a 16.14m (52-11.50) leap at the Lumberjack Invitational to take down Dwight Phillips’ 12-year-old indoor school record in the event and give Benard the top jump in the country in the early part of the season. He would go on to one-up himself at the MPSF Championships, winning the event with a new career best leap of 16.43m (53-11) for the third-best mark in the country in 2012.
MR. SUB-FOUR
Nick Happe is having a career year in his junior campaign, having set three marks that currently rank in the top-five on ASU’s all-time lists. Happe continued his tear by becoming just the third athlete in Sun Devil history to go under four minutes in the mile, breaking the 10-year-old school record formerly held by Brandon Strong in a time of 3:58. Happe has also clocked the third-fastest 5k time in school history at 13:54.51 and the fifth-best 3,000-meter run time of 8:00.66 -- all of which rank in the top 40 nationally this season.
RUNNING FOR MILUS AND MILES
Sophomore Ryan Milus has been the definition of consistency in the 60-meter dash this season and saw it come to fruition as he clocked an altitude-adjusted 6.60 time at the Kirby Invitational, two hundredths of a second behind the two-time defending NCAA champion in the event, Jeff Demps of Florida. Milus’ time is currently fourth in the nation, second in school history and he automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships. Milus won her first MPSF title at 60 meters in Seattle and added an all-conference performance at 200 meters to boot and has plenty of momentum carrying him into the outdoor meet.
LIFE OF BRYAN
Sophomore Bryan McBride continued to make impressive strides in the high jump, match the school indoor record at the Kirby Invite with a leap of 2.26m (7-5.00) to match Kyle Arney’s mark set back in 1979. McBride has set personal indoor records three times in 2012 so far and has improved by just under five inches from his best leap as a freshman. He ranks third in the nation this season and will be seeking his first All-America honor this weekend.
GRAND MASON
Mason McHenry had an impressive season-opener at 800 meters in clocking the then second-fastest time in the nation with a altitude-adjusted time of 1:49.24. The senior holds the school record in the indoor version of the event and nearly beat that at the A&M Challenge with his third-place time of 1:47.86. McHenry will enter the NCAA Championships as the eight-seed in the event.
THROWING THEIR WEIGHT
Over the past 10 years, David Dumble has continued to bring in top talent and build the throws program at Arizona State, which has collected 12 total national titles, including four in the indoor shot put and one in the weight throw. ASU returns indoor All-Americans in Anna Jelmini (First Team) and Jordan Clarke (Second Team) this season.
THROWING MORE WEIGHT
Jordan Clarke posted the eighth-best shot put mark in the country at the NAU Tune-Up with a throw of 19.44m (63-09.50) to win the competition. It was an indoor record for Clarke by over a foot and solid momentum-builder for the junior and returning NCAA outdoor champion. Clarke will be seeking a bit of deja vu this weekend as he entered the NCAA Outdoor Championships as the seven-seed last year before shocking the field with a national title before all was said and done.
EVEN MORE WEIGHT
Sophomore Anna Jelmini looks to be finding her rhythm at just the right time in the shot put event on the women’s side. Jelmini has set back-to-back season’s bests and currently ranks 11th in the nation with a throw of 16.91m (55-5.75) and will be looking to nab her second consecutive indoor All-American award this weekend.
NETTEY POT
One of the key pieces to the Arizona State women’s effort this season has been junior Christabel Nettey. Nettey is one of the “do-it-all” athletes that could earn the Sun Devils points in the sprints, hurdles and jumps. Nettey posted the 14h-best long jump in the country this season at 6.27m (20-7.00) to advance to the NCAA Championships and will seek her second All-America honor this weekend.