June 20, 2012
--ASU Track and Field Olympians Through History
TEMPE - The Arizona State University track and field program will be well-represented over the course of the next two weeks as numerous current and former Sun Devils will take part at the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials taking place in Eugene, Ore., beginning June 22.
Nine current members of the Sun Devil roster and 13 alumni are tentatively slated to compete in the competition, though some of those athletes are currently waiting on pending or provisional qualifications. Due to the USATF's rolling entry process, final entry lists may not be available until the days leading up to a particular event and as such, some Sun Devils listed on the entry lists may or may not be advanced to the final heat sheets.
Among the current Sun Devils that will be in action is the 2012 NCAA indoor and outdoor shot put national Champion, Jordan Clarke. Clarke will enter the weekend as an underdog, a feeling he is quite familiar with as the U.S. has historically fielded some of the top shot putting throwers in the world and this year will be no exception.
Clarke will join Sun Devil alumnus and six-time NCAA Champion Ryan Whiting in the field. Whiting enters the weekend as the reigning World Champion indoors in the shot put and is currently ranked fifth in the world and tied for fourth in the United States during the current outdoor season while Clarke is currently 10th among American during the 2012 season.
Chris Benard will be competing in his final competition as a Sun Devil in the men's triple jump competition and is currently ranked sixth among American men in the event this season.
The only member of the field of Sun Devils who has actually advanced to the Olympics is Trevell Quinley, a three-time All-American while a Sun Devil in the early 2000s and a 2008 Olympian in Beijing.
Other former ASU NCAA Champions in the field are April Kubishta in the pole vault, Amy Hastings in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and Sarah Stevens-Walker in the shot put. Stevens-Walker won two NCAA crowns while at ASU and was a member of the 2011 USA National Team at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Hastings was the fourth-place finisher at the USA Olympic Marathon Trials and will be looking to earn her first Olympic bid after competing at the World Championships last year as well.
The competition tentatively begins on Thursday, June 21 with the hammer competition set to take place in Beaverton, Ore. Chelsea Cassulo, a transfer from UNLV who redshirt this season at Arizona State will be in action to open up the Trials for Arizona State. Stay tuned to TheSunDevils.com for continued coverage of the Olympic Trials and to check in on the progress of all the Sun Devils in action.
Current Sun Devils at the U.S. Olympic Trials
Ryan Milus (100m)
Bryan McBride (High Jump)
Chris Benard (Triple Jump)
Derick Hinch (Pole Vault)
Jordan Clarke (Shot Put)
Constance Ezugha (Long Jump)
Chelsea Cassulo (Hammer Throw)
Anna Jelmini (Discus Throw)
Keia Pinnick (Heptathlon)
Former Sun Devils at the U.S. Olympic Trials
Charonda Williams (100m/200m)
Jasmine Chaney (400m Hurdles)
Latosha Wallace (400m Hurdles)
Kyle Alcorn (3,000m Steeple)
Lisa Aguilera (3,000m Steeple)
Brandon Bethke (5000m)
Amy Hastings (5.000m/10,000m)
Allie Kieffer (10,000m)
Alvina Begay (10,000m)
April Kubishta (Pole Vault)
Trevell Quinley (Long Jump)
Ryan Whiting (Shot Put)
Sarah Stevens-Walker (Shot Put)