TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State University track and field program is set to send 32 student-athletes to compete in the NCAA West Preliminary Round, May 29-31, at the University of Arkansas’s John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark.
Ryan Milus (100m), Garrett Baker-Slama (3000m SC), Ryan Herson (5000m), Cameron Taylor (110mH), Edmond Baker (high jump), Derick Hinch (pole vault), Josh Dixon (triple jump), Asiah Gooden (100m & 200m), Brianna Tate (400m), Sarah Geren (400mH), Shelby Houlihan (1500m), Shaylah Simpson (pole vault), Alycia Herring (long jump), Anna Jelmini (discus), Alex Hartig (discus & javelin) will be making his or her return to the preliminary meet after competing in Austin, Texas, in 2013.
ASU’s most recent West Preliminary champion was former Sun Devil Chelsea Cassulo, who won the hammer throw in 2013 before she took the national crown two weeks later in Eugene, Ore.
Athletes who qualify for the NCAA Championships will travel to Eugene, Ore., June 11-14, to compete at Hayward Field.
RESULTS
Flash Results will be producing live results for the NCAA West Preliminary Round, while live video will also be available via arkansasrazorbacks.com.
Fans can also follow @SunDevilTFXC on Twitter for updates from the ASU squad.
MEET EVENT BREAKDOWN
NCAA West Preliminary Round
Meet Schedule:
Thursday, May 29 (All Times CT)
Field Events
Women’s Javelin First Round (12:00 p.m.)
Alex Hartig
Men’s Pole Vault First Round (1:00 p.m.)
Derick Hinch
Men’s Shot Put First Round (2:00 p.m.)
Kyle Lillie
Women’s Long Jump First Round (2:00 p.m.)
Alycia Herring, Jasmine Gibbs
Women’s Pole Vault First Round (6:30 p.m.)
Shaylah Simpson
Women’s Shot Put First Round (6:30 p.m.)
Ashley Weber
Running Events
Women’s 1500m Run First Round (6:00 p.m.)
Shelby Houlihan, Payton Schutte, Kala Stone
Men’s 100m Dash First Round (6:30 p.m.)
Ryan Milus
Women’s 100m Dash First Round (6:55 p.m.)
Jasmine Gibbs, Asiah Gooden
Men’s 400m Dash First Round (7:20 p.m.)
Keith Cleveland
Women’s 400m Dash First Round (7:45 p.m.)
Brianna Tate, LaTroya Franklin, Sara McDonald
Women’s 10000m Semifinals (9:40 p.m.)
Adriana Olivas
Friday, May 30 (All Times CT)
Field Events
Women’s Discus First Round (3:00 p.m.)
Anna Jelmini, Alex Hartig
Men’s Triple Jump First Round (5:00 p.m.)
Josh Dixon
Men’s High Jump First Round (5:00 p.m.)
Bryan McBride, Edmond Baker
Running Events
Men’s 110m Hurdles First Round (5:00 p.m.)
Cameron Taylor
Women’s 100m Hurdles First Round (5:30 p.m.)
Micha Auzenne
Men’s 800m Run Quarterfinals (7:00 p.m.)
Michael Julian
Women’s 400m Hurdles Quarterfinals (7:30 p.m.)
Sarah Geren
Men’s 200m Dash First Round (8:00 p.m.)
Devan Spann
Women’s 200m Dash First Round (8:25 p.m.)
Asiah Gooden
Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Quarterfinal (8:50 p.m.)
Steven Schnieders, Daniel Wong, Garrett Baker-Slama
Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Quarterfinals (9:30 p.m.)
Chiara Warner
Saturday, May 31 (All Times CT)
Field Events
Women’s Hammer First Round (10:00 a.m.)
Jessika Byrd
Running Events
Men’s 4x100m Relay Quarterfinals (6:00 p.m.)
Devan Spann, Keith Cleveland, Will Henry, Ryan Milus
Women’s 4x100m Relay Quarterfinals (6:15 p.m.)
Asiah Gooden, Brianna Tate, Alycia Herring, LaTroya Franklin
Men’s 5000m Run Semifinals (8:45 p.m.)
Ryan Herson
Men’s 4x400m Relay Quarterfinals (9:25 p.m.)
Keith Cleveland, Will Henry, Devan Spann, Daveon Collins
Women’s 4x400m Relay Quarterfinals (9:45 p.m.)
Sara McDonald, LaTroya Franklin, Sarah Geren, Brianna Tate
LAST TIME OUT
Last week, a majority of the team was off to prep for the NCAA Preliminary meet, save five throwers who competed at the Tucson Elite Meet, hosted by the University of Arizona at Roy P. Drachman Stadium.
Representing the men, redshirt junior Kyle Lillie placed 10th in the shot put competition with a throw of 16.05m (52-8.00).
On the women’s side, redshirt junior Alex Hartig led ASU in the discus competition with a throw of 53.57m (175-09) for 10th overall. She was followed by redshirt senior Anna Jelmini’s toss of 53.26m (174-09).
In the women’s hammer competition, junior Jessika Byrd threw 58.93m (193-04) for 12th overall.
UTSFCCCA Rankings
In this week’s USTFCCA rankings, the men are unranked while the women’s team sits at No. 21.
THE OUTDOOR RECORD BOOK
ASU track and field saw 16 new marks in the outdoor records books throughout the ‘regular-season’ portion of competition.
Brianna Tate’s new personal best of 52.32 moves her up from No. 10 in the 400m dash to No. 8, while Sarah Geren moves from No. 10 in the 400m Hurdles to No. 9 with her best of 58.40.
In the 1500m, Shelby Houlihan bested her school record with a finish at 4:13.56, while Payton Schutte entered the record book at No. 6 with her finish at 4:21.64. Houlihan also set a new personal best in the 5000m run as she finished at 16:11.63, the new No. 7 mark in ASU history.
Chiara Warner set a personal best by nearly 15 seconds in only her second collegiate 3000m steeplechase, finishing at 10:30.85, the new No. 10 time in the record book.
Adriana Olivas’ 10,000m run time of 33:55.75 from the Stanford Invite is the new No. 5 time in the ASU record book.
In the women’s pole vault, Andrea Kemmerrer set a new personal best at 3.73m, for No. 8.
Alex Hartig’s javelin personal best of 47.89m moved her up from No. 3 to No. 2, behind the 2008 mark from Jacquelyn Johnson’s 2008 at 48. Hartig also sits at No. 8 in the shot put competition at 15.93m, and at No. 9 in the discus at 54.84m.
Joining Hartig in the javelin top-10 is Kaitlyn Brace, with the No. 8 throw of 41.43m.
In the women’s hammer, Jessika Byrd jumped into the books with her toss of 61.10m, good for No. 5 all-time, while Ashley Weber’s throw of 55.46m is good for No. 10 overall.
On the men’s side, Cameron Taylor’s 110m hurdles time of 14.00 sits at No. 8 all-time.
In the 5000m, Ryan Herson set a personal best at the Mt. Sac Relays, finishing at 13:44.81, which remains the No. 4 time in school history. Herson’s mile time of 4:02.90 sits at No. 6, while Cody Brazeal owns the new No. 10 time at 4:04.54.
Garrett Seawell jumped into the top-10 of the 10000m run with a finish at 30:01.59, while Bryan McBride moved up to No. 3 all time with his high jump clearance of 2.23m.
Kyle Lillie’s hammer throw of 58.23m enters the record books at No. 10 all-time.
SAME TEAMMATE, DIFFERENT TEAM
As the season begins, there are 22 Sun Devils on the roster that were teammates before they came to Arizona State, up 17 from a season ago. CJ Albertson, Cody Brazeal, and Macy Bricks prepped at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif. (also the Alma mater of ASU great Kyle Alcorn), while Ginger Jarchow and Ryan Leslie went to high school at Centennial in Peoria, Ariz. Ryan Norton and Bernie Montoya ran together at Cibola HS in Yuma, Ariz., while six Sun Devils boast ties to Desert Vista High School in Phoenix (Heather Arsenau, Edmond Baker, Natalie Krafft, Sarah Lynde, Jenna Mack, and Shayla Simpson). Twins Blake and Kyle Elliott continue to run together at ASU after competing at Dobson High School, while Jack Balder and Miranda Kewley are recent graduates of Great Oak High School in Temecula, Calif., and Amber Pasternak and Ryan Milus competed at Hamilton HS (Chandler, Ariz.) at the same time. The Sun Devils have a trio of graduates from Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Alexander Harris, Bryan McBride, and Marcus Setoki.
KRAFT LEADS THE WAY
Head Coach Greg Kraft is entering his 18th year as the leader of the Sun Devil program, a tenure that has brought Arizona State back to the top of the standings in both the NCAA and Pac-12 events. Since his hiring, the program has continued to evolve into one of the more well rounded in the nation with strength on the track, in the field, and in cross country. Kraft and his staff have worked diligently to reach their goals of championships and success in education. His program has annually produced some of the top individuals in the nation with 26 of the program’s 59 individual and relay national titles won since 2004, while both his teams and individual student-athletes have garnered national academic acclaim. Prior to his arrival, the program boasted one NCAA Championship (Men’s Outdoor Track & Field, 1977) and one Pac-12 Championship (Men’s Outdoor Track & Field, 1981). In the last seven years, his Sun Devils have captured four national crowns (2007 Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field, 2008 Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field) and added three Pac-12 Championships (Women’s Outdoor Track & Field, 2006-08). Kraft’s teams have finished in the Top 10 of the NCAA Track & Field Championships on 22 occasions in 16 years while the program had done so just 14 times prior to his arrival in Tempe.
LONG TENURE IN TEMPE
As he begins his 18th year at Arizona State, Greg Kraft’s tenure ranks as the second-longest in Sun Devil track & field history and the third-longest active streak among all current ASU head coaches. The only coach that has led the track & field program longer than Kraft is legendary coach Senon ‘Baldy’ Castillo, who led the way for 26 years (1954-79). Among current Sun Devil head coaches, Kraft’s 18th year ranks behind John Spini, who is in his 34th year with gymnastics and Sheila McInerney, who is in her 30th year with women’s tennis.