Some of the best collegiate throwers in NCAA history have come through Tempe and excelled under the guidance of David Dumble, who is entering his 13th season as the throws coach for the men and women of Arizona State University. A five-time USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year, Dumble has worked with individuals that have captured 23 NCAA titles, including Jordan Clarke, who has won four consecutive NCAA indoor shot put titles.
In 2013, Dumble coached three athletes to national titles, beginning with Jordan Clarke winning his fourth-consecutive NCAA title in the indoor shot put. Clarke also won a pair of MPSF titles in the shot put and weight throw. Chelsea Cassulo also saw success at the MPSF meet, taking the title in the weight throw competition. In the outdoor slate, ASU won its first hammer throw title in program history and first All-American since 2009 when Cassulo came from behind with a final throw of 69.12m (226-09). One day later, Anna Jelmini won her first-ever title in the discus with a mark of 57.95m (195-01), leading the field by nearly five feet.
In 2012, the ASU men's program continued its dominance of the shot put event as Clarke swept the indoor and outdoor shot put titles to give him three NCAA championships in the event in his career.Clarke won his third consecutive NCAA Shot Put title and defended his 2011 outdoor crown with a new personal best throw of 20.40m (66-11.25). The mark gave Arizona State its fourth consecutive NCAA shot put title (Ryan Whiting won in 2009 and 2010) and between Whiting and Clarke, the program has now won eight of the last 10 NCAA shot put competition between the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Clarke swpt the Pac-12 and MPSF shot put titles and also posted a second-place finish the hammer throw and a third-place finish in the discus at the Pac-12 Championship to be named the competition's Men's Athlete of the Meet.
In addition, Anna Jelmini earned All-American honors in the indoor shot put before earning her second consecutive runner-up finish at the outdoor championships in the discus. Jelmini also swept the Pac-12 Championships in both the shot put and discus events.
In 2011, Dumble worked with several individuals that had great success. During the season, Clarke was a two-time All-American as he was ninth indoors in the shot put before claiming his crown outdoors. Anna Jelmini, one of the top prep throwers in the nation in 2009, came off her redshirt year and finished fifth in the indoor shot put before holding the NCAA lead in the discus (60.44m) and finishing as the national runner-up at the 2011 NCAA outdoor meet. Following the season, Dumble worked once again with Sarah Stevens-Walker and helped make Team USA for the IAAF World Championships in Daegu in the shot put after taking third at the USATF Championships.
Dumble's group once again put Arizona State in the thick of the hunt for national titles in 2010 as Whiting won the indoor and outdoor shot put crowns while adding the discus title before being named Track & Field News Athlete of the Year. Whiting was joined by Jason Lewis and Clarke, both of which had strong years, including a 1-2-3 sweep of the shot put at the Pac-10 Championships at the end of the outdoor season. At the same meet, Cj Navarro won the discus for the women, giving ASU that event title for the fourth year in a row (three different athletes).
Whiting (three), Lewis (five) and Clarke (one) combined to collect nine All-America honors in 2010 as all three finished in the Top 8 nationally at the NCAA Championships in the shot put, the same event Whiting won with a toss of 21.97m, just 3cm shy of the collegiate record.
But academic achievement was not the only thing reached in 2010. Whiting was named the USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year while also being named the Pac-10 Scholar of the Year. Whiting and Lewis also were selected for NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships based upon their academic and athletic achievements after being selected Academic All-America First Team honorees.
In 2009, Whiting and Lewis collected three national titles while his entire group earned 13 All-America honors. Indoors, Whiting and Lewis swept the throws by taking gold in the shot put and weight throw, respectively, while Lewis also was fourth in the shot put to give ASU 25 points and a fifth-place finish. Sarah Stevens was the national runner-up in the shot put and fourth in the weight to help the women to another Top 10 finish.
Outdoors, Whiting won his first shot put crown and nearly took home the discus as well while Lewis earned All-America honors in the discus and hammer. The women were once again led by Stevens, an All-American in the shot put, discus and hammer, and Cj Navarro, a freshman who took eighth in the discus. Under Dumble's direction, Stevens closed out her career in Tempe with 15 All-America honors, the most by any Sun Devil track & field athlete (male and female) ever.
The 2008 season, like the seasons before, was a banner year for Dumble's throwers. Indoors, Whiting set the collegiate record while winning the shot put with a toss of 21.73m (71-03.50) and earning All-America honors in the event. His honor was one of four earned in the throws indoor as Jessica Pressley earned honors in the weight throw (second place) and shot put (fifth) and Stevens in the shot put (second).
Outdoors, the throwers again showed their strength, especially on the women's side as both Stevens and Pressley won one national title each and added three All-America honors and Tai Battle was the national runner-up in the discus. Stevens, the NCAA Champion in the discus, also placed sixth in the shot put and third in the hammer while Pressley, who successfully defended her shot put crown, placed fourth in the hammer and seventh in the discus. Whiting also earned All-America honors in the men's shot put with his runner-up finish and also in the discus, giving Dumble's athletes nine outdoor All-America honors and 13 for the entire season (one more than the 2007 season produced).
Adding in his work with 2008 Olympian and seven-time multi-event national champion Jacquelyn Johnson, Dumble has worked with four individuals that have captured 12 NCAA titles, including four in the shot put and one in the discus. He also has worked with seven different athletes that have combined to earn 40 All-America honors, including two of the most decorated women in ASU history, Stevens and Pressley, who are both 10-time All-Americans in their careers.
Academically, his athletes have been equally impressive as Whiting (men's indoor) and Stevens (women's outdoor) were selected as the USTFCCCA Division I Field Scholar-Athletes of the Year in 2008 before Lewis was honored in 2009 (men's indoor). Stevens, who was a two-time honoree after earning the 2007 indoor honor, was later selected as a recipient of the NCAA Top VIII Award, given annually to the Top 8 seniors in the nation (male and female combined) that exemplify what a student-athlete is all about: academic and athletic achievement and being involved in the community.
Over the past few years, Lewis, Whiting, Navarro and Stevens all have been selected as ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII First Team honorees as well. The group also has been near the top of the list for academic honors from the Pac-10 and the MPSF, including Stevens, who was named the 2009 Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Women's Track & Field.
Prior to coming to Tempe, Dumble headed the throwers at Virginia Tech, where he was an assistant track and field coach for one year. His appointment with the Sun Devils is his second collegiate coaching position.
Dumble attended UCLA and twice earned All-America honors in the discus, with third and eighth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships in 1997 and 1996, respectively. Dumble also captained the 1997 Bruin squad and his UCLA best effort of 197-11 ranks 10th all-time in school history. He received his bachelor's degree in environmental studies from UCLA in 1997. He attended Bakersfield College prior to his stint in Westwood, where he was a junior college state champion in the discus and competed in all four throwing events, including the hammer and javelin. Following his time at UCLA, he competed for Reebok for three years and competed at the 2000 Olympic Trials and the USATF Championships twice.
An inductee into the Bakersfield College Hall of Fame, Dumble earned his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certificate from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and recently earned his Master's of Education degree in Higher and Secondary Education from Arizona State.