April 9, 2007
Trackwire Top 25 | Dandy Dozen: Women | Men
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State University track and field teams continue to hold positions in the national rankings and this week is no different as the April 9 Trackwire.com Top 25 has the Sun Devil women ranked first in the nation while the men moved up to No. 7 in this week's release. Both programs have several individuals also ranked highly in the Dandy Dozen, which is compiled based upon Trackwire's projected finishes in each event at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, June 6-9, in Sacramento, Calif.
The ranking for the women, which is tied for the highest ranking among women's team on campus this spring with the golf team, continues their season-long streak of holding the top spot as the Sun Devils went wire-to-wire during the indoor season, opening the year No. 1 and finishing the same way as the 2007 NCAA Champions. According the rankings, the Sun Devils are projected to score 61 points at the national meet with No. 2 LSU (43 points), No. 3 USC (36), No. 4 South Carolina (34.5) and No. 5 Texas A&M (31) rounding out the Top 5.
The men, which moved up two positions this week, are currently the highest ranked men's team on the ASU campus this spring, edging out the 10th-ranked baseball squad. The Sun Devil men are projected to score 27 points and are just three points out of the Top 5 as Tennessee has 30 points and No. 6 Wisconsin has 28. Florida State leads the men's lists with 63 points and is followed by No. 2 Auburn (44), No. 3 USC (40) and No. 4 Arizona (34).
Five women and five men all are projected to place among the Top 8 (scoring positions) at the NCAA Championships, including three women and one man projected to score in multiple events. For the women, Sarah Stevens is first in the shot put, second in the discus and fifth in the hammer while fellow thrower Jessica Pressley is first in the discus and third in the shot put. Amy Hastings rounds out the double-scorers for the women as she is ranked fourth in both the 5,000m and 10,000m runs. Also ranked in the Top 8 for the women are Jacquelyn Johnson, who sits first in the heptathlon as a two-time champion, and Latosha Wallace, who is ranked sixth in the 400m hurdles.
A trio of Sun Devils also hold a special distinction according the Dandy Dozen. On the track, only two women are ranked in the Top 12 in both the 5,000m and 10,000m runs as Hastings is ranked fourth in both and Texas A&M's Sally Kipyego is ranked first in both. In the field, only two women are ranked in the Top 12 in the shot put, discus and hammer events with those two women being Sun Devils Stevens and Pressley.
On the men's side, thrower Ryan Whiting is ranked second in the shot put and fifth in the discus to pace his team with four others ranked in the Top 8 to support the freshman. Aaron Aguayo is slated to finish as the national runner-up in the 3,000m steeplechase while Joshua Kinnaman is ranked fifth in the decathlon. Matt Turner is ranked seventh in the long jump while Brad Roth is ranked eighth in the javelin.
This weekend, the Sun Devils will play host to the 28th Sun Angel Track Classic presented by Coca-Cola on Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium with several of the teams ranked in the Trackwire Top 25 slated to compete. On the women's side, three Top 10 and five total Top 25 teams will compete, including No. 1 ASU, No. 2 LSU, No. 8 Auburn, No. 19 Florida and No. 22 Colorado while the men's competition will feature No. 2 Auburn, No. 7 ASU and No. 10 LSU.