March 9, 1998
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Fiona Daly, Mika Laiho and Joronda White have each been invited to represent Arizona State University at the 1998 NCAA Indoor Championships, held this Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis, Ind. Daly will compete in the women's high jump, Laiho in the men's weight throw and White in the women's 400.
Daly and Laiho will make their second appearances at the championships, both having earned All-American status with top-eight finishes in 1996. Daly, a junior, is seeded eighth while Laiho, a senior, is seeded seventh.
Daly's mark of 5 feet 11.5 inches in '96 was good enough for sixth place. She qualified for this year's meet with a leap of 6 feet for the MPSF Championship. Laiho, the ASU record holder in the weight throw, finished fifth at the '96 NCAAs with a throw of 66 feet. He qualified for this year's meet by finishing second at the MPSF's with a throw of 67 feet 2.25 inches, one-half inch short of his record.
White, a junior, will make her first NCAA appearance. She is seeded ninth in the 400 meters after having run a 53.41 at the Flagstaff Invitational. That mark is tied for the third-fastest time in ASU Indoor history.
Freshman Tony Berrian (400m) and junior Dawnyell Linder (55m & 200m) also posted provisional NCAA marks during the indoor season, but did not make the cut to be invited to the event.