March 12, 2002
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This Week --
With the 2002 indoor season in the books, Arizona State track and field returns its focus to the outdoor oval as the Sun Devils head south to Tucson, Ariz., for the 19th annual Willie Williams Classic hosted by the University of Arizona Friday, March 15, through Saturday, March 16. ASU's throwers and sprinters will see action this weekend, while the distance crew and a few of the jumpers will use the weekend to train.
National Rankings --
Neither ASU's men's or women's track squads were ranked in the Trackwire Top-25 poll during the 2002 indoor season. Trackwire uses weekly rankings to project the outcome of the NCAA Championships. Prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships, the ASU men were 16th and the women were 27th according to the USTCA Team-Power Rankings.
ASU Women Tie For 16th At NCAA Indoors --
Junior Lisa Aguilera finished second in the 3,000m and junior Tiffany Greer placed third in the long jump, leading the ASU women to a 16th-place tie at the 2002 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., March 8-9. Matching BYU and Colorado's 14 points, ASU notched its best NCAA indoor finish since 1994 and the first top-20 finish since 1995. The ASU men's three points, scored by senior David Wood's sixth-place finish in the shot put, tied the team for 51st with Middle Tennessee and Southern Illinois. With their top-eight finishes in their respective events, Aguilera, Greer and Wood earned All-America honors. Now a three-time All-American in track and field, Aguilera crossed the 3000m finish line second in 9:09.67, shattering her previous personal best and school record time of 9:16.23. She finished only behind champion Lauren Fleshman of Stanford who won the race with a stadium record of 9:07.45. Greer added her third indoor All-America certificate and fifth overall to her Sun Devil resume, placing third in the women's long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 7.25 inches. Wood earned his first All-America honors with a personal best shot put effort of 64 feet, three inches that placed him sixth. ASU qualified a total of six athletes to the 2002 indoor nationals. Freshman Trevell Quinley finished 14th in the men's long jump (23-11.5), while senior Brandon Strong and senior Tony Galaviz were unable to advance past the prelims of the mile and 60m hurdles, respectively.
Strong Runs First ASU Sub-Four Minute Indoor Mile --
Senior Brandon Strong etched his name in the Sun Devil record books at the Husky Last Chance Qualifier, Saturday, March 2. Strong became the first ASU athlete to run a sub-four minute indoor mile with his personal-best and school record of time of 3:59.59. Strong is the second Sun Devil to break the four-minute barrier either indoors or outdoors, with the only other ASU athlete to do so being Chuck LaBenz who clocked a time of 3:56.90 in the outdoor mile in 1970.
ASU Makes Outdoor Debut Hosting Bill Sawyer Invite --
With the indoor season still underway, ASU opened the outdoor season Saturday, March 2, playing host to the Bill Sawyer Invitational. Led by sophomore Seneca Holmes' double win in both the 100m and 400m hurdle races, the Sun Devils came away with eight meet titles. Also winning their events were Lisa Aguilera (1500m), the women's 4x100m relay, redshirt freshman Jeff Dodge (800m), redshirt freshman Juan Reyes (1500m), freshman Seth Amoo (200m) and the men's 4x400m relay.
Up Next --
The Sun Devils host the sixth-annual Baldy Castillo Invitational at Sun Angel Stadium, Friday, March 22, through Saturday, March 23.