USTCA Series Kicks Off at ASU

March 18, 1998

This Week
ASU/USTCA Invitational
March 21
Joe Selleh Track/
Sun Angel Stadium

Arizona State hosts the USTCA/ASU Invitational this Saturday, March 21, at Joe Selleh Track/Sun Angel Stadium. This meet is the first of the 1998 U.S. Collegiate Track Series, a 21-meet series of four-team scored meets. Joining the Sun Devils are Kansas, George Mason and Iowa. Field Events begin with the hammer throw at 10:00 a.m. while running events begin at 2:00 p.m.

The U.S. Collegiate Track & Field Series is organized and administered by the U.S. Track Coaches Association, in close cooperation with USA Track & Field. The series is funded in part by a grant from the United States Olympic Committee. The Series aims to cultivate excitement and interest in collegiate competitions by featuring weekly meets at sites across the United States. Arizona State, UCLA and Cal Poly SLO are hosting meets this Saturday to kick off the 21-meet series that runs through May 10. Over 18 conferences are represented in the series, which will run through the year 2000. Each meet will be scored and be contested in a 2.5 hour format. Arizona State will participate in the series this weekend and April 18, when the Sun Devils travel to Eugene, Ore. for the USTCA/Pepsi Invitational.

NCAA Indoor Championships

ASU sent three competitors to the NCAA Indoor Championships, held last weekend in Indianapolis. Fiona Daly came home with sixth place in the high jump, matching her performance at the 1996 Indoors with a leap of 5-11.5. Mika Laiho placed 10th in the 35-pound weight throw with a toss of 63-7.5, while Joronda White posted the 12th fastest time in the 400 prelims, 54.36.

Indoor All-Americans

Fiona Daly and Joronda White earned Indoor All-American honors with their performances in Indianapolis. It is Daly's second All-American honor, making her the eighth Sun Devil female to earn All-American honors multiple times. She joined the elite company of Omalade Akinremi, Omotayo Akinremi, Jacqui Gayle, Kim Toney, Shanequa Campbell, Maicel Malone and Lynda Tolbert--four of whom were Olympians. White's 54.36 in the prelims placed her among the top 8 Americans at the meet, earning her All-American acclaim. Sun Devil women have now earned that honor 36 times.

Nifty Notes

Senior Jared Schrieber and Charity Amama each posted NCAA provisional marks in the javelin at ASU's first outdoor meet, the Bill Sawyer Invitational two weeks ago. Schrieber posted a mark of 220-8 , the fourth best men's throw at ASU since 1986. Amama's toss of 168-8 was the third-best mark in ASU women's history ... ASU is eligible to participate in both the Pac-10 and NCAA Championship meets this season after NCAA sanctions prohibited the Sun Devils from competing in either meets last year ... The ASU men's 78-77 indoor win over Arizona on February 7 was the first win for the Sun Devils over their arch-rival, indoor or outdoor, since 1992 ... Freshman Arlaina Davis is one of two female Indiana athletes to be the state champion in the 100m, 200m, 400m in the same meet. The other? Former ASU great and Olympic gold medalist Maicel Malone ... sophomore Mary Duerbeck heads the female distance crew after leading the Sun Devil pack at every cross country meet in 1996, including a first-place finish at the ASU Invitational.

Return of the ASU Relay

At Arizona State, superb relay teams are as much a tradition as superb weather. At last week's Flagstaff Invitational, ASU returned to form with outstanding 4x400 performances from both its men and women. Due to an oversized track, ASU's times narrowly missed NCAA qualifying standards, but they were still impressive. ASU's men's team of LaVell Robinson-Blanchard, Tony Berrian, Brian Raspberry and Vondra Armour came within 0.13 of defeating the relay team for top-ranked Arkansas and recorded the third-fastest relay time (3:10.77) in ASU Indoor history. The women's squad of Arlaina Davis, Joronda White, Christy Winkle and Dawnyell Linder came in at 3:41.88.

Kraft-ing ASU's Program

Head coach Greg Kraft brought to ASU a reputation as a tremendous program builder after taking South Carolina's men to unprecedented heights and creating a national power on the women's side during a seven-year stint in Columbia. With its program in need of a major overhaul, there was not a better man for ASU's job than the 1996 SEC Coach of the Year. ASU's eighth head coach, Kraft is in his second season at ASU and is in the process of rebuilding ASU one step at a time. "You need to build it one step at a time," Kraft has said. "When I look at our team, obviously depth is not going to be one of our strengths. What we've tried to do is develop pockets of excellence in one particular area and move on from there."

Youth Movement

As Greg Kraft and his staff mold the ASU program, youth is an obvious trait and focus. After just seven scholarship freshman came to ASU in the three years previous to their arrival, the ASU coaching staff has littered the roster with freshmen. Twenty-six freshmen are on the current ASU roster - comprising half the ASU roster. In fact, 64 percent of ASU's roster is either freshmen or sophomores.

Men Defeat UofA

ASU began its indoor season last Saturday with a double dual at Flagstaff, Ariz., against in-state foes Arizona and Northern Arizona. The Sun Devils 78-77 win over the Wildcats was their first victory over their arch-rival, indoor or outdoor, since 1992 when ASU beat the 'Cats both inside and out. The Sun Devil men narrowly lost to NAU, 78-73. ASU's women lost to both the UofA and NAU: 86.5-60.5 and 80-57, respectively.

Inside the Numbers

A closer look at ASU's double dual against Arizona and NAU is quite revealing. ASU's men won a majority of events against both Arizona and NAU - capturing eight of 15 against the Lumberjacks and nine of 15 against the 'Cats. However, in a sign of depth problems, the events ASU lost - they lost big. Against NAU, the 'Jacks outscored the Devils 8-3 in five of the six events they won. Of the five events Arizona won, three were by an 8-3 count and another was 8-2. Meanwhile, of the 17 events ASU won against both schools, ASU scored 8 points just once.

Dancing Again

In basketball, they call it "The Big Dance," and if the same were true in track & field, Arizona State is able to return to the dance floor in 1998. Sanctions levied against the program for violations of a previous coaching staff included a one-year ban from conference and NCAA postseason meets last year. The two-year probation, which ends following this season, also included recruiting visit and scholarship restrictions. After being limited to 18 official visits and as few as 20 total scholarships, ASU's recruiting for next year will not be restricted in any way as Kraft will have the full compliment of visits and scholarships (30.6) to grant.

All-American Acclaim

Prior to last year's post-season ban, ASU had at least one female and one male indoor All-American for the previous seven seasons. Mika Laiho and Fiona Daly each earned All-American acclaim in 1996. Laiho placed fifth at the NCAAs with a toss of 66-0 in the 35-pound weight throw. His personal-best weight throw of 67-2 3/4, an ASU record by over 11 feet, came that season in the NAU/UofA Double Dual. Daly placed sixth in the high jump at the NCAAs in 1996 with a leap of 5-11 1/2. Daly's personal-best mark of 6-0 1/2 is the second-best mark in ASU indoor history.