April 14, 2009
TEMPE – Arizona State University track and field student-athletes Charonda Williams and Sarah Stevens have been named the Pac-10 Conference Women’s Track and Women’s Field Athlete of the Week, respectively, following stellar performances at the 30th Sun Angel Track Classic that was held in Tempe over the weekend. The honors are the first of the season for the Sun Devils.
Williams earned the women’s track honor after she opened her individual race schedule on the outdoor track over the weekend and posted two impressive times. In the 200m dash at the Classic, Williams clocked in at a nation-leading 22.82 to finish second only to 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Kerron Stewart while also breaking the ASU school record of 22.91 (Maicel Malone, 1991) that had stood for 18 years. Later in the evening, Williams competed in her first 100m dash of the season and won the event, running 11.44, which is just 0.03 off her personal best. Between those two races, she anchored the 4x100m relay to a second-place showing with a time of 44.38, making her a part of three regional qualifying marks on the day.
Stevens regionally qualified in all three throwing events at the 30th Sun Angel Track Classic, including the shot put event that she won. In her first shot put competition of the outdoor season, the national indoor runner-up hit a toss of 18.00m (59-00.75) to win the event and move into the No. 2 position on the NCAA order lists for the 2009 outdoor season. She also posted improved marks in the discus (54.58m/179-01) and the hammer (64.87m/212-10) to move into the Top 5 nationally so far this season.
The Sun Devils return to action on the road this week as several athletes will travel to Walnut, Calif., to participate in the Mt. SAC Relays.
Pac-10 Athletes of the Week
Women’s Track: Charonda Williams - Arizona State
Women’s Field: Sarah Stevens - Arizona State
Men’s Track: Jeshua Anderson - Washington State
Men’s Field: Ryan Young - California