ASU track and field takes five more Pac-10 crowns

Charonda Williams became the only woman in Pac-10 history to successfully defend a sweep of the short sprints while Sarah Stevens added her fifth career title and Brandon Bethke his first as the Pac-10 Track & Field Championships came to a close Sunday afternoon at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The Arizona State University women's team finished third overall while the men took sixth in the two-day event hosted by Oregon.

The host Ducks swept the team titles with the women winning with 165.5 points and the men with 158. In the women's standings, Stanford took second (138) while the Sun Devils were third (112), USC (108) was fourth and UCLA (79.5) was fifth. On the men's side, USC was second (117) with Stanford (93), Washington State (91), UCLA (90) and ASU (87) rounding a closely-bunched race for the Top 5.

Sunday opened with Williams earning the first of her three crowns on the day as she anchored the team of Dominique' Maloy, Shauntel ElcockJasmine Chaney to a winning time of 44.10 in the 4x100m relay. Then, she blasted the field in the 100m dash with a school-record time of 11.14, the fourth-fastest time in the nation this year. Her time also was the third that bested the previous school mark of 11.33 (Sharon Ware, 1983) as she has run 11.29 before running 11.26 in the preliminary round the day before. and

Williams then solidified her place in Pac-10 history by running 23.05 to claim the 200m dash crown, giving her a sweep of the 100m and 200m events for the second year in a row. In the history of the conference championships, Williams is the only to win both events in consecutive years while becoming only the second woman to repeat the double was Torri Edwards (USC), who won the 100m and 200m in 1996 and 1999. Williams closed her day as the anchor of the runner-up 4x400m relay team (Elcock, Jeavon Benjamin and Chaney) that ran 3:36.31.

The other multiple champion on the weekend came in the field events as Stevens continued her success at the Pac-10 meet by adding the discus crown to her win in the shot put from one day earlier and bringing her career conference title haul to six (three shot put, two discus and one hammer). Stevens opened the day by taking second in the hammer throw with a toss of 63.92m before she captured the discus with a season-best mark of 57.21m. For the weekend, Stevens collected 28 of the team's points and earned the Pac-10 Female High Point Award. She also ended her career with 101 points after scoring 21, 26, 26 and 28 points in her four years at the meet.

The final championship for the Sun Devils came on the men's side as Bethke ran a smart race to edge out the victory at the line in the 5,000m run with a time of 13:52.73. Only the second Sun Devil to ever win the event at the Pac-10 meet (Kyle Alcorn, 2008), Bethke hung with the pack before a small group of four surged ahead. With one lap remaining, a group of three broke away and then, with 200m to go, Bethke made his move before holding off Oregon's Shadrick Biwot, who finished second in 13:52.79.

The sprints also produced several solid finishes for both the men and the women. Maloy, a member of the winning 4x100m relay, came back and placed third in the 100m dash (11.45) before giving ASU a 1-2 finish in the 200m dash as she took second to Williams in 23.45. Chaney, a member of both relays, made her return to the Pac-10 meet quite impressive as she placed third in the 400m hurdles (58.58) after taking sixth in the 100m hurdles (13.70). The women's sprints also received points from Benjamin (4th in the 400m) and Kayla Sanchez (7th in the 400m hurdles).

A pair of men scored in the Top 4 in both the 100m and 200m on the day with one runner having to earn a third-place finish practically by himself. Allante Battle, a true freshman, tied for the final position in the 100m dash and ran with one other runner in the first heat of event, winning the heat in 10.49. After the rest of finalists ran in the second heat, his time was good enough for third overall while teammate Marcus Duncan was right behind him at 10.50. The duo switched places in the 200m dash as Duncan was third in 21.14 and Battle fourth in 21.32.

In the field, the women picked up their final points as freshman Cj Navarro recorded a personal-best and the 10th-best in program history mark of 51.59m in the discus to place third overall. The field also produced several points for the men's side as three individuals secured points. In the discus, Jason Lewis took third overall at 58.09m while Ryan Whiting was fifth in 56.70m. Jeremy Egboro also scored as he took seventh in the triple jump (14.97m).

The Sun Devils will have a week off from competition before returning to Eugene on May 29-30 for the NCAA West Region Championships.

Meet Highlights - 2009 Pac-10 Championships, Day 2
Sunday, May 17 • Eugene, Ore.
Pac-10 Champions - WOMEN
Charonda Williams - 100m dash - 11.14 (school record)
Charonda Williams - 200m dash - 23.05
Sarah Stevens - Discus - 57.21m
Arizona State `A' - 4x100m relay - 44.10

Pac-10 Champions - MEN
Brandon Bethke - 5,000m run - 13:52.73

Point Scorers (Top 8) - WOMEN
Charonda Williams - 100m dash - 11.14 - 1st place (10 points)
Charonda Williams - 200m dash - 23.05 - 1st place (10 points)
Sarah Stevens - Discus - 57.21m - 1st place (10 points)
Arizona State `A' - 4x100m relay - 44.10 - 1st place (10 points)
Dominique' Maloy - 200m dash - 23.45 - 2nd place (8 points)
Sarah Stevens - Hammer - 63.92m - 2nd place (8 points)
Arizona State `A' - 4x400m relay - 3:36.31 - 2nd place (8 points)
Dominique' Maloy - 100m dash - 11.45 - 3rd place (6 points)
Jasmine Chaney - 400m hurdles - 58.58 - 3rd place (6 points)
Cj Navarro - Discus - 51.59m - 3rd place (6 points)
Jeavon Benjamin - 400m dash - 53.72 - 4th place (5 points)
Jasmine Chaney - 100m hurdles - 13.70 - 6th place (3 points)
Kayla Sanchez - 400m hurdles - 1:00.55 - 7th place (2 points)

Point Scorers (Top 8) - MEN
Brandon Bethke - 5,000m run - 13:52.73 - 1st place (10 points)
Allante Battle - 100m dash - 10.49 - 3rd place (6 points)
Marcus Duncan - 200m dash - 21.14 - 3rd place (6 points)
Jason Lewis - Discus - 58.09m - 3rd place (6 points)
Arizona State `A' - 4x100m relay - 40.32 - 3rd place (6 points)
Marcus Duncan - 100m dash - 10.50 - 4th place (5 points)
Allante Battle - 200m dash - 21.32 - 4th place (5 points)
Arizona State `A' - 4x400m relay - 3:09.96 - 4th place (5 points)
Ryan Whiting - Discus - 56.70m - 5th place (4 points)
Brandon Bethke - 1,500m run - 3:52.54 - 7th place (2 points)
Jeremy Egboro - Triple Jump - 14.97m - 7th place (2 points)

ASU All-Time Top 10 Marks Recorded - WOMEN
Charonda Williams - 100m dash - 11.14 - school record
Cj Navarro - Discus - 51.59m - 9th all-time

ASU All-Time Top 10 Marks Recorded - MEN
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