Jelmini wins gold at NACAC Championships

Anna Jelmini, a member of the Arizona State University track and field program, represented the United States in a pair of events on the first of three days of competition at the NACAC Under-23 Track & Field Championships in Miramar, Fla., on Friday and posted a pair of Top 2 finishes, including the gold medal in the discus. Jelmini, who redshirted her first season with the Sun Devils in 2010, added a second-place finish in the shot put as well.

In a rare occurrence, Jelmini, who will be a redshirt freshman for the Sun Devils during the 2011 season, competed in both throws on the same day and opened with the discus, which she won with a toss of 56.70m. Later in the day, she was back in the ring in the shot put and took silver with a toss of 16.58m. Fellow American Karen Shump won the shot put with a mark of 17.43m.

The NACAC Championships are held every two years in one of the 32 member nations of the North America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) Athletic Association, which is one of six regional athletics associations affiliated with the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations), the governing body of the sport. Since 2004, Jelmini is the ninth different Sun Devil to compete in the event. Her gold medal in the discus is the eighth won by a Sun Devils while her silver medal in the shot put is one of 11 Top 3 finishes at the Championships.

Under the direction of 2010 USTFCCCA Men’s Division I Indoor and Outdoor National Assistant Coach of the Year David Dumble, three ASU throwers have competed in the NACAC event in the past two meets and have combined to win four golds and two silvers. Jelmini’s win in the discus gives ASU a sweep of three weight events after Sarah Stevens won the shot put and hammer in 2008. That same year, Ryan Whiting won the shot put and took second in the discus.

6th NACAC Under-23 Championships
Miramar, Fla.
Women’s Discus
1. Anna Jelmini (USA) - 56.70m

Women’s Shot Put
2. Anna Jelmini (USA) - 16.58m

Sun Devils in the NACAC Under-23 Championships
1st NACAC (2000) - Monterrey, MEX
No Sun Devils competed

2nd NACAC (2002) - San Antonio, TX
No Sun Devils competed

3rd NACAC (2004) - Sherbrooke, CAN
Jacquelyn Johnson - W Heptathlon - 1st (5,485 points)
Cassandra Reed - W4x400m - 1st (3:29.10)

4th NACAC (2006) - Santo Domingo, DR
Jenna Kingma - W 5,000m - 5th (17:07.54)
Jacquelyn Johnson - W Heptathlon - 4th (5,436 points)
Aaron Aguayo - M 5,000m - 1st (14:54.55)
Ryan Warrenburg - M Steeple - 3rd (9:11.36)

5th NACAC (2008) - Toluca, MEX
Sarah Stevens - W Hammer - 1st (62.79m)
Sarah Stevens - W Shot Put - 1st (16.04m)
Ryan Whiting - M Shot Put - 1st (19.46m)
Ryan Whiting - M Discus - 2nd (53.47m)
Matt Turner - M Long Jump - 1st (7.96m)

6th NACAC (2010) - Miramar, FL
Anna Jelmini - W Discus - 1st (56.70m)
Anna Jelmini - W Shot Put - 2nd (16.58m)

ASU’s All-Time NACAC U23 Champions
Heptathlon - Johnson (2004)
W 4x400m - Reed (2004)
W Hammer - Stevens (2008)
W Discus - Stevens (2008), Jelmini (2010)
M 5,000m - Aguayo (2006)
M Shot Put - Whiting (2008)
M Long Jump - Turner (2008)