MPSF meet awaits track & field in Seattle

Sun Devil Meet Notes & Top Marks (pdf)

The Arizona State University track and field team will travel to Seattle and the Dempsey Indoor Facility on the Washington campus this week to compete in the 2011 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Indoor Championships, which will take place on Friday and Saturday. The meet opens on Friday with the men’s weight throw at 12:35 p.m. PT and on Saturday at 11 a.m. PT with the heptathlon 60m hurdles, women’s pole vault, men’s triple jump, men’s high jump and men’s shot put. The meet will be a scored team event.

OUT OF THE BLOCKS
• The ASU women are #25 in this week’s USTFCCCA Top 25 rankings
• In the West, both squads are ranked No. 4 this week
• Live Results: http://www.gohuskies.com/livestats/c-track/022511/index.htm
• Meet the field: 11 schools make up the MPSF
• Both Sun Devil teams took fourth place at the 2010 MPSF with 7 titles won
• ASU holds the MPSF-leading mark in five total events (3 women, 2 men)
• Six Sun Devils are among the Top 8 in multiple events in the MPSF
• Chaney ranked in the Top 10 nationally and in the world at 200m
• Two former Sun Devils also on the world Top 20 lists
• Chaney a part of four times that rank in the Top 13 nationally
• Elite company: Chaney is 1-of-3 women to rank Top 20 in 200m, 400m
• Pinnick posts big personal best in 400m
• Jelmini leads the nation’s freshman class in the women’s shot put
• In the ASU Top 10: 10 marks recorded at Lumberjack Invitational
• ASU wins 13 events at the Lumberjack Invite; sweeps both team titles
• Five rookies won events in Flagstaff over the weekend

IN THE RANKINGS: USTFCCCA TOP 25
The USTFCCCA released the National Top 25 rankings for the week with the Sun Devil women slipped five spots to No. 25 this week despite another strong showing at the Lumberjack Invitational. The men are not among the Top 25 teams based upon points earned from positioning on the NCAA descending order lists.

IN THE RANKINGS: USTFCCCA WEST REGION
In the West region rankings, the men rose two spots to No. 4 this week while the women remained at No. 4 for the third week in a row.

LIVE RESULTS
The Washington web site (gohuskies.com) will have live updates of the results from the MPSF Championships throughout the meet. Visit the track and field page or by clicking on this link for the results: http://www.gohuskies.com/livestats/c-track/022511/index.htm.

IN THE FIELD
The MPSF is comprised mainly of Pac-10 Conference teams with three teams from the Big West bringing the MPSF Championships to an 11-team event. The Pac-10 members in the field include Arizona State, Arizona, California, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, Washington and Washington State while the Big West representatives include CS Northridge, Long Beach State and UC Irvine.

QUICK RECAP: 2010 MPSF
Both Sun Devil teams finished fourth in the 2010 MPSF Championships with UCLA taking the men’s title and Oregon the women’s. Arizona State captured seven titles, including three by the women and the four by the men. The women’s champions included Jasmine Chaney in the 400m dash (53.83); the 4x400m relay of Dominique’ Maloy, Keia Pinnick, Kayla Sanchez and Chaney (3:38.40); and Constance Ezugha in the long jump (6.45m/21-02.00). On the men’s side, winners included Lawrence Trice in the 60m dash (6.68); Donald Sanford in the 400m dash (46.19); Mason McHenry in the 800m run (1:48.89); and the 4x400m relay of Allante Battle, Justin Kremer, Joel Phillip and Sanford (3:07.38).

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS!
Heading into the MPSF Championships this weekend, the Sun Devils have five of the top marks in the league, including three by the women and two by the men. Jasmine Chaney is part of all three women’s leading marks, including the top times in the 200m dash (23.16) and 400m dash (53.37) and as part of the 4x400m relay with Dominique’ Maloy, Keia Pinnick and Kayla Sanchez (3:35.99). The men’s 4x400m relay of Allante Battle, Kelsey Caesar, John Kline and William Henry lead the way with a time of 3:10.85 while Jordan Clarke has the top mark in the shot put (18.67m/61-03.00).

MULTIPLE TOP 8 MARKS
Four men and two women enter the MPSF Championships with more than one mark that ranks them among the Top 8 in the league with both women holding Top 8 marks in three events and all four men holding two each. For the women, Jasmine Chaney is first in both the 200m and 400m while standing second in the 60m hurdles while Dominique’ Maloy sits third in the 200m, fourth in the 400m and seventh in the 60m dash. On the men’s side, Daniel Auberry is second in the 60m dash and seventh in the 200m; William Henry is third in the 400m and eighth in the 200m; Chris Benard is second in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump; and Jordan Clarke is first in the shot put and fourth in the weight throw.

WORLD RANKINGS
According to the most recent update of the World Top 20 lists, current Sun Devil Jasmine Chaney and two former Sun Devils are currently ranked in their respective events. On the women’s side, Chaney stands tied for eighth in the 200m dash at 23.16 while Charonda Williams, in the same event, is 13th at 23.24. On the men’s side, Ryan Whiting remains the world leader in the shot put with his toss of 21.31m.

OFF THE CHANEY
In recent weeks, Jasmine Chaney has put herself into the national rankings in three individual events and one relay for the Sun Devils, with all four of those times she is a part of ranking in the Top 13 nationally and in the Top 10 all-time in Sun Devil history. On the national lists, Chaney is currently seventh in the 200m (23.16), 10th in the 400m dash (53.37) and 13th in the 60m hurdles (8.22) while also helping the relay of Dominique’ Maloy, Kayla Sanchez and Keia Pinnick run 3:35.99, the ninth-best time in the nation.

ELITE COMPANY
Looking at the NCAA descending order lists, Chaney is in rare company this week as she is one of three women nationally to rank in the Top 20 in both the 200m and 400m dash events. Jessica Beard of Texas A&M is No. 1 in both events while Chaney ranks seventh (200m) and 10th (400m). The third woman on the list is Shavon Greaves of Penn State, who ranks 10th (200m) and 13th (400m). In fact, when you expand your look at the national lists, Chaney is the only woman in the nation to have run a time that ranks her in the Top 20 in the 60m hurdles and the 200m dash this year.

IN THE TOP 20
Through the first four weeks of competition for the Sun Devils, eight women’s marks currently rank in the national Top 20, including two by freshmen and two by one sophomore. Jasmine Chaney leads the way as she is seventh in the 200m (23.16), 10th in the 400m (53.37) and 13th in the 60m hurdles (8.22) while Keia Pinnick is 19th in the 400m (53.73) and 16th in the pentathlon (3,908). The sophomore standout and Chaney both also helped the 4x400m relay to the ninth-best time (3:35.99) so far this year. The remaining two Top 20 marks come in the field from rookies as Anna Jelmini stands 12th in the shot put at 16.68m while Shaylah Simpson is 15th in the pole vault at 4.20m. The men have a pair of Top 20 individuals this week as well with Chris Benard standing 13th in the triple jump (15.80m) and Jordan Clarke standing 14th in the shot put (18.67m).

LEADING HER CLASS
With her toss of 16.68m in the shot put at the Texas A&M Conference Challenge two weeks ago, Jelmini not only posted a big improvement in her season best, she also put herself on the national lists as the top performing freshman in the event. Jelmini is in position to earn a berth into the NCAA Championships in her first season competing for the Sun Devils and has two more weeks to improve her mark and perhaps hit the automatic qualifying standard of 16.80m.

HUGE RUN
Last year, Keia Pinnick’s best run in the indoor 400m dash produced a time of 55.32 before she hit the outdoor surfaces and ran 55.48. Two weeks ago, in her first 400m dash competition of the season, the national qualifier in the outdoor 400m hurdles lowered her personal-best time in the open quarter to 53.73. That time, which ranks 19th in the nation currently, is the seventh-best time in ASU history.

IN THE TOP 10 ALL-TIME
At the Lumberjack Invitational in Flagstaff last Saturday, 10 marks were recorded by Sun Devils that rank in the school’s all-time Top 10 record lists. Kayla Sanchez and Asia Gooden ran the seventh (7.51) and ninth-best (7.59) times in the 60m dash while Sanchez added the eighth-best time in the 200m dash by running 24.08. Samantha Henderson posted a time of 8.71 in the 60m hurdles to run the eighth-best time in program history while Ashley Lampley (17.45m) and Cj Navarro (17.29m) recorded the sixth and seventh-best marks in the hammer, respectively. On the men’s side, the 60m hurdles produced to Top 10 times as Jamie Sandys ran 8.64 (sixth) and Austin Prince ran 9.07 (10th). In the field, Chris Benard’s mark of 15.80m in the triple jump ranks fifth all-time while Jordan Clarke moved up to sixth in the shot put with his toss of 18.67m.

WINS A PLENTY
Arizona State captured 13 event titles at the Lumberjack Invitaitonal, including seven wins by the men and six from the women. Daniel Auberry led the charge for the men by winning the 60m dash (6.76) and the 200m dash (21.52) while William Henry won the 400m dash (47.27) to lead a 1-2-3 finish for ASU. In the field, Bryan McBride won the high jump (2.05m), Chris Benard won the triple jump (15.80m) and Jordan Clarke won the shot put (18.67m) while Austin Prince, Corey Phallen and Dylan Austin all tied for the win in the pole vault with identical clearances of 4.91m. On the women’s side, Dominique’ Maloy (23.90) and Keia Pinnick (54.96) won the 200m and 400m events, respectively, for ASU’s wins on the track. In the field, Samantha Henderson won the high jump (1.64m); Shaylah Simpson won the pole vault (4.00m); Christabel Nettey won the long jump (6.18m) and Anna Jelmini won the shot put (16.44m).

SWEEPS
There were five events that the Sun Devil team swept in both genders. Those events included the 200m dash, 400m dash, high jump, pole vault and shot put. The Sun Devils also swept the team titles at the Lumberjack Invitational with the women winning the nine-team race and the men defeating five other teams. The women scored 112 points to edge San Diego State (102) with Northern Arizona (67), Arizona (60) and both CS Bakersfield and Grand Canyon (23) rounding out the Top 5. The men scored 157 points to take the team title with NAU (105), GCU (60), UA (32) and CSUB (20) rounding out the Top 5.

ROOKIES PRODUCING
Of those 13 victories, five were won by Sun Devil rookies, three of which are true freshman. Those true freshman that won include Shaylah Simpson in the women’s pole vault; William Henry in the men’s 400m dash and Bryan McBride in the men’s high jump. Anna Jelmini (women’s shot put) and Dylan Austin (one of three to tie for the win in the men’s pole vault) are both redshirt freshman for ASU.

UP AND OVER
Perhaps one of the best debuts for a Sun Devil came in the women’s pole vault as true freshman Shaylah Simpson won the event in collegiate debut, clearing 4.20m (13-09.50). Having just missed on her attempt at the NCAA Automatic qualifying mark of 4.30m, Simpson put her name on the Arizona State record books at No. 2 all-time, behind April Kubishta, who cleared 4.30m (14-01.25) to take second at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships. Simpson, who ranks tied for eighth in the nation right now, is now only the fourth Sun Devil woman to clear 13-feet during an indoor competition in program history.

MORE ON THE VAULT
Two other vaulters also had a strong first weekend as both Cara Carpenter and Corey Phallen posted all-time Top 10 marks. In the women’s event, Carpenter cleared 3.90m (12-09.50) to tie for third place and moved up to fifth on the all-time Sun Devil lists. In the men’s vault, Phallen, back on the runway after redshirting last season, cleared 5.22m (17-01.25) to move into fourth all-time at ASU and become only the fourth Sun Devil man to clear 17-feet in an indoor competition. Phallen currently ranks 17th in the nation with his clearance.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Four men and four women on the roster in 2011 enter the season having earned All-America honors at some point in their careers, including two men (both outdoor) and two women (one indoor and one outdoor) that earned that distinction last year. In 2010, Constance Ezugha (indoor long jump) and Jasmine Chaney (outdoor 400m hurdles) both earned honors for the women while the men’s team has Allante Battle (outdoor 4x400m) and Jordan Clarke (outdoor shot put) returning. Also returning for the men this season are a pair of 800m All-Americans in Nectaly Barbosa (indoor 800m) and Mason McHenry (outdoor 800m). On the women’s side, the Sun Devils have Cj Navarro (outdoor discus) returning along with Dominique’ Maloy, who has collected six career honors, the most of any Sun Devil on the 2011 roster.

LAST HURRAH
Last week marked the start of a new season, as well as the beginning of the end for 13 seniors. The 2011 roster features six women and seven men that are seniors this year, including a pair of men that also are in their first year with the program. On the women’s side, the seniors include Jasmine Chaney, Samantha Henderson, Dominique’ Maloy, Cherise McNair, Brianna Smith and Anna Young (formerly Sperry). The men’s seniors include Nectaly Barbosa, Ian Caracciolo, Ben Engelhardt, Casey Fonnesbeck, Corey Phallen, Michael Rodriguez and Zeke Van Patten. The two men that are in their first seasons with the program are Fonnesbeck, who graduated from Illinois last year and has one more year of eligibility as a graduate student at ASU, and Rodriguez, who spent the past three years on ASU’s club team.

WHO’S THE NEW KID?
Twenty-seven athletes, including 10 women and 17 men, have joined the Sun Devil program for the first time in 2011. The true freshmen include women Sarah Geren, Asia Gooden, Taylor Hagood, Alex Hartig, Kelsea Hawkins, Alycia Herring, Maddie Nossek and Shaylah Simpson and men Garrett Baker-Slama, Jordan Benesh, Justin Freeman, Jared Gonzales, Ryan Healy, William Henry, Brody Howe, Erik Lindahl, Bryan McBride, Jesus Molina, Jesus Rivera and Kevin Scheuerman. The non-rookie newcomers include women Eliza Gawryluk (junior) and Hailey Hanna (junior) and men Daniel Auberry (junior), Chris Benard (junior), Casey Fonnesbeck (graduate student), Giorgio Giurdanella (junior) and Michael Rodriguez (senior).

NO RETURNING CHAMPIONS IN 2011
In 1996, Pal Arne Fagernes won the men’s javelin title at the NCAA Championships. It was not until 2004 that Arizona State had another national champion as Jacquelyn Johnson won the outdoor heptathlon as a true freshman. Starting in 2005, ASU had at least one returning NCAA champion on its roster for six years in a row, a streak that comes to an end this season because of graduation. The 2010 and 2009 rosters featured two returning individuals each (Ryan Whiting and Jason Lewis in 2010, Whiting and Sarah Stevens in 2009) while the 2008 roster featured four returning champions in Johnson, Stevens, Jessica Pressley and April Kubishta, all who won titles in 2007.

SAME TEAMMATE, DIFFERENT TEAM
As the season begins, there are 19 Sun Devils on the roster that were teammates before they came to Arizona State, including transfers from two colleges and five high schools represented. Prior to their joining the Sun Devils, Eliza Gawryluk, Cameron Liston and Darius Terry all were teammates at Northern Arizona while both Daniel Auberry and Chris Benard join the team this season after two years together at Riverside Community College. Teammates have been reunited from five high schools as well, including four from the Valley. Freshmen Asia Gooden and Alycia Herring are both starting their first years with ASU after running together at Ranch Verde HS in California. Locally, Desert Vista is represented by Allante Battle, Matt Boughton, John Kline, Cory Kraft and Shaylah Simpson; Sandra Day O’Connor is represented by Camille Olson, Lindsay Prescott and Bryan McBride; Corona del Sol has Garrett Baker-Slama and Josh Walker; and Boulder Creek alums include Roger Dolan and Daniel Lovell.

RECAP: 2010 WAS WHITING’S YEAR
Ryan Whiting was clearly one of the top collegiate competitors in the nation in 2010, winning NCAA titles in all three events he entered and earning a place in the Top 3 finalists of the Bowerman Award (collegiate track & field athlete of the year). The winner of the indoor shot put for the third year in a row, the outdoor shot put for the second year in a row and the discus champion, Whiting ended his career as the Track & Field News Male Athlete of the Year, USTFCCCA Co-National Field Athlete of the Year (outdoor), Pac-10 Co-Field Athlete of the Year, Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the prestigious Pac-10 Tom Hansen Medal of Honor recipient. Whiting, who graduated from ASU in May and is pursuing a Master’s degree at Penn State while competing professionally, closed out his days on campus as the NCAA record holder in the indoor shot put (21.73m) and second all-time in the outdoor shot put (21.97m), just three 3cm shy of the record mark on his final collegiate attempt.

DUMBLE HONORED TWICE
In a vote of coaches around the nation, Sun Devil throws coach David Dumble was selected as the 2010 USTFCCCA Men’s Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year, both indoors and outdoors. The West Region honoree both indoor and outdoor as well, Dumble has now been selected for the national honor for the fourth and fifth times, respectively, and the first on the men’s side of competition. He was honored for his efforts with the women’s throws three times previously as well.

ACADEMICALLY SOUND: USTFCCCA HONORS MEN
In the classroom, numerous Sun Devils found great success, led by Ryan Whiting, who was named the USTFCCCA Division I Indoor & Outdoor Field Scholar of the Year. Whiting, one of 13 Sun Devils to earn national all-academic honors from the USTFCCCA, also led the way for the ASU men, who also were named the USTFCCCA Division I Outdoor Scholar Team of the Year.

PROGRAM RANKING
In 2010, the USTFCCCA began a new award to be handed out annually to the top all-around program in the nation and naming the men’s award after former Arkansas coach, John McDonnell. Based on points earned in national team finishes at the three NCAA events (cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field) with the lowest total winning, the Sun Devil men finished second overall in the inaugural awarding with 30 points while Oregon earned the trophy with 7.5 points. Arizona State, who finished ahead of Northern Arizona (42.5), Florida State (51.0) and Washington (55.0), scored finishes of 19th at the cross country meet, seventh indoors and fourth outdoors. ASU is not in the running for the 2010-11 award as the cross country team did not score as a team at the 2010 championships.

SETTING THE PACE: ENGELHARDT
Senior Ben Engelhardt was led the way for the Sun Devil men’s cross country team during the 2010, earning a berth into the NCAA Championships as an individual qualifier where he finished 51st overall in the national meet. An All-West Region honoree (13th place) and Second Team All-Pac-10 selection (14th place), Engelhardt was the team’s top finisher in all but one race on the season and placed in the Top 20 in five races, including 18th at the NCAA Pre-National Meet.

SETTING THE PACE: PRESCOTT
On the women’s side, the 2010 cross country team was led by the emergence of Lindsay Prescott, who was the team’s top finisher in all six races she entered. The runner-up at the Dave Murray Invitational, Prescott earned Second Team All-Pac-10 honors after placing ninth overall at the conference meet, one of three meets in which she placed in the Top 10. She added Top 25 finishes at the NCAA Pre-National Meet (17th) and the Roy Griak Invitational (22nd).

CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS: ACADEMIC
At the end of the season, 11 different Sun Devils earned Academic All-Pac-10 honors in cross country, including four Sun Devils (three men, one woman) that were selected for first team recognition. Catherine Loden, Ben Engelhardt, Nick Happe and Steven Schnieders all were selected First Team Academic All-Pac-10 while Daniel Lovell and Doug Smith were Second Team Academic All-Pac-10 selections. Earning honorable mention were Alyssa Allison, Kate Lydy, Karlee Owens and Kauren Tarver for the women and Cameron Liston for the men.

KRAFT LEADS THE WAY
Head Coach Greg Kraft is entering his 15th year as the leader of the Sun Devil program, a tenure that has brought Arizona State back to the top of the standings in both the NCAA and Pac-10 events. Since his hiring, the program has continued to evolve into one of the more well-rounded in the nation with strength on the track and in the field as well as in cross country. Kraft and his staff have worked diligently to reach their goals of championships and success in education and that has not been more clearly seen than in the past five years as the hardware has continued to roll in. His program has annually produced some of the top individuals in the nation with 23 of the program’s 55 individual and relay national titles won since 2004 while both his teams and individual student-athletes have garnered national academic acclaim. Prior to his arrival, the program boasted one NCAA Championship (men’s outdoor track & field, 1977) and one Pac-10 Championship (men’s outdoor track & field, 1981). In the last five years, his Sun Devils have captured four national crowns (2007 women’s indoor and outdoor track & field, 2008 men’s and women’s indoor track & field) and added three Pac-10 Championships (women’s outdoor track & field, 2006-08). Kraft’s teams have finished in the Top 10 of the NCAA Track & Field Championships on 20 occasions in 14 years while the program had done so just 14 times prior to his arrival in Tempe.

LONG TENURE IN TEMPE
As he begins his 15th year at Arizona State, Kraft’s tenure ranks as the second-longest in Sun Devil track & field history and the fourth-longest active streak among all current ASU head coaches. The only coach that has led the track & field program longer than Kraft is legendary coach Senon ‘Baldy’ Castillo, who led the way for 26 years (1954-79). Among current Sun Devil head coaches, Kraft’s 15th year ranks behind John Spini, who is in his 31st year with gymnastics; Sheila McInerney, who is in her 27th year with women’s tennis; and Randy Lein, who is in his 19th year with the men’s golf program.

NEXT TIME OUT
The Last Chance Meets await the team on March 4-5 before the NCAA Indoor Championships take place on March 11-12 at College Station, Texas. One month from last weekend, the team will open the outdoor season by hosting the Baldy Castillo Invitational.