Track and field earns two Top 25 team finishes at NCAAs
The 2011 NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships came to a close inside Drake Stadium, June 12, in Des Moines, Iowa, where the Arizona State University track and field teams posted a pair of Top 25 finishes in the final competition of the 2011 collegiate season. Three Sun Devils competed on the final day of action and were led by Darius Terry, who finished 10th overall in the men’s 1,500m run to earn the program’s first All-America honor in the event.
Texas A&M captured both team titles with the women taking the crown with 49 points and the men and 55. The Sun Devil women scored 15 points to finish 19th overall with Oregon (45), LSU (43.5), Oklahoma (42) and Arizona (35) rounding out the Top 5. In the men’s standings, the Sun Devils scored 10 points to tie for 25th place with six other teams (Alabama, California, Illinois State, Virginia, Washington State) while the Top 5 behind TAMU included Florida State (54), Florida (53), LSU (46) and Virginia Tech (36).
On the track, Terry was in the mix in the race the whole way as the field began to spread out with one lap remaining. In the end, Terry wound up 10th overall in 3:46.52 and earned second-team All-America honors, securing the first All-America honor of any type in the event in ASU men’s history. With that honor earned, Sun Devil athletes have earned at least on All-America honor in every event contested on the track and in the field.
Two Sun Devils also competed in the field with Chris Benard jumping 15.39m (50-06.00) in the triple and finishing 19th overall in the competition. Anna Jelmini, the women’s discus runner-up three days earlier, also competed in the shot put and placed 23rd overall with a toss of 13.93m (45-08.50).
Saturday’s action concludes the collegiate season. Over the course of the last four days of competition, the Sun Devils collected nine All-America honors, including four first-team honors and five second-team honors. Leading the way was Jasmine Chaney, who earned first-team honors in the 400m hurdles and second-team honors in the 100m hurdles and with the 4x400m relay.
Also earning All-America status for the women were first-team honorees Jelmini (discus) and Christabel Nettey (long jump) and second-team honorees Samantha Henderson (heptathlon) and 4x400m relay runners Alycia Herring, Keia Pinnick, Kayla Sanchez and Chaney. Along with Terry, the men’s team was represented in the All-America listings by Jordan Clarke, who was a first-team honoree after winning the national title in the shot put.
Several Sun Devils, both current and former, will head to Eugene, Ore., in two weeks to compete in the USATF Outdoor Championships.
2011 NCAA Championship Finals (Des Moines, Iowa)
Sun Devil All-Americans
First Team Honorees
Jordan Clarke - Men’s Shot Put (NCAA Champion)
Anna Jelmini - Women’s Discus (2nd place)
Jasmine Chaney - Women’s 400m hurdles (4th place)
Christabel Nettey - Women’s Long Jump (7th place)
Second Team Honorees
Samantha Henderson - Women’s Heptathlon (9th place)
Darius Terry - Men’s 1,500m run (10th place)
Women’s 4x400m Relay (13th place)
- Alycia Herring, Keia Pinnick, Kayla Sanchez, Jasmine Chaney
Jasmine Chaney - Women’s 100m hurdles (15th place)
Day Four Results • Saturday, June 11
Men’s 1,500m Run - Final
10. Darius Terry - 3:46.52 - All-American
Women’s Shot Put - Final
23. Anna Jelmini - 13.93m (45-08.50)
Men’s Triple Jump - Final
19. Chris Benard - 15.39m (50-06.00)(+1.5)
Top 5 Team Scores
Women (final standings)
1. Texas A&M - 49.0
2. Oregon - 45.0
3. LSU - 43.5
4. Oklahoma - 42.0
5. Arizona - 35.0
19. Arizona State - 15.0
Men (final standings)
1. Texas A&M - 55.0
2. Florida State - 54.0
3. Florida - 53.0
4. LSU - 46.0
5. Virginia Tech - 36.0
t25. Arizona State - 10.0