June 14, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The final day of competition at the 2003 NCAA Track and Field Championships came to a close Saturday with the Arizona State women's track and field team securing two more All-America honors. Desiree Davila opened the evening with honors in the 5,000m run while the 4x400m relay team took sixth. As a team, the Sun Devil women placed 29th with nine points while the men did not score.
Davila entered the 5,000m race with the 11th-fastest time of the 16 competitors before finishing 10th in 16:30.26. After the field jumped out to an early lead with Davila in 10th, the Sun Devil sophomore fought back to remain in ninth for most of the race. Toward the end, she fell as high as 12th before surging at the line to take her final standing. Though she finished 10th with only the Top 8 runners being named All-Americans, Davila still earned All-America status as two athletes that finished ahead of her are international student-athletes. Davila joins three other 5,000m Sun Devil runners, including Kelly MacDonald (2001), Lynn Nelson (1984) and Kathy Minite (1979), as the only ASU women to earn the honor in the event. MacDonald also was an All-American in the indoor event twice (2000 and 2001).
With their sixth-place finish in the relay with a season-best time of 3:33.04, the Sun Devil quartet of Cassandra Reed, Kandace Tucker, Seneca Holmes and Joni Smith earned their first All-America honors in a relay event since the 1999 4x400m relay in the indoor season. It also marked the first outdoor accolade since the 1995 season. The relay team went out to take fifth after the first hand off then moved to fourth half way through. In the third leg, ASU fell to fifth before being passed at the line to finish sixth.
The All-America honor for the relay also marks the sixth time in school history ASU has earned honors in the 4x400m event with accolades gained in 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1995 with the 1991 team winning a national title.
With the conclusion of the NCAA Championships meet, the 2002-03 season comes to a close for the Sun Devils. Several of the teams' members will travel to Palo Alto, Calif., and Stanford University next weekend to compete in the USA Championships.
2003 NCAA Championships Sacramento, Calif. - Sacramento State University Day 4 Results (ASU ONLY) RUNNING EVENTS Women's 5,000m Run Final 10. Desiree Davila 16:30.26 Earns All-America Honors (8th American to finish)
Women's 4x400m Relay Final 6. Arizona State 3:33.04 Reed, Tucker, Holmes, Smith Earned All-America Honors
Women's Team Scores 1. LSU 64 2. Texas 50 3. South Carolina 47 4. Florida 36 5. Nebraska 33 T29. Arizona State 9