May 22, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. - With one week remaining prior to the NCAA West Region Championships, several members of the Arizona State University track and field teams took one final opportunity to tune-up for the post season meet by competing in the Tucson Elite Invitational held Saturday at the Roy P. Drachman Stadium on the Arizona campus. In all, the Sun Devils combined to win four events, place 13 among the Top 3 finishers and tally 13 marks that would qualify for regional entrance.
Kandace Tucker led the charge as she won the 100m dash (11.78) and the 200m dash (23.67) with the later qualifying for the regional meet and Christina Hardeman captured the 400m dash (55.64) to round out the victors for the women. The lone victory on the men's side came in the javelin as Brad Roth threw a career-best 63.12m (207-01) to break the 200-foot mark for the first time this season.
For the women, Jessica Pressley turned in three strong performances as she finished second in the shot put (17.02m/55-10.25) and third in both the discus (52.50m/173-3) and hammer (63.25m/207-6). Her shot put mark fell one centimeter short of the school record mark of 17.03m (55-10.50) that was set in 1983 by Leslie Deniz. Pressley joins Deniz as the lone Sun Devil women to record a mark of over 17 meters. Also in the record books, hammer thrower Travis Jones recorded his second personal best of the season as he moved to No. 4 on the ASU all-time lists with a mark of 59.50m (195-2).
The women saw the following student-athletes record marks that qualify them for the regional meet: Tucker (200m dash), Angela Tavlarides (pole vault at 4.00m), Pressley (shot put, hammer and discus), Julia Pedersen (shot put at 15.72m and discus at 52.55m) and Jennifer Kowacz (shot put at 15.04m and hammer at 55.23m). The men qualified Lewis Banda (400m dash at 45.94), Jones (discus at 53.73m and hammer) and Roth (javelin).
Next up for the Sun Devils is a trip north to Eugene, Ore., for the 2005 NCAA West Region Championships that will be hosted by Oregon May 27-28.