March 24, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 2006 ASU Invitational opened Friday night with members of the Arizona State University track and field team posting several strong marks in the hammer throw inside Sun Angel Stadium. Two women earned regional qualifying marks to pace the Sun Devils with one woman winning the event.
Sarah Stevens won the hammer for the second week in a row as she tossed a personal best 63.17m (207-03) to not only qualify for the NCAA regional meet later in the season, but also improve her second-longest toss in school history. Jessica Pressley, the school's record holder, finished third with a regional mark of 58.42m (191-08) while Sara Shisslak placed fifth with a personal best 53.69m (176-02). Her mark stands as the sixth-longest in ASU history.
On the men's side, Andrew Smith led the way as he placed ninth with a toss of 53.93m (176-11) while teammate Tomas Navarro was right behind him in 10th place at 53.86m (176-08). Andy Haas took 15th overall with a mark of 50.26m (164-11) while Jerry Blanco rounded out the Sun Devils in the event with a mark of 47.15m (154-08) to finish 18th. US Olympian A.G. Krueger of Ashland Elite won the event with a meet record toss of 74.16m (243-04).
The ASU Invitational continues Saturday with the field events leading off the competition at 10:30 a.m. with the women's discus while the running events starting at 5:30 p.m. with the short hurdles.