March 9, 2007
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Behind the individual national title won by Sarah Stevens in the shot put, the No. 1 Arizona State University women's track and field team holds a slim edge in the team title race following the first day of action at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. The event, being held at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, started Friday with the Sun Devil women scoring 21 points to hold a slim margin over No. 3 LSU (20 points) and No. 4 Tennessee (19). The ASU men have two points are tied for 31st while No. 2 Wisconsin (20) leads the way.
Stevens captured her crown in impressive, and close, fashion as she recorded a winning mark of 18.16m (59-07.00). After leading the event from her first throw, Stevens' second toss was 18.11m with that mark holding until the final throw by defending NCAA champion Michelle Carter of Texas, who threw 18.12m (59-05.00). Stevens, the leader heading into the finals, has the final throw of the competition and recorded her winning mark to take her first national title. Her teammate, Jessica Pressley, placed third with her toss of 17.03m in the third round of the preliminaries. With her mark holding through the final round, Pressley earned six team points, giving the Sun Devils 16 points in the first scored event of the championships.
The shot put victory was the first for the Sun Devils indoors and marked the second time in program history the event was won by an ASU student-athlete after Shane Collins won the men's event at the 1990 outdoor championships. In the history of the NCAA indoor meet, the Sun Devil women had won only one field event title with Coleen Rienstra taking the high jump crown at the 1981 meet.
The women picked up another five points for their team total after Amy Hastings placed fourth in the 5,000m run, clocking a time of 15:52.10. The defending champion, Hastings fought hard to stave off any challengers from behind after the front three took the race out fast. Jenna Kingma and Ali Kielty both competed in the race, placing 15th in 16:24.44 and 16th in 17:58.83, respectively.
Joshua Kinnaman opened the first day of the championships for the Sun Devils by competing in the heptathlon. Kinnaman clocked a 7.10 in the 60m dash to score 854 points and place third overall. He then placed sixth in the long jump with a mark of 6.94m (22-09.25) to earn another 799 points, but slipped to fifth overall through two events with 1,646 points. Next up was the shot put where his mark of 13.73m (45-00.50) garnered another 712 points and a seventh place finish in the event, but he moved up one position to fourth overall with 2,358 points. In the final event of the day, the high jump, Kinnaman cleared 1.98m (6-6.00) to score 785 points and finish tied for sixth. With 3,143 points, Kinnaman again climbed one place to third in the overall standings through Day One.
Also for the men, Matt Turner competed in the long jump and placed seventh in his first NCAA indoor meet as his preliminary round mark of 7.62m (25-00.00) stood throughout the event. He placed third in his preliminary flight and stood seventh overall before heading to the finals where he scored a mark of 7.39m followed by two fouls.
The Championships continue through Saturday night.
2007 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships
at Fayetteville, Ark. (Randal Tyson Track Center)
Men's Heptathlon - Day One
Joshua Kinnaman
Event #1 - 60m Dash - 7.10 - 854 points (3rd in event/3rd overall at 854 points)
Event #2 - Long Jump - 6.94m (22-09.25) - 799 points (6th in event/5th overall at 1,646 points)
Event #3 - Shot Put - 13.73m (45-00.50) - 712 points (7th in event/4th overall at 2,358 points)
Event #4 - High Jump - 1.98m (6-06.00) - 785 points (t-6th in event/3rd overall at 3,143 points)
Women's Shot Put Finals
Sarah Stevens - 18.16m (59-07.00) - National Champion and All-American (mark is a school record)
Jessica Pressley - 17.03m (45-00.50) - Third Place and All-American
Men's Long Jump Finals
Matt Turner - 7.63m (25-00.50) - Seventh Place and All-American
Women's 5,000m Run Finals
Amy Hastings - 15:52.10 - Fourth Place and All-American
Jenna Kingma - 16:24.44 - 15th Place
Ali Kielty - 17:58.83 - 16th Place