April 14, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. - Great weather and great competition made for another successful home meet for the Arizona State University track and field program Saturday night as the Sun Devils turned in solid performances at the 28th Sun Angel Track Classic presented by Coca-Cola on Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe. In all, six total events were won by Sun Devil competitors, including a sweep of the discus and shot put events, while 25 regional berths were attained.
Sarah Stevens and Ryan Whiting led the way for the team as both won the discus and shot put events. Stevens opened the day by taking the discus with a toss of 55.32m before Whiting's throw of 57.48m not only won the men's competition, but also placed him fifth on the all-time ASU lists. Later in the day, the duo won the shot put titles as Stevens' shattered her own school record with a toss of 18.03m while Whiting moved into the No. 3 spot on the all-time men's list with his mark of 20.07m. What was more impressive was Whiting beat out a talented field that included U.S. Olympian John Godina, who took second at 20.00m.
Latosha Wallace continued to shine on the track for the women as she again captured the 400m hurdles by lowering her personal best mark to 56.75, the third-best time in ASU history and the second-best in the nation this year. Back in the field, Matt Turner rounded out the ASU victories as his leap of 7.79m captured the long jump and placed him ninth on the all-time school Top 10.
Aaron Aguayo moved up to second on the all-time men's mile list and nearly became the second Sun Devil to run a sub-four minute mile, finishing the race in 4:00.14. In the women's 1,500m run, freshman Kari Hardt recorded the 10th-fastest time in school history with her time of 4:25.08. Back in the field, a trio in the women's pole vault moved up the ASU charts as both Angela Piana and Alana Waterford are tied for fourth at 3.70m while Lisa Navarro increased her 10th-place mark to 3.30m.
Domenik Peterson also had a solid day on the track as he turned in two fast sprint times and helped on a third in the relay. Peterson placed third in the 200m dash in 20.70 to record the fifth-fastest time in the NCAA so far this year after taking fourth in the 400m dash with his time of 45.99, the fourth-fastest in the NCAA. To open the day, Peterson ran the second leg of the 4x100m relay that turned in the sixth-fastest time in the nation at 39.62.
While Stevens bettered her school record in the women's shot put, Jessica Pressley threw 17.93m, which would have been a school record had Stevens' mark not been further. The men's javelin duo of Brad Roth and Andrew Smith again improved their personal best throws with Roth holding firm at No. 5 on the all-time charts at 68.82m while Smith improved his No. 6 position with a toss of 66.69m.
ASU will send several athletes to San Diego next weekend as they will compete in the UC San Diego Triton Invitational on Saturday, April 21.