May 16, 2009
EUGENE, Ore. - Sarah Stevens and Ryan Whiting combined to sweep the shot put titles while three other men and three other women also added points as the first day of the Pac-10 Track & Field Championships came to a close on Saturday afternoon for the Arizona State University program at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The victories marked the first time the program has swept the event with Stevens claiming her third career Pac-10 shot put title and Whiting notching his first league crown.
Both Sun Devil squads stand sixth in the overall team races with Oregon leading both as well. In the women's standings, the host Ducks have scored 67 points through seven events with Stanford (58), Arizona (32), Washington (27) and USC (26) rounding out the Top 5 while the Sun Devils are in sixth with 20 points. On the men's side of things, the Ducks hold the lead with 88 points with UCLA (45), Stanford (39), Arizona (39) and Washington (33) rounding out the Top 5 while the ASU men are sixth with 30 points.
Stevens won her third Pac-10 shot put crown by nearly 1.5 meters as she hit a toss of 17.32m (56-10.00) to also collect the fifth individual Pac-10 title in her time in Tempe, adding to the discus (2007) and hammer (2008) crowns she has also won. Whiting, the two-time indoor NCAA champion, won his first Pac-10 crown as he moved into the lead on his final throw of the competition at 20.37m (66-10.00) to take the title from Arizona's Zach Lloyd, the 2008 champion, who had led throughout the competition.
Also in the throwing events for the men was a solid outing from Jason Lewis, who placed second in the hammer throw and fourth in the shot put to add 13 points to the team total. Lewis opened the day with his runner-up finish in the hammer as he hit a mark of 66.00m (216-06) before tossing the shot 17.25m (56-07.25) to finish fourth. Marc Peck, a true-freshman, also scored for the team as he improved one place from his entry seed to take seventh with a personal-best toss of 63.57m (208-07).
The women also picked up points in another field event as two Sun Devils scored in the long jump. Stephanie Garnett jumped a season-best 6.27m (20-07.00) to place third overall while Charonda Williams hit a mark of 6.03m (19-09.25) to finish eighth overall.
On the track, two Sun Devils scored for the team in the only finals of the day. Jenna Kingma ran 35:37.96 to place sixth in the women's 10,000m event to score three points while David Mehlhorn ran a personal-best time of 8:54.88 to finish fourth overall in the men's 3,000m steeplechase for five team points.
Numerous other Sun Devils competed in events on the day and qualified for the finals on Sunday, including Williams, who ran a school record time of 11.26 (improved on her 11.29) to run the fastest time in the women's 100m dash on the day while Dominique' Maloy was the third qualifier in the event as she tied the third-best mark in ASU history with a run of 11.39. Both women also qualified for the finals of the 200m dash as the first and second-best times on the day.
Jasmine Chaney qualified in both hurdle events, running 13.66 to finish eighth in the 100m hurdles before running 58.15 to post the top time on the day in the 400m hurdles. That 400m hurdles time also moved her into the No. 5 position all-time in ASU history. Back in the field, Garnett hit a toss of 40.77m (133-09) to move into seventh on the all-time lists at ASU. The final Top 10 all-time mark came from Patrick Milloy in the men's 10,000m run as he ran 30:25.43, the sixth-best mark in the program's history.
For the men, Marcus Duncan and Allante Battle both qualified for the finals of the 100m and 200m events while also running on the qualifying 4x100m relay. After helping the relay qualify fourth overall in 40.43, Duncan ran 10.36 to qualify third in the 100m dash before clocking in at 21.18 as the seventh qualifier in the 200m. Battle, a true-freshman, ran a personal-best and regional-qualifying time of 10.52 to tie for the eighth and final qualifying position in the 100m dash before running 21.27 to also qualify as the eighth runner in the finals of the 200m dash.
Other qualifiers for the Sun Devils from Saturday's preliminary rounds included: Brandon Bethke (third in the 1,500m run at 3:43.25); Jeavon Benjamin (eighth in the 400m run at 54.98); Kayla Sanchez (5th in the 400m hurdles at 1:00.91); and the women's 4x100m relay (top qualifiers at 44.46).
The Championships continue Sunday in Eugene with the finals of all remaining events being contested.
Meet Highlights - 2009 Pac-10 Championships, Day 1
Saturday, May 16 Eugene, Ore.
Pac-10 Champions - WOMEN
Sarah Stevens - Shot Put - 17.32m (56-10.00)
Pac-10 Champions - MEN
Ryan Whiting - Shot Put - 20.37m (66-10.00)
Point Scorers (Top 8) - WOMEN
Sarah Stevens - Shot Put - 17.32m (56-10.00) - 1st place (10 points)
Stephanie Garnett - Long Jump - 6.27m (20-07.00) - 3rd place (6 points)
Jenna Kingma - 10,000m - 35:37.96 - 6th place (3 points)
Charonda Williams - Long Jump - 6.03m (19-09.50) - 8th place (1 point)
Point Scorers (Top 8) - MEN
Ryan Whiting - Shot Put - 20.37m (66-10.00) - 1st place (10 points)
Jason Lewis - Hammer - 66.00m (216-06) - 2nd place (8 points)
Jason Lewis - Shot Put - 17.25m (56-07.25) - 4th place (5 points)
David Mehlhorn - 3,000m Steeplechase - 8:54.88 - 4th place (5 points)
Marc Peck - Javelin - 63.57m (208-07) - 7th place (2 points)
ASU All-Time Top 10 Marks Recorded - WOMEN
Charonda Williams - 100m dash prelims - 11.26 - school record
Dominique' Maloy - 100m dash prelims - 11.39 - 3rd all-time (tie)
Jasmine Chaney - 400m hurdles - 58.15 - 5th all-time
Stephanie Garnett - Javelin - 40.77m (133-09) - 7th all-time
ASU All-Time Top 10 Marks Recorded - MEN
Patrick Milloy - 10,000m run - 30:25.43 - 6th all-time
David Mehlhorn - 3,000m steeplechase - 8:54.88 - 8th all-time