May 30, 2009
EUGENE, Ore. - The first day of competition at the 2009 NCAA West Region Championships came to a close on Friday night at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., where the throwers of the Arizona State University track and field team continued to shine as four individuals earned automatic berths into the NCAA Championships next month. By virtue of finishing in the Top 5 of their respective events, including wins by Ryan Whiting in the men's shot put and Sarah Stevens in the women's discus, those four athletes qualified in five events to pace the way for ASU.
In the early team standings (through five events scored), the Sun Devil women are in second and the men in third place with Oregon leading the way on both sides. In the women's standings, the host Ducks scored 31.5 points and were followed in the Top 5 by ASU (27), Washington (26) and both Stanford and BYU (19). On the men's side, the Ducks have 35.75 points with Arizona (23), ASU (21), USC (17) and Northern Arizona (14) rounding out the Top 5.
Whiting captured the West region title in the shot put for the second year in a row and, at the same time, reset the regional meet record in the process as he hit a big toss of 20.99m. That mark, which stands as the national collegiate leader this year, also broke a 26 year-old school record set in 1983 by Gary Williky (20.78m), giving Whiting control of both the shot put and discus over Williky in the past week. In the same event, Jason Lewis earned his ticket to the national meet by placing fourth at 18.13m. They will be joined by Brandon Bethke at the national meet as the junior transfer crossed the finish line of the 5,000m run in 13:52.91 to finish third overall.
Stevens was the lone women's champion on the day as she hit a mark of 55.02m to win by nearly three meters and assure her trip to the national meet where she will look to defend her crown from one year ago. Stevens, who also placed second in the hammer with a toss of 64.97m, will be joined at nationals by redshirt freshman Cj Navarro, who placed third in her first NCAA competition with a mark of 51.46m.
While the throwers are assured of their place in the national meet, Stephanie Garnett will now have to await word from the NCAA committee as she placed sixth in the long jump with a mark of 6.20m. The NCAA will select at-large berths for the meet following the regional meets.
Several other Sun Devils competed in the preliminary rounds on Friday and advanced to the finals on Saturday. Jasmine Chaney had an outstanding day as she first helped the 4x100m relay of Dominique' Maloy, Kayla Sanchez and Charonda Williams to the top qualifying time of 43.81, which also stands as the second-best in school history. From there, Chaney ran 13.26 in the 100m hurdles to advance as the third qualifier while moving up to No. 5 on the all-time ASU list in the event. She closed her day by taking the third qualifying position in the 400m hurdles (58.71).
Williams and Maloy also advanced in an individual event as they qualified first and second, respectively, in the 100m dash with times of 11.40 and 11.41. The women also will compete in the 200m final on Saturday after the event scratched down to a straight final.
The men's sprints also fared well in the short events as true freshman Allante Battle was a part of three advancements on the day. First up, he helped the 4x100m relay of Michael Stokes, Lawrence Trice and Marcus Duncan run 40.06 to qualify as the top relay to the final. Then, he qualified for the finals of the 100m and 200m events as he ran a wind-aided personal-best time of 10.38 in the 100m (tied for third best in the meet) and 21.20 in the 200m (fifth overall). Duncan also earned a spot in the 100m final as he also ran 10.38.
Action continues on Saturday in Eugene with the finals of the remaining events. The Top 5 finishers in individual events and the Top 3 relays will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships, June 10-13, in Fayetteville, Ark.
Meet Highlights - 2009 NCAA West Region Championships, Day 1
Friday, May 29 Eugene, Ore.
West Region Champions - WOMEN
Sarah Stevens - Discus - 55.02m
West Region Champions - MEN
Ryan Whiting - Shot Put - 20.99m - school record
NCAA Automatic Qualifiers (Top 5) - WOMEN
Sarah Stevens - Discus - 55.02m (1st place)
Sarah Stevens - Hammer - 64.97m (2nd place)
Cj Navarro - Discus - 51.46m (3rd place)
NCAA Automatic Qualifiers (Top 5) - MEN
Ryan Whiting - Shot Put - 20.99m (1st place)
Jason Lewis - Shot Put - 18.13m (3rd place)
Brandon Bethke - 5,000m run - 13:52.91 (3rd)
Advanced to Saturday Final - WOMEN
Charonda Williams - 100m dash - 11.40 (1st)
Dominique' Maloy - 100m dash - 11.41 (2nd)
Jasmine Chaney - 100m hurdles - 13.26 (3rd)
Jasmine Chaney - 400m hurdles - 58.41 (3rd)
4x100m relay (Maloy, Sanchez, Chaney, Williams) - 43.81 (1st)
Advanced to Saturday Final - MEN
Allante Battle - 100m dash - 10.38 (t-3rd)
Allante Battle - 200m dash - 21.20 (5th)
Marcus Duncan - 100m dash - 10.38 (t-3rd)
4x100m relay (Stokes, Battle, Trice, Duncan) - 40.06 (1st)
ASU All-Time Top 10 Marks Recorded - WOMEN
Jasmine Chaney - 100m hurdles - 13.26 - #5 all-time
4x100m relay (Maloy, Sanchez, Chaney, Williams) - 43.81 - #2 all-time
ASU All-Time Top 10 Marks Recorded - MEN
Ryan Whiting - Shot Put - 20.99m - school record