Jan. 31, 2009
FLAGSTAFF – Charonda Williams broke the school record in the 60m dash to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships while Sarah Stevens earned automatic qualification in the shot put and weight throw to lead the Arizona State University track & field team at the Mountain ‘T’ Invitational inside the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Saturday. As a team, the Sun Devils won 10 total events and recorded seven marks that met qualifying standards for the national meet later this season.
Williams, who lowered her personal best time in the 60m dash to 7.41 last week in Flagstaff, dropped that time again as she ran 7.29, which converts to 7.33 with the altitude adjustment and also stands as the school record. The previous record was 7.39 and was shared by Dawnyell Linder (1999) and Porchea Carroll (2005). Williams’ day also included a win in the 200m dash (23.99) after taking second in the shorter sprint before she helped the relay of Dominique’ Maloy, Shauntel Elcock and Jeavon Benjamin to a win in the 4x400m event (3:47.32).
Stevens, in her first meet of the season, punched her ticket to the national championships (March 13-14 in College Station, Texas) in a pair of throwing events as she automatically qualified in the shot put and weight throw. Her mark of 16.90m (55-05.50) exactly met the automatic mark to advance to the national meet as she finished second overall in the event while her throw of 21.05m (69-00.75) won the weight throw and just moved past the automatic mark of 21.05m.
Similar to Stevens, Jason Lewis had a strong day in the field as he posted his second automatic qualifier in as many weeks, this time improving his shot put personal best by over four feet to win the event with a mark of 19.30m (63-04.00). Just as Stevens did in the shot put, Lewis’ mark in the event exactly met the automatic qualifying standard of 19.60m. Lewis added a provisional qualifying mark of 21.17m (69-05.50) in the weight throw after automatically qualifying last week with the second-best throw in the nation.
Sprinter Donald Sanford improved upon his personal best in the 400m dash as he broke 47-seconds, winning the race in 46.76 to provisionally qualify for the second week in a row (he ran 47.15 last week). Sanford later helped the 4x400m relay team of Darryl Elston, Joel Phillip and Justin Kremer to victory in 3:18.28 to close out the day. The final provisional qualifier on the day came in the women’s long jump as Stephanie Garnett won the event with a leap of 6.20m (20-05.00).
Cara Carpenter won the pole vault for the second week in a row as she cleared 3.80m (12-05.50), just one centimeter off her top clearance from last weekend. Corey Phallen also won the men’s pole vault as he again cleared 4.90m (16-00.75) for the second week in a row. Elston, who helped the 4x400m relay to victory, also won the 200m dash with a time of 21.66.
The men’s heptathlon came to a close on Saturday as well with Duggan Grant moving up to finish fourth overall with 4,688 points, the second-best total in school history. He was followed in the 12-finisher field by Alexander Wentz (seventh place with 4,392 points), Austin Prince (eighth with 4,326 points), Jamie Sandys (ninth with 3,874 points) and Kyle Hitchcock (11th with 3,502 points). Wentz, who entered the day in 11th place, recorded the fourth-best point total in program history while Prince’s score ranks as the fifth-best.
Wentz and Grant both added their names to the top of one record as they both took over the highest clearance in the heptathlon pole vault with their marks of 4.55m, bettering the previous mark of 4.50m that was cleared by Joshua Kinnaman in 2006.
ASU will next send several individuals to Albuquerque, N.M., next Saturday (February 7) for the Lobo Invitational.
Meet Highlights - Mountain ‘T’ Multis & Invitational
Saturday, January 31 - Northern Arizona
NCAA Automatic Qualifiers
Sarah Stevens - W Shot Put - 16.90m (55-05.50)
Sarah Stevens - W Weight - 21.05m (69-00.75)
Jason Lewis - M Shot Put - 19.30m (63-04.00)
NCAA Provisional Qualifiers
Charonda Williams - W 60m Dash - 7.33aa
Stephanie Garnett - W Long Jump - 6.20m (20-05.00)
Donald Sanford - M 400m Dash - 46.76
Jason Lewis - M Weight - 21.17m (69-05.50)
Event Winners
Charonda Williams - W 200m - 23.99
D. Maloy, S. Elcock, C. Williams, J. Benjamin - W 4x400m - 3:47.32
Cara Carpenter - W Pole Vault - 3.80m (12-05.50)
Stephanie Garnett - W Long Jump - 6.20m (20-05.00)
Sarah Stevens - W Weight - 21.05m (69-00.75)
Darryl Elston - M 200m - 21.66
Donald Sanford - M 400m Dash - 46.76
D. Elston, J. Phillip, J. Kremer, D. Sanford - M 4x400m - 3:18.28
Corey Phallen - M Pole Vault - 4.90m (16-00.75)
Jason Lewis - M Shot Put - 19.30m (63-04.00)