Feb. 27, 2009
Live Result Updates from Washington
TEMPE – The Arizona State University men’s and women’s track and field teams hold slim leads in the team standings after the first day of action at the 2009 MPSF Championships on the strength of three individual champions, one NCAA automatic qualifying mark and six NCAA provisional qualifying marks following Friday’s action at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle.
Through six completed events, the Sun Devil women have scored 47 points and lead the overall team standings by three points as Stanford sits second with 44 and Oregon is close behind in third with 37. On the men’s side, five events have been completed with the ASU men also holding a slim three-point lead with 28 points while host Washington is just behind with 25 and CS Northridge only one point further with 24.
The day opened with Sarah Stevens winning her third-consecutive MPSF weight throw title with an NCAA automatic mark of 21.58m (70-09.75), a mere centimeter behind her national-leading throw. The winner of the past two titles, Stevens had four fair throws on the day with all measuring far enough to win the event. Her toss also broke her own conference meet record of 21.17m, set in 2007.
The men’s weight throw also had a Sun Devil crowned as the champion with Jason Lewis claiming the gold by a slim one centimeter margin over UCLA’s Boldizsar Kocsor. Lewis won the title with a mark of 21.02m (68-11.75) while Kocsor was just behind him at 21.01m (68-11.25). In the same event, Jeff Helwig scored for the men as he took sixth with a mark of 18.96m (62-02.50), the third-best throw in school history.
Switching to the track, Charonda Williams continued recording fast times again as both of her races resulted in the top time on the night as well as two school records. First up, Williams ran a time of 7.33 in the preliminary rounds of the 60m dash to equal her school record and set herself up for the finals on Saturday. Later in the day, she took to the track for the 200m dash and blazed to a time of 23.44, lowering her school record from 23.49. Both of her times on the day are NCAA provisional qualifiers and should keep her among the Top 8 nationally.
The distance runners also found their ways into the scoring in the 5,000m run with two women and one man scoring for the team while also running NCAA provisional qualifiers in the event. In the women’s race, Jenna Kingma finished second in 16:24.86 while Ali Kielty was just behind her in third with a time of 16:25.96. In the men’s race, Patrick Milloy continued to build upon a successful cross country season as he ran a time of 14:05.34 to place fifth overall.
In the other finals on the day, nine Sun Devils scored points toward the team total. For the women, Stephanie Garnett finished fourth in the long jump with a top leap of 6.06m (19-10.75); Dominique’ Maloy took third in the 200m dash with a time of 24.26; and the distance medley relay of Kauren Tarver, Kayla Sanchez, Ashley Wimmer and Lindsay Prescott placed seventh overall. On the men’s side, the final three scorers all came in the 200m dash as Marcus Duncan, who also reached the finals of the 60m dash, ran 21.55 to place third; Darryl Elston took fifth in 21.66; and Calvin Abram was eighth in 21.83.
Abram and Duncan advanced to the final of the 60m dash after placing seventh and fifth, respectively, in the prelims. Two other men also opened action on Friday and will continue competing Saturday as Duggan Grant and Alexander Wentz stand 12th and 13th, respectively, in the heptathlon after four events. Grant has scored 2,418 points while Wentz has collected 2,341 points on the first day of action.
Action concludes in Seattle on Saturday.
Meet Highlights - MPSF Championships - Day 1
Friday, February 27 - Seattle, Wash.
NCAA Automatic Qualifiers
Sarah Stevens - W Weight final - 21.58m (70-09.75) - meet record
NCAA Provisional Qualifiers
Charonda Williams - W 60m prelims - 7.33 - ties own school record
Charonda Williams - W 200m final - 23.44 - school record & facility record
Jenna Kingma - W 5,000m final - 16:24.86
Ali Kielty - W 5,000m final - 16:25.96
Patrick Milloy - M 5,000m final - 14:05.34
Jason Lewis - M Weight final - 21.02m (68-11.75)
MPSF Champions
Sarah Stevens - W Weight final - 21.58m (70-09.75) - meet record
Charonda Williams - W 200m final - 23.44 - school record & facility record
Jason Lewis - M Weight final - 21.02m (68-11.75)
Preliminary Round Event Winners
Charonda Williams - W 60m prelims - 7.33 - ties own school record
On the ASU All-Time Top 5 Lists
Charonda Williams - W 60m prelims - 7.33 - ties own school record
Charonda Williams - W 200m final - 23.44 - school record
Cara Carpenter - W Pole Vault final - 3.85m (12-07.50) - #5 all-time at ASU
Jeff Helwig - M Weight final - 18.96m (62-02.50) - #3 all-time at ASU