March 20, 2009
TEMPE - The Arizona State University track and field team opened its 2009 outdoor season at home on Friday afternoon with the first event of the Baldy Castillo Invitational at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe with one Sun Devil earning a place in the NCAA West Region Championships later this season.
The hammer throw was the lone event held on Friday and saw Jeff Helwig qualify for the regional meet in the men's event while Cj Navarro competed in her first outdoor meet for the Sun Devils. The women's hammer opened the day and saw Navarro hit a top mark of 45.60m (149-07) to finish ninth overall as the only freshman to reach the final.
In the men's hammer, Helwig hit a top mark of 57.86m (189-10) to finish fifth and qualify for the regional meet in his first outing of the year. Jordan Clarke, a freshman on the men's team that is redshirting this spring, also competed in the hammer and placed eighth overall with a mark of 53.05m (174-00).
The Invitational continues Saturday with all other events contested. The field events open at 10 a.m. with the women's discus while the running events open at 6 p.m. with the women's 100m hurdles.