March 27, 2010
TEMPE – Ryan Whiting took over the world lead in the men’s shot put and the Arizona State University track and field team posted solid results once again as the Sun Devils closed out competition at the ASU Invitational Saturday night at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe. Overall, the Sun Devils collected wins in five events on the weekend and added two more by athletes that are competing unattached from the program.
Whiting, the defending outdoor national shot put champion and three-time NCAA indoor champion, waisted little time opening his outdoor campaign as his first throw of the night measured 21.25m (69-08.75), which broke his own school record and topped the NCAA, USA and world lists so far this year. Whiting’s toss, which won the event by nearly 12 feet, five inches, improves upon his previous school record of 20.99m (68-10.50), which he recorded last year.
Jason Lewis also got into the winning action as he captured his second event of the weekend by taking the discus with a toss of 56.24m (184-6). Lewis, who won the hammer throw one day earlier, currently ranks among the Top 10 nationally in both the hammer and discus with his marks this weekend.
On the women’s side, the Sun Devils captured four events with two coming on the track by athletes in ASU uniforms and the other two in the field from an unattached individual. On the track, Jasmine Chaney clocked a time of 13.50 to win the 100m hurdles while Cherise McNair was victorious in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 10:52.85.
In the field, redshirting freshman Anna Jelmini swept the shot put and the discus for the second week in a row. This week, she first won the discus with a mark of 55.13m (180-10) before coming back to win the shot put with a toss of 16.41m (53-10.25).
Next up for the Sun Devils will be the Jim Click Multis on April 1 and 2 in Tucson. ASU will send its women’s heptathlon and men’s decathlon athletes to compete in the two-day event hosted by Arizona.