March 26, 2002
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Revised ASU Invitational Schedule in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
This Week --
Sun Devil track and field plays host to the Arizona State Invitational, Saturday, March 30, at Sun Angel Stadium, its second home meet in as many weeks. In addition to ASU, teams competing include Air Force, Boise State, Colorado and Oregon. Field events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., while running events commence at 6 p.m. MT. ASU will also send six distance runners to compete in the Stanford Invitational, Friday, March 29, through Saturday, March 30.
ASU Invitational --
Saturday, the Sun Devils will welcome squads from Air Force, Boise State, Colorado and Oregon -- a small number in comparison to the 13 schools in town for last weekend's Baldy Castillo Invitational. Field events get underway with the women's hammer at 10 a.m. MT and continue throughout the day. The last field event scheduled is the triple jump at 7 p.m. Running events begin at 6 p.m. on a rolling time schedule, starting with the 100m and 110m hurdle races, and ending with the 4x400m relays.
Stanford Invitational --
ASU will send six distance runners to the Stanford Invitational held at Cobb Track and Angell Field on the campus of the Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Competing Friday, March 29, will be junior Brianna Torres (women's 5000m, 8 p.m PT), redshirt freshman Juan Reyes (men's 5000m, 8:20 p.m.), junior Fasil Bizuneh (men's 10,000m section one, 8:40 p.m.) and junior J.R. Cox (men's 10,000m section two, 9:15 p.m.). Saturday, seniors Brandon Strong and Cheyne Jones will compete in the men's 1500m races, beginning at 2:40 p.m. PT.
National Rankings --
National polls have not yet been released for either Trackwire or the Team-Power Rankings for the 2002 outdoor season.
Last Time On The Track --
Last weekend ASU welcomed over 500 athletes from 13 collegiate teams to the sixth annual Baldy Castillo Invitational Friday, March 22, through Saturday, March 23. The Sun Devils came away with a total of seven meet titles and three NCAA provisional qualifying efforts. Winning their respective events were senior Candida Coulson (400m hurdles, 58.80), junior Tiffany Greer (long jump, 20-2), junior Vince Mosca (shot put, 59-0.75), junior Brianna Torres (1500m, 4:32.81), senior Pete Lopez (200m, 21.54), freshman Ryan Zimmerman (triple jump, 48-4) and the women's distance medley relay team of freshman Desiree Davila, freshman Cassandra Reed, freshman Mandi Fitz-Gustafson and junior Cody Sohn (12:01.76). Coulson and Mosca joined sophomore Sandra Orsund as the three Sun Devils to surpass NCAA provisional qualifying standards in their respective events. Orsund finished second in the women's discus with a personal-best throw of 164 feet.
About The Sun Devil Coaches --
Greg Kraft is in his sixth year at the helm of the Arizona State track and field program. His tenure has produced 28 All-Americans, six All-American relay teams, 14 individual Pac-10 titles, five individual NCAA runner-up finishes and 29 first or second-team Pac-10 All-Academic selections. Kraft came to ASU in 1996 after serving as the head track and field coach at the University of South Carolina from 1989 to 1996. Kraft is assisted by distance coach Walt Drenth (sixth year), sprints and hurdles coach Darryl Anderson (sixth year), throws coach David Dumble (first year) and graduate assistant Louie Quintana (first year).
ASU Women Tie For 16th At NCAA Indoors --
Junior Lisa Aguilera finished second in the 3,000m and junior Tiffany Greer placed third in the long jump, leading the ASU women to a 16th-place tie at the 2002 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., March 8-9. Matching BYU and Colorado's 14 points, ASU notched its best NCAA indoor finish since 1994 and the first top-20 finish since 1995. The ASU men's three points, scored by senior David Wood's sixth-place finish in the shot put, tied the team for 51st with Middle Tennessee and Southern Illinois. With their top-eight finishes in their respective events, Aguilera, Greer and Wood earned All-America honors. Now a three-time All-American in track and field, Aguilera crossed the 3000m finish line second in 9:09.67, shattering her previous personal best and school record time of 9:16.23. She finished only behind champion Lauren Fleshman of Stanford who won the race with a stadium record of 9:07.45. Greer added her third indoor All-America certificate and fifth overall to her Sun Devil resume, placing third in the women's long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 7.25 inches. Wood earned his first All-America honors with a personal best shot put effort of 64 feet, three inches that placed him sixth. ASU qualified a total of six athletes to the 2002 indoor nationals. Freshman Trevell Quinley finished 14th in the men's long jump (23-11.5), while senior Brandon Strong and senior Tony Galaviz were unable to advance past the prelims of the mile and 60m hurdles, respectively.
Strong Runs First ASU Sub-Four Minute Indoor Mile --
Senior Brandon Strong etched his name in the Sun Devil record books at the Husky Last Chance Qualifier, Saturday, March 2, in Seattle, Wash. Strong became the first ASU athlete to run a sub-four minute indoor mile with his personal-best and school record of time of 3:59.59. Strong is the second Sun Devil to break the four-minute barrier either indoors or outdoors, with the only other ASU athlete to do so being Chuck LaBenz who clocked a time of 3:56.90 in the outdoor mile in 1970.
Up Next --
ASU will head to Austin, Texas for the Texas Relays, Friday, April 5, through Saturday, April 6. The Sun Devils' next home meet is the Sun Angel Classic, Saturday, April 13, at Sun Angel Stadium.