June 7, 2010
Sun Devil Championship Notes (pdf) | Link to story on Brandon Bethke (via Arizona Republic)
TEMPE - The Arizona State University track and field program will send nine individuals and a pair of relays to Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., this week to compete in the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championship Finals, the final collegiate meet of the season. The Sun Devils will compete Wednesday through Saturday (June 9-12) on the Oregon campus with national titles and All-America honors up for grabs after qualifying for the event through the NCAA Preliminary Round West meet that was held in Austin, Texas.
THE STAKES
As with every national championship event, team and individual titles will be on the line this weekend, as well as All-America honors for the Top 8 individual and relay finishers in each event. Along with the winning team, the runner-up, third place and fourth place finishers also will earn a team trophy for their finishes in the overall standings.
SMILE FOR THE CAMERA
The NCAA and CBS will provide video coverage of the NCAA Championships this weekend, including live national television broadcasts on Friday and Saturday. CBS College Sports will air championship action live on Friday night from 8p-10p ET (5p-7p Arizona) with CBS following that on Saturday with live coverage from 1p-3p ET (10a-12p Arizona). When the CBS group is not on the air, NCAA.com will provide live web streaming. The broadcast crew on Saturday will feature Larry Rawson, Carol Lewis, Dwight Stones and current ASU volunteer, Dan O'Brien.
NATIONALLY KNOWN
According to the final National Top 25 team rankings released by the USTFCCCA, the Sun Devil men head to Eugene ranked sixth while the women are not in the Top 25 this week. The men's Top 4 teams include Texas A&M, Florida, Oregon and LSU while the women's side is led by Texas A&M, Oregon, LSU and Florida State.
HEADING TO OREGON
ASU will be represented by three individual women and six individual men with both genders having one relay in the NCAA Championships. The women will have Jasmine Chaney in the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles; Dominique' Maloy in the 400m dash; and rookie Keia Pinnick in the 400m hurdles while the men will have Brandon Bethke and Zeke Van Patten in the 5,000m run; Jordan Clarke in the shot put; Jason Lewis in the discus, hammer and shot put; Donald Sanford in the 400m dash; and Ryan Whiting in the discus and shot put. The women will have a 4x100m relay (Maloy, Kayla Sanchez, Christabel Nettey and Chaney) while the men have qualified their 4x400m relay (Justin Kremer, Allante Battle, Sanford and Joel Phillip).
BUSY
Five Sun Devils will be competing in two or more events, including Jason Lewis, Donald Sanford and Ryan Whiting for the men and Jasmine Chaney and Dominique' Maloy for the women. If the Sun Devils continue to advance to the finals of their events, Chaney could run the 100m hurdles twice, the 400m hurdles twice and the anchor of the 4x100m twice while Sanford could run the 400m open twice and the 4x400m twice. For the second year in a row, however, Lewis will compete in a trio of individual events as he will throw in the discus, hammer and shot put. He placed sixth in the hammer and discus last year to earn All-America honors and was an All-American in the indoor shot put this year (with the weight as well).
TOP COACHING
For the second time in 2010, David Dumble has been selected as the USTFCCCA Men's West Region Assistant Coach of the Year after also earning that distinction during the indoor season. The 2010 USTFCCCA Men's National Assistant Coach of the Year, Dumble was honored for the outdoor accomplishments of this three highly-ranked throwers in Ryan Whiting (national leader and second-ranked in the world) in the shot put; Jason Lewis (national qualifier and Top 10 ranked in the shot put, discus and hammer); and freshman Jordan Clarke (qualifier in the shot put). Whiting also is the defending champion in the shot put outdoors after winning three-consecutive indoor crowns. The honor for Dumble is the fifth overall in his career as he was honored three times as the top women's assistant coach after working with national champions and multiple-time All-Americans Sarah Stevens and Jessica Pressley.
RETURNING CHAMPION
Heading into Eugene, one Sun Devil returns to competition as the defending national champion and that is Ryan Whiting in the men's shot put. The senior captured his first outdoor title last year in Fayetteville, Ark., and the middle of what is three in a row overall (2009 indoor, 2009 outdoor, 2010 indoor). Whiting won the competition with a heave of 20.11m (65-11.75) and gave him a sweep of the indoor and outdoor crowns, marking the 18th time in the past 45 years a man has accomplished the sweep. He is the 12th different man to do so and the first since 2007.
MORE ON WHITING
With his indoor shot put championship back in March, Ryan Whiting now has four total NCAA titles in the event, including a three-peat in the indoor event and one outdoors. In the history of the shot put at the NCAA meets, Whiting is currently tied for fifth all-time with Carl Myerscough (Nebraska), who won two indoors and two outdoors, and a title outdoors this year for Whiting would move him into a three-way tie for third-most with Hans Hogland (UTEP) and Janus Roberts (SMU). Whiting concluded his indoor campaign with three titles, making him one of four men to win at least three in a career. Should he win the outdoor title this year, his two crowns would tie him 11 other men that won twice and make him the 19th man to win two or more in a career.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO MOVE BACK A LITTLE BIT...
Heading into the season, Ryan Whiting had recorded a 70-foot throw in the shot put twice in his outdoor career. The current national leader and second-ranked putter in the world at 21.83m (71-07.75), Whiting has surpassed the 70-foot barrier in seven competitions this outdoor season, including the NCAA West Preliminary Round meet two weeks ago, to set a single-season record, breaking a tie with John Brenner of UCLA, who had four, 70-foot tosses in the 1984 season. Heading into the Tucson Elite Throws Classic, Whiting and Brenner were tied for the most 70-foot measurements in a career with six before Whiting recorded two more to take the career lead as well. Whiting tied the single-season and career records two weeks earlier at the Pac-10 Championships when he won with a toss of 21.34m (70-00.25) before winning the discus on his final throw (58.85m/193-1).
ABOVE AVERAGE
Ryan Whiting has competed in the shot put seven times this outdoor season with his lowest mark coming in at 21.25m and his best being a school-record and NCAA-leading 21.83m. Putting his best marks from each meet together, Whiting is averaging 21.48m per meet, which is 70-05.75. Compared to the mark that is the second-best in the NCAA this year, Whiting leads the nation by 6-08.75.
AND ONE MORE MAKES EIGHT
This week's meet in Oregon will be the eighth-consecutive NCAA meet Ryan Whiting has competed (indoor and outdoor included). In his previous seven meets, Whiting has earned All-America honors in the shot put every year. With another All-America honor this week, he will join Sarah Stevens as the lone Sun Devils to have earned All-America honors in eight-consecutive national meets. Stevens also accomplished that feat in the shot put and also won the 2007 indoor national crown.
ALL-TIME ALL-AMERICANS
In the history of the program, only four Sun Devils (men and women included) have earned double-digit All-America honors, led by Sarah Stevens (15) and a trio with 10 (Amy Hastings, Maicel Malone and Jessica Pressley). Already the most decorated man in program history with nine total honors, Whiting is looking to become the first man to earn double-digit All-America honors. Currently ranked fifth all-time in program history (men and women), Whiting is one of three current Sun Devils in the all-time Top 20 as both Dominique' Maloy and Jason Lewis have earned six in their respective careers.
GREAT TIME TO SHINE
Saying the sprinters had a strong showing at the NCAA Preliminary Round West meet in Austin, Texas, would be a severe understatement. Two women and one man posted times in the sprints in the preliminary rounds that rank them among the Top 10 all-time in ASU history with Jasmine Chaney adding her name to the list in a pair of events. Chaney clocked in at 13.26 to equal her lifetime best in the 100m hurdles and record the fifth-fastest time in school history after running 57.67 in the 400m hurdles to also post the fifth-best time in ASU history. In the same 400m hurdle race, true freshman Keia Pinnick ran 58.03 to post the sixth-best time in school history. The final woman to add her name to the record chart was Dominique' Maloy in the 400m dash as she ran 52.69 to post the ninth-fastest time in ASU history and become one of only three women to add their names to the list since 1999. On the men's side, Donald Sanford won his heat of the 400m dash with a time of 45.25, which stands as the ninth-best time in school history. To break into the Top 5 of that event, Sanford will have to run faster than 44.92.
OFF THE CHANEY
Jasmine Chaney will have a busy week in Eugene in the hurdle events as she is one of just four women that will be competing in both the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles. Chaney reached the NCAA Championships in Oregon by running personal-best times in both events with both ranking fifth all-time in Arizona State history. Needing to finish in the Top 3 of her heat to automatically advance to nationals, Chaney did just that as she took third place in the 100m hurdles and second in the 400m hurdles.
ONE OF FOUR
The Sun Devil women's hurdlers are part of a elite group as Arizona State is one of just four teams to qualify a pair of women in the 400m hurdles (Jasmine Chaney and Keia Pinnick). Chaney also is one of just four women to accomplish that double qualification (see above).
IT'S ACADEMIC
Last week, a pair of academic honors were announced with six individuals earning ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII while 30 Sun Devils were selected to the Academic All-Pac-10 lists. In the district honors, men's athletes Brandon Bethke, Jason Lewis and Ryan Whiting and women's athletes Cj Navarro and Angela Spadafino all were selected to the District VIII first-team and are now eligible for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors while Dominique' Maloy was selected to the second team. On the conference lists, 13 individuals were selected Academic All-Pac-10 First Team, including seven men (Bethke, Ben Engelhardt, Ben Jankunas, John Kline, Justin Kremer, Lewis and Sandys) and five women (Chelsea Caloia, Courtney Golden, Navarro, Ashley Wimmer and Natasa Vulic). Overall, the men placed 17 individuals on the academic lists with the women having 13.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD
Heading into the NCAA Championships this week, two current Sun Devil men and one woman have marks that rank them among the Top 20 in the world. Ryan Whiting, who led the world in the shot put for the majority of the outdoor season, is currently ranked second overall with his toss of 21.83m while Cory Martin is the overall leader at 22.10m. In the 400m dash, Donald Sanford's time of 45.25 ranks him 17th in the world. On the women's side, Anna Jelmini, who is redshirting this season after graduating from high school last spring, currently stands 19th in the world with her mark of 60.80m in the discus.
MORE WORLD LISTINGS
Whiting, Sanford and Jelmini are not the only athletes with ties to the Sun Devil program that are ranked in the World Top 20 as two more men and four more women are currently on the lists. On the men's side, Dwight Phillips is third in the long jump and Trevell Quinley is 13th in the same event with leaps of 8.32m and 8.13m, respectively. On the women's side, Desiree Davila (32:06.85) and Amy Hastings (32:28.77) are ranked 15th and 20th, respectively, in the 10,000m run; Lisa Galaviz is 12th in the steeplechase (9:41.62) and Sarah Stevens is currently 19th in the shot put with a mark of 18.23m.
IN THE NCAA TOP 10
Based on the marks recorded at the two preliminary round sites two weeks ago, one woman and seven men's marks are ranked among the Top 10 in the NCAA as the competition heads to Eugene. Dominique' Maloy's time of 52.69 currently ranks her eighth overall in the 400m dash, which is the final scoring position. On the men's side, Donald Sanford is seventh in the 400m dash (45.25) and is part of the sixth-ranked 4x400m relay (3:04.09) with Justin Kremer, Allante Battle and Joel Phillip. In the field events, Ryan Whiting is first in the shot put (21.83m) and fifth in the discus (57.45m) and Jason Lewis is seventh in the shot put (18.36m), third in the discus (58.25m) and fifth in the hammer (66.31m).
BETHKE BRINGS IT
At the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., on April 17, Brandon Bethke competed in the invitational section of the men's 5,000m run and took fourth overall behind a trio of professional runners with a time of 13:27.83. That time, which was just 0.04 seconds off the school record he ran last year, remains one of the best in the world as it stands just outside of the Top 20 this week. His mark also is the second-best time in the collegiate ranks behind only David McNeill of Northern Arizona, meaning the Top 2 times in the nation are from Arizona schools.
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
Two weeks ago, two Sun Devil throwers won Pac-10 titles in three events as they swept the discus with Ryan Whiting taking the men's title and Cj Navarro winning the women's crown. Whiting also added the title in the shot put to give him a sweep, marking the 13th time in the history of the Pac-10 Championships that the same man won the shot put and discus in the same meet and the first since Dan Ames (UCLA) in 2004.
NAVARRO NABS DISCUS TITLE
For the fourth year in a row, a Sun Devil woman has won the Pac-10 discus crown with Cj Navarro taking the title with a toss of 51.06m (167-6) this year. Sarah Stevens won the title in 2007 and again last year (2009) with Jessica Pressley winning the title in 2008. Navarro captured her first conference crown with her throw in the fourth round. Earlier in the day, she recorded a personal-best toss of 53.75m (176-4) in the first round of the hammer competition (seventh-best all-time at ASU) and eventually finished third overall to give ASU 16 points.
ADDING TO THE TOP 10
Navarro's toss in the hammer was not the only mark recorded at the Pac-10 Championships that ranks among the all-time best in school history as three other marks by the women and two by the men joined the ranks of the Top 10. For the women, Keia Pinnick is now eighth in the 400m hurdles (58.86); Cherise McNair is now seventh in the steeplechase (10:26.40) and Linsday Prescott is now ninth in the 10,000m run (34:46.82). Both men's marks came in the 10,000m run with Jeff Helmer moving up to fifth (29:42.58) and Alonso Contreras on the list in seventh (30:19.73).
HOW SWEEP IT IS
The men's shot put podium was full of Sun Devils as Ryan Whiting, Jordan Clarke and Jason Lewis went 1-2-3 in the event to grab 24 points for the team. Whiting won in 21.34m (70-00.25) to win by 10 feet as Clarke was second in 18.29m (60-00.25). Lewis was third in 18.25m (59-10.50) and was just over 5-feet clear of the fourth-place finisher.
PICKING-UP THE POINTS
Each year, the program honors the highest-scoring Sun Devils with the High Point Award based upon points scored at the Pac-10 Championships and this year, Jasmine Chaney earned the women's honor while Ryan Whiting and Jason Lewis shared the men's honor. Chaney was the overall high-scorer with 21.5 points as she scored six points each with third place finishes in the 100m dash, 100m hurdles and 200m dash while collecting points from a second-place finish in the 4x400m relay and a third-place showing in the 4x100m relay. On the men's side, Whiting score 20 points by winning both events he entered (shot put and discus) while Lewis also scored 20 points by taking second in the hammer (eight) and third in both the shot put and discus (six points each).
ACADEMIC HONORS
On Wednesday (May 5), the NCAA released the names of 29 men and 29 women that were selected as a 2009-10 Postgraduate Scholarship Awardee with Sun Devils Jason Lewis and Ryan Whiting both being selected for the award. Both men will receive one-time grants to apply toward postgraduate studies. Lewis and Whiting were selected as they are student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. Last year, Sarah Stevens earned the same award.
ACADEMICALLY SOUND
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) announced its annual list of MPSF All-Academic honorees for the indoor season with 13 Sun Devil men and eighth women named to the list. The men honored included Brandon Bethke, Ian Caracciolo, Ben Engelhardt, Kyle Fugit, Duggan Grant, Justin Kremer, Jason Lewis, Jeremy Marcinko, Mason McHenry, Jamie Sandys, Michael Stokes, Lawrence Trice and Ryan Whiting while the women's honorees included Courtney Golden, Ashley Lampley, Dominique' Maloy, Cherise McNair, Cj Navarro, Lisa Navarro, Lisa Nelson and Ashley Wimmer.
SUN ANGEL PRODUCES
At the 31st Sun Angel Track Classic, the action was outstanding as 23 different marks recorded in Tempe ranked among the Top 20 on the world lists this season with four of those marks recorded by former Sun Devil women and three total by current Sun Devils. On the track, Charonda Williams ran 11.34 in the 100m dash and 22.97 in the 200m dash to post a pair of Top 10 times, including the 10th-best in the 100m and the second-best in the 200m. Also on the track, meet honoree Desiree Davila clocked a personal-best time of 15:55.81 to run the 15th-best time in the world and also lower the meet and venue record in the 5,000m run. Sarah Stevens improved her standing on the world list to No. 10 in the shot put with her personal-best toss of 18.23m.
USATF MEET
While many of the Sun Devils were in Seattle at the MPSF Indoor meet (February 26-27), a handful of current and former members of the program competed at the USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., with several Top 4 finishes recorded. Current Sun Devil Ryan Whiting took second in the shot put with a toss of 21.03m (see below) while the women's shot put competition saw former team members Sarah Stevens and Jessica Pressley take third (17.99m) and fourth (17.31m), respectively. Desiree Davila took fourth in the women's 3,000m run, finishing in 9:21.05. Also competing in the meet were current Sun Devils Anna Jelmini, who placed seventh in the women's shot put (16.36m), and Jason Lewis, who was 10th in the men's shot put (17.43m), and former Olympic champion Nick Hysong in the men's pole vault, placing 12th overall (5.25m).
GOLDEN AGAIN
Ryan Whiting won the shot put national title on Friday afternoon with a toss of 21.52m (70-07.25) to win his third indoor shot put crown in a row and the fourth overall in his career (also won the 2009 outdoor title). Whiting took the lead in the shot put on his first toss with a mark of 19.16m before improving on each of his final two throws of the preliminary round, advancing to the finals with a top mark of 20.57m. In the fourth round (his first throw of the finals), Whiting hit a mark of 21.52m, which sealed the victory and equaled his season-best toss that also ranks third in the world currently. With his victory, Whiting became just the third man in NCAA history to win the shot put three years in a row at the indoor championships and is the first to accomplish that feat in 35 years as Hans Hogland (UTEP) won the men's shot put in 1973, 1974 and 1975. Whiting also is just the fourth man to win three or more shot put titles indoors in a career and is the first to join that list since Michael Carter (SMU) won his fourth title in 1984.
TOP VIII
In January at the NCAA convention in Atlanta, former Sun Devil standout Sarah Stevens was presented with the NCAA Top VIII Award, which is one of the highest honors handed out each year by the Association. Awarded for excellence in the classroom, in competition and in the community, the Top VIII recognized eight individual student-athletes from all divisions of NCAA governance. Just the second Sun Devil to earn the distinction, Stevens was a two-time NCAA champion and earned the most All-America honors in program history with 15 total, including five during her senior season.
NEXT TIME OUT
The NCAA Championships mark the final collegiate competition of the season.