The Sun Angel Classic, an ASU tradition since 1980, continues to feature some of the nation's top professional and amateur track and field talent with the 19th edition this Saturday, April 11 at Joe Selleh Track/Sun Angel Stadium. Past Classics have featured such names as Carl Lewis, Dan O'Brien, Inger Miller, Leroy Burrell, Jacki Joyner Kersee and Gail Devers, to name a few. This year's field will once again feature first-class track and field talent including Maicel Malone, Greg Haughton, Dennis Mitchell, Christy Opara-Thompson, Tonja Williams and Shanelle Porter. Some of the top collegiate programs in the nation come to Tempe on a yearly basis and this year's featured attractions other than Arizona State include South Carolina and Arizona, currently ranked among the top 20 in the nation.
The Basics The 41-event schedule begins at 11:30 a.m. Saturday with the hammer throw. Running events begin at 3:00 p.m. with the women's 100m Hurdles featuring meet honoree Lynda Tolbert-Goode. In all, there are 13 collegiate/professional field events, 20 collegiate/professional running events and eight high school running events. The final running event is schedule to begin at 6:46 p.m. Tickets to the Classic are $7 for reserved seats and $5 for general admission. Parking is free. The Classic will be televised to a national audience on a tape-delay basis. Fox Sport Net will air the Sun Angel Classic Sunday, April 19 at 1:30 MST/PDT.
Classic Honors Lynda Tolbert-Goode
Former ASU standout and assistant coach Lynda-Tolbert Goode will be recognized as the Classic's meet honoree. Each year, a track and field star is recognized at the event, beginning in 1980 when Jesse Owens was honored. A two-time Olympian, Tolbert-Goode is one of the most decorated track and field athletes ever at ASU, capturing two NCAA Outdoor 100m hurdles titles, an NCAA Indoor 55m Hurdles championship and capturing a 4x400 relay crown as well. She was an eight-time All-American during her ASU career and still holds the collegiate record for the indoor 60m hurdles. Tolbert participated in the last two Olympic games as a 100m hurdler, finishing fourth at the '92 Games and seventh in '96. She still owns the ASU all-time record in the 100m hurdles (12.75). She is a five-time SATC champion in that event and holds the meet and stadium record (12.93).
Kraft-ing ASU's Program
Head coach Greg Kraft brought to ASU a reputation as a tremendous program builder after taking South Carolina's men to unprecedented heights and creating a national power on the women's side during a seven-year stint in Columbia. With its program in need of a major overhaul, there was not a better man for ASU's job than the 1996 SEC Coach of the Year. ASU's eighth head coach, Kraft is in his second season at ASU and is in the process of rebuilding ASU one step at a time. "You need to build it one step at a time," Kraft has said. "When I look at our team, obviously depth is not going to be one of our strengths. What we've tried to do is develop pockets of excellence in one particular area and move on from there."
Top Notch Performances
Eleven Top 10 marks in ASU history have been set by Sun Devils during the 1998 outdoor season. At the top of the list is Mika Laiho's school record in the hammer. His throw of 232 ft. 7 inch. is the best among collegians in the nation this year and also ranks eighth in Pac-10 history. Dawnyell Linder's 11.39 in the 100m ranked second in ASU history and fourth in Pac-10 history. A complete look at those who have climbed into the school's top 10:
Name Event Mark ASU Rank Mika Laiho Hammer 70.90 (232-7) School Record Dawnyell Linder 100m 11.39 2nd Jared Schrieber Javelin 70.02 (229-9) 3rd Charity Amama Javelin 51.42 (168-8) 3rd Adrienne Judie Discus 43.86 (143-11) 7th Fiona Daly Triple Jump 11.66 (38-3.25) 8th Joronda White 400m 53.30 9th Matt Repak 5000m 14:14.99 9th Priscilla Hein 1500m 4:30.9 9th Dawnyell Linder 200m 23.71 9th Erika Johnson Triple Jump 11.47 (37-7.75) 10thNifty Notes
ASU's women captured their first scored meet win since 1995 when the Sun Devils defeated Kansas, George Mason and Iowa in the ASU/USTCA Invitational. The Sun Devils tallied 170.5 points, nipping the Jayhawks by 1.5 points ... Mika Laiho is 2 for 2, as he has won both the ASU/USTCA and Baldy Castillo hammer titles ... Jared Schrieber and Charity Amama have each won two javelin titles while finishing second once ... Other two-time winners include Fiona Daly in the high jump, Priscilla Hein in the 1500m, Joronda White in the 400m, Matt Repak in the 3000m and Ari Rodriguez in the 1500m ... Repak has three wins under his belt as he won the 5000m in the Baldy Castillo meet in addition to his two 3000m wins ... Fiona Daly (high jump) and Joronda White (400m) each earned Indoor All-American status with their performances at the NCAA Indoor Championships ... ASU is eligible to participate in both the Pac-10 and NCAA Championship meets this season after NCAA sanctions prohibited the Sun Devils from competing in either meets last year ... The ASU men's 78-77 indoor win over Arizona on February 7 was the first win for the Sun Devils over their arch-rival, indoor or outdoor, since 1992.
Youth Movement
As Greg Kraft and his staff mold the ASU program, youth is an obvious trait and focus. After just seven scholarship freshman came to ASU in the three years previous to their arrival, the ASU coaching staff has littered the roster with freshmen. Twenty-six freshmen are on the current ASU roster - comprising half the ASU roster. In fact, 64 percent of ASU's roster is either freshmen or sophomores.
1998 Sun Angel Classic Schedule of Events No. Event Time 1 Hammer 11:30 am 2 Women's Javelin 1:00 pm 3 Women's Long Jump 2:00 pm 4 Women's Shot Put 2:00 pm 5 Men's Javelin 2:45 pm 6 Women's 100m Hurdles 3:00 pm 7 Mens 110m Hurdles 3:10 pm 8 High School Girls 4x100m Relay 3:20 pm 9 High School Boys 4x100m Relay 3:25 pm 10 Men's Long Jump 3:30 pm 11 Women's 4x100m Relay 3:30 pm 12 Men's 4x100m Relay 3:35 pm 13 Women's 800 Meters 3:40 pm 14 Men's 800 Meters 3:45 pm 15 Women's 400m Hurdles 3:55 pm 16 Men's Shot Put 4:00 pm 17 Men's 400m Hurdles 4:05 pm 18 Women's 400 Meters 4:15 pm 19 Men's 400 Meters 4:25 pm 20 Men's Pole Vault 4:35 pm 21 Women's Discus 4:35 pm 22 Men's High Jump 4:35 pm 23 High School Girls 100 Meters 4:35 pm 24 High School Boys 100 Meters 4:40 pm 25 Women's 100 Meters 4:45 pm 26 Men's 100 Meters 4:55 pm 27 Age Group Relays 5:05 pm 28 High School Girls 1600 Meters 5:10 pm 29 High School Boys 1600 Meters 5:20 pm 30 Women's 1500 Meters 5:30 pm 31 Men's 1500 Meters 5:40 pm 32 Women's 200 Meters 5:50 pm 33 Men's 200 Meters 6:00 pm 34 Men's Triple Jump 6:10 pm 35 Women's 3000 Meters 6:10 pm 36 Women's High Jump 6:10 pm 37 Men's Discus 6:10 pm 38 High School Girls 4x400m Relay 6:25 pm 39 High School Boys 4x400m Relay 6:32 pm 40 Women's 4x400m Relay 6:39 pm 41 Men's 4x400m Relay 6:46 pm