ASU coach Greg Kraft’s plan proved effective over the weekend at the MPSF Championships in Seattle, Wash.

Last week Kraft said he would keep senior Joel Phillip and junior Justin Kremer out of the open quarter mile so they could focus on qualifying for the men’s 4x400 meter relay team for the national meet on March 13 and 14.

Phillip was last year’s national runner-up in the 400 meters and has yet to qualify for this year’s NCAA Indoor Championship.

Earlier this season, Phillip said he wanted to win the 400 meters at nationals, but that goal took a back seat to the ultimate team goal of winning another championship.

Phillip and Kremer vindicated their coach’s decision along with seniors Darryl Elston and Donald Sanford by edging out Washington State’s men by 0.06 seconds for the win to provisionally qualify for the national meet.

Kraft made the move in order to have athletes represent the Sun Devils in an event that carries a higher point total than one runner in the open quarter, and ASU’s relay team should contend for the title in College Station, Texas.

As a team, the Sun Devil’s men and women finished fifth and third, respectively.

Despite falling short of capturing the team title, ASU had some tremendous personal performances.

Senior Sarah Stevens proved again why she is one of the best throwers in the nation by winning the shot put and the weight throw.

Stevens has now swept both events at the MPSF meet for the third year in a row and has seven titles in eight tries.

Juniors Ryan Whiting and Jason Lewis also dominated the throws for the Sun Devils taking the top spots in the shot put and weight throw, respectively.

On the track, ASU received another record-setting performance from senior Charonda Williams in both the 60 and 200 meters on her way to first place finishes in both events.

Her time of 7.31 in the 60 meters broke the school record she set earlier this season, and her time of 23.44 in the 200 meters is now the school record as well as the facility record at Dempsey Indoor.

A 24-year-old school record fell after freshman Mason McHenry finished first in the 800 meters with a time of 1:49.00.

Athletes from around the nation will have one final opportunity to qualify for the championship this weekend at the Last Chance meets in Seattle and Ames, Iowa.

Reach the reporter at emschimm@asu.edu.