In a few short months, the Sun Devil track and field team attempted to solidify themselves as a dynasty with a third championship in as many years for the women and a second consecutive title for the men.

ASU was expected to do well this year with its All-American-laden roster, but ultimately fell short of its team goal of repeating as champions.

After numerous early-season performances that earned provisionally qualifying marks for the national meet, the Sun Devils were able to qualify only eight athletes.

Each of the three men and five women garnered All-American honors during the course of the meet, but the points were not enough for ASU to reclaim its throne as both teams finished fifth.

However, two of the Sun Devil men were able to call themselves national champions at the end of the meet.

Juniors Jason Lewis and Ryan Whiting captured the titles in the weight throw and shot put respectively.

Lewis’ throw of 22.88 meters is the new ASU record as well as the facility record at the McFerrin Complex on the campus of Texas A&M.

Whiting won his second consecutive indoor shot put crown, becoming only the second Sun Devil male to do so since Ulis Williams won back-to-back outdoor 440-yard dash titles in 1963 and 1964.

Whiting’s first throw of 19.64 meters would have been enough for first place, but he went out on his second attempt and heaved the sphere nearly a full meter farther for a national championship mark of 20.16 meters.

The women also brought their best thrower to the meet in senior Sarah Stevens.

Stevens came in to the NCAA Indoor Championships with the second-best toss in the nation in the weight throw and had been consistently at the top of the leader board at the previous meets.

Toward the end of the finals in the shot put, Stevens sat in second place with two throwers left after she notched 21.11 meters on her fourth throw.

Akron’s Stevi Large and Stephen F. Austin’s Frednisha Marshall passed Stevens’ distance on their last throws of the day with
personal-best marks to claim second and third, respectively.

D’Ana McCarty of Louisville won the event with a throw of 22.09 meters.

Although the final results may not have been what Stevens envisioned, it was an historic day for her.

Stevens’ mark made her an 11-time All-American, which is the most by any member of the Sun Devil track and field team.

But she wasn’t done there.

The next day, she attempted to win the shot put, an event for which she won the national championship in 2007.

Miriam Kevkhishvili of Florida tossed the implement 17.84 meters on her last throw, edging out Stevens by 0.10 meters for the title.

Stevens tallied another All-American honor in the process.

On the track, ASU had equally solid performances.

Senior Charonda Williams continued her weekly torching of the track as she took third in the 200-meter dash.

For a moment, Williams was in first place after she ran heat one in 22.89 seconds.

Williams’ mark became the fourth-fastest time ran in the world this year, after Murielle Ahoure of Miami and Porscha Lucas of Texas A&M finished with times of 22.80 and 22.83 respectively in the next heat.

Williams went on to place sixth in the finals of the 60-meter dash and helped the women’s 4x400 team place second behind Texas A&M as well.

Both events added to Williams’ total of three All-America plaques earned at the weekend meet.

The final All-American honor picked up by Sun Devil athletes over the weekend was by freshman Mason McHenry in the 800-meter run.

The outdoor season begins this weekend at Sun Angel Stadium with the Baldy Castillo Invitational, beginning with the hammer throw at 1 p.m. on Friday

Reach the reporter at emschimm@asu.edu.