The 56th annual Mt. SAC Relays kicked off Thursday in Walnut, Calif. with the ASU men’s and women’s track and field team participating. It is the team's first outdoor meet of the season away from Sun Angel Stadium.
Despite having three athletes scheduled to compete in steeplechase races Thursday, only one Sun Devil ended up competing. Redshirt freshman CJ Albertson placed 15th out of 20 in the 3000-meter steeplechase Thursday evening. Albertson’s time of nine minutes and 24 seconds is now his second-best time in the event this season after running the race at the Arizona State Invitational and the Sun Angel Classic.
The highlight for the Sun Devils Friday was all-American Bryan McBride in the high jump. The redshirt junior and former Sandra Day O’Connor High School standout won the event outright, clearing the bar at 2.19 meters. That height ties a meet record set back in 1992 by Hollis Conway, who represented Nike. That jump is just below his season best of 2.20 meters set at the Sun Angel Classic.
Also jumping for ASU in the high jump was junior Edmond Baker, who was part of a five-way tie for third place with a jump clearing the bar at 2.09 meters. That jump is now second-best this season for Baker.
The big name for the women on Friday was freshman LaTroya Franklin, who ran in the 200-meter dash. Franklin finished first in her heat of the race but fifth overall with a time of 23.53 seconds. That time is a new personal best for Franklin.
Sophomore Josh Dixon finished second in the finals of the triple jump with a distance of 15.70 meters. That jump sets a new personal best for Dixon after just setting his own personal record at the Sun Angel Classic last weekend.
Senior pole vaulter Shaylah Simpson cleared the bar at 4.15 meters in her section of the event for second place. The winner of the event, Kristen Brown of San Diego State, cleared the bar at the same height as Simpson but won outright by clearing the bar on her first attempt. It took Simpson two tries to clear. Despite that, it is a season best for Simpson after missing last weekend’s Sun Angel Classic. Her personal best is 4.30 meters.
In the men’s pole vault, all-American Derrick Hinch placed second in his section of the event with a clearance of 5.40 meters. That height is a season best for Hinch. The winning clearance set by Victor Weirich, who was unattached, was 5.55 meters, 0.05 meters higher than Hinch’s personal best.
The 56th annual Mt. SAC Relays will continue Saturday in Walnut starting at 9 a.m. It will be a relatively small number of Sun Devils in competition with just one competing in the field events. Redshirt junior Bryan McBride will return to compete in the elite invite section of the high jump. Junior Brianna Tate will be running in the 400-meter elite invite and redshirt senior Ryan Milus will be running the 100-meter elite invite.
There will also be the men’s and women’s 4x100 and 4x400 relays ran. For the men’s 4x400, redshirt sophomore Cody Moore is still expected to run in the anchor position, although last minute changes are not uncommon.
Reach the reporter at wslane@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @bill_slane
