The throwers of the ASU men’s and women’s track and field team finished competition in La Jolla, Calif. on Saturday at the Triton Invitational. After talk of a rash of hand injuries going into the event for some of the team’s top throwers, there was only one Sun Devil absent from a competition he was scheduled to compete in.
Redshirt senior Anna Jelmini and redshirt freshman Thomas Anderson have both been dealing with hand injuries over the past few weeks and it was questionable as to whether or not they would compete this weekend at all. Friday, Jelmini competed in the women’s discus invite, and showed improvement on previous throws this season. For the first time this outdoor season Jelmini also competed in the shot put event.
Jelmini placed 10th in the event with a throw of 15.98 meters, which ties the seventh-best mark in ASU history.
Jelmini has said previously that the hand injury has not affected her shot put; however, this is the first time this outdoor season that she has thrown in the shot put event. Opening her up in a meet that is not a marquee event may mean that her hand is starting to fully heal.
Anderson’s situation is not as clear. The redshirt freshman was scheduled to compete in both the shot put invitational and the discus open Saturday; however, he only competed in the discus event. The injury seems to still be an issue for Anderson, as he only placed 34th with a throw of 46.76 meters.
While that does handily beat his season best of 44.57 meters, it's still far below his expectations. The former two-time Minnesota state champion in the shot put had a career best in high school of over 55 meters in the discus.
Someone who did compete in the discus open event was redshirt junior Michael Ohakwe. Coach Greg Kraft said during the week that Ohakwe had been dealing with some back pains but did compete Saturday. Those pains didn’t seem to bother Ohakwe much Saturday, as he placed 10th in the event with a throw of 54.06 meters, a new season best.
Redshirt freshman Kyle Long also set a personal best in the men’s discus with a throw of 51.77 meters, placing 20th.
The only winner of the day for the Sun Devils came in the women’s shot put open with redshirt junior Alex Hartig taking first place. Hartig set a new personal best with a throw of 15.93 meters in the win, which will move her up to eighth all-time in ASU history. Her previous best of 15.78 meters was ninth best in ASU history before this weekend.
Redshirt freshman Ashley Weber placed 11th in the same event with a throw of 14.45 meters. Her personal best is 15.17 meters set at this year’s Sun Angel Classic.
Next up for the track and field team will be a trip down to Tucson for the Double Dual meet against UA and NAU. That meet is set for Saturday, May 3.
Reach the reporter at wslane@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @bill_slane
