Then-Sophomore pole-vaulter Andrea Kremmerrer gets a running start before jumping over the bar during the Sun Angel Track Classic at Sun Angel Stadium on Saturday,April 12. (Photo by Becca Smouse)
The ASU track and field team will get its first major test of the season when the team heads out to College Station on Saturday for the Texas A&M Quadrangular.
The Sun Devils will face off against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. All three schools have top-25 ranked track and field teams, which include the No. 2-ranked Texas A&M men’s team and the No. 4-ranked Texas A&M women’s team.
ASU is coming off of a hot start in its first meet of the season last Friday. Riding high off of winning performances in the 60-meter dash, both junior Jasmine Gibbs on the women’s side and redshirt senior Devan Spann for the men look to continue their success against some of the best competition they will see all year.
Another athlete who is coming into the Quadrangular red-hot is senior hurdler Cameron Taylor. Taylor ran a 7.82 in the final last week which gave him the second-fastest indoor time ever by a Sun Devil.
A key race on the women’s side involves the return of senior Shelby Houlihan. Houlihan won the national championship in the 1,500-meter last year and will be racing her first event of 2015 in the 3,000-meter on Saturday evening. She will be competing alongside junior teammate Adriana Olivas.
The Sun Devils have high expectations for freshman thrower Magdalyn Ewen. In her first competition last week, Ewen won the women’s shot put and placed second in the women’s weight throw. She has shown tremendous potential and looks to prove herself on the big stage Saturday.
ASU will be very formidable competition out on the field in the throwing portion of the meet. The Sun Devils finished in three of the top four spots in the men’s weight throw at the Duals, with redshirt senior Kyle Lillie taking first prize.
The depth at the throwing events continues in the shot put, where ASU took two of the top three spots last week. Sophomores Thomas Anderson and Kyle Long finished first and third, respectively. They both look to have continued success in the future starting this Saturday.
The dark horse performer for this weekend’s competition could be sophomore Keyasia Tibbs. Tibbs won the women’s triple jump easily last week with a jump of 12.32 meters, good enough for third in the all-time ASU indoor record books.
While the Sun Devils had an impressive showcase last weekend, their competition for this week will be tougher. With all six teams from arguably the best track and field conference in the NCAA (SEC) and ranked in the top-25, there is no room for error for ASU.
Reach the reporter at tjwilkin@asu.edu or follow @Twilkins23 on Twitter.
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