The ASU track and field team competed at their final indoor meet of the season at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, this weekend.
The Sun Devils had five athletes, all seniors, contending for the championships. Just to qualify for the event takes a top-16 time in a particular event, so all five seniors were among elite company before stepping foot on the track. The Indoor Championships however, are an entirely different level of competition.
Of the five seniors competing at the championships, only four made it through the preliminary heats and onto the finals on Saturday. Devan Spann did not start in his 200 meter prelim on Friday and therefore did not qualify for Saturday’s final.
Brianna Tate qualified for the women’s 400 dash by running a time of 52.68 at the MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 27. Her time was No. 14 in the country and third in school history.
Tate qualified with the fourth-best time of 52.40 in Friday’s preliminary race. She finished seventh place in the women’s 400 final on Saturday with a time of 52.67 seconds, earning her an All-America honor for being among the best in the country at her event.
On the men’s side, it was Cameron Taylor holding it down in the men’s 60 hurdles. Taylor qualified for the 60 hurdles in a time of 7.73 seconds at the MPSF Indoor Championships, which gave him the sixth-fastest time in the country this season and second in school history.
In his preliminary heat on Friday, Taylor qualified in fifth place with a time of 7.78 seconds. In Saturday’s final, Taylor finished fourth in a speedy 7.75 seconds. He earned his first career All-America honor with his performance.
Bryan McBride, who won the national championship in men’s high jump last season, qualified for this year’s competition by tying the school record height of 2.26 meters (7 feet, 5 inches) at the MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships. His jump was the fourth in the nation and tied his personal best.
McBride also qualified for the national championships in the men’s long jump by setting a personal best distance of 7.79 meters (25 feet 6.25 inches) also at the MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships. That jump gave him the tenth-best distance in the nation for the event.
The men’s long jump finals took place on Friday where McBride finished eighth with a jump of 7.59 meters (24 feet 11 inches). McBride’s jump was good enough for All-American honors, the fifth of his career.
McBride took on the men’s high jump final on Saturday where he finished 14th at 2.15 meters (7 feet 0.5 inches). McBride received second team All-America honors for the finish.
Shelby Houlihan, one of the most decorated athletes in school history for track and field, qualified for the indoor championships in two separate events. She qualified for the women’s mile run at the Millrose Games where she competed in the 2015 Wanamaker Mile, one of the most prestigious races in the world. Her time of 4:30.77 set a school record and gave her the No. 2 time in the country.
Houlihan decided to compete in the 3000 as well at the indoor national championships as she qualified for that event by setting a school record back on Jan. 24 at the Texas A&M Quadrangular. Houlihan ran a time of 9:03.71 at the Quadrangular, which was eighth in the nation.
After qualifying for the final in the women’s mile in fifth place on Friday, Houlihan ran a blazing fast 4:28.71 to break her own school record on her way to a second place finish. Houlihan finished behind Michigan State’s Leah O’Connor who ran a 4:27.18, the second fastest time in collegiate history.
Houlihan, competing in the women’s 3000 final on Saturday, finished in eighth place with a time of 9:09.61. After both the mile and 3000 run, Houlihan gained her ninth and tenth All-American honors for her efforts.
The Sun Devil track and field squad will now move on to track outdoors starting March 20-21 at the Baldy Castillo Invitational in Tempe at Sun Angel Stadium.
Reach the reporter at tjwilkin@asu.edu or follow @Twilkins23 on Twitter.
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