The highly touted men's 4x400m relay team finished its season with a bang, clocking a new school record and finishing as national runners-up Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
The relay team was comprised of senior Seth Amoo, juniors Rich Allen and Lewis Banda and sophomore Domenik Peterson. The Sun Devils finished in a school record 3 minutes, 0.57 seconds and finished second to Louisiana State, who set a new NCAA record. All four Sun Devils also earned All-American honors.
"Seth Amoo has been the glue of this group for four years. His 44.4s on the second leg put us back in contention. Lewis Banda really came up big for us as well," ASU track and field coach Greg Kraft said of the 4x400m relay team.
The relay team's second-place finish accounted for half of the ASU men's 16 team points, which was good enough for 17th place overall. The Sun Devil women failed to score in the meet.
"The men were a disappointment. We had good balance but the 4x100m relay team was disqualified and Domenik Peterson had a false start in the 400m dash," Kraft said. "The women were an extreme disappointment. We sent 13 athletes in 15 different events and not scoring is a disappointment. We had a lot of talent but we were a day late and a dollar short."
The men's 4x100m relay team was disqualified for passing the baton outside the passing zone. They were in fifth place at the time of the infraction.
Amoo also earned All-American status in the 200m dash, bringing his career total to seven All-American honors, which ties him for first all time in ASU men's history.
"Seth Amoo was a leader for us. He was our leading points man at three of his Pac-10 championship meets and tied with Lewis Banda in his fourth. He was very steady and we're going to miss him," Kraft said.
Freshman Jessica Pressley finished a stellar first season as a Sun Devil by earning her first All-American honors in the hammer throw. Pressley's strongest event heading into the Championships had been in the shot put, but she failed to reach the finals in the event.
"Jessica was disappointed about her performance in the shot put. She has shown a lot of growth in the hammer throw, but her inexperience in championship events was a factor this weekend," Kraft said.
Also in the field, senior Trevell Quinley placed fourth and earned All-American status for the fourth time in his career in the long jump. The Tracy, Cal. native entered the Championships with the longest jump in the collegiate ranks this season, and was a strong favorite to win the event.
"Trevell Quinley seemed pressed too hard. He was at home and I believe he was the man to beat in the event," Kraft said.
The final All-American for ASU was junior Ryan Warrenburg in the 3,000m steeplechase. It was Warrenburg's first such distinction.
The meet concluded the 2005 track and field season, and coach Kraft is already looking towards the 2006 campaign.
"We'll be looking for a top-10 finish indoors for the women and men," he said.
Reach the reporter at thomas.j.kelley@asu.edu.
