The ASU track and field team earned more wins and regional qualifiers last weekend and also continued to rewrite the record books at three separate meets.
During the 28th annual Sun Angel Track Classic on Friday and Saturday, the Sun Devils picked up six event wins and 25 regional qualifying marks while facing some of the nation's best.
"I'm really pleased with where we are," coach Greg Kraft said. "I feel really good about our team. Obviously the women are ranked No. 1 and the guys are No. 7, and right now I think we're living up to that billing."
The throwing events continued to be a huge strength for the Sun Devils as sophomore Sarah Stevens and redshirt freshman Ryan Whiting both won the shot put and discus.
Stevens won the shot put and qualified for regionals by tossing 18.03m. She also shattered her own school record with that mark.
Stevens also won the discus and regionally qualified with a mark of 55.32m.
Whiting won the shot put and regionally qualified with a toss of 20.07m. That mark moved him up to No. 3 on ASU's all-time list.
Whiting also moved up on ASU's all-time list in the discus as his winning and regionally qualifying mark of 57.48m was the fifth-best in school history.
On the track, senior Latosha Wallace won the 400m hurdles and regionally qualified with a time of 56.75. The time was also her personal best, the third-fastest time in school history and the second-best time in the nation this year.
The final win for the Sun Devils came from junior Matt Turner, who won the long jump with a leap of 7.79m. The mark was also the ninth-best distance in school history.
Also in the throws, junior Jessica Pressley regionally qualified and tossed 17.93m in the shot put, which would have set a school record if Stevens had not thrown farther the same day.
Stevens also placed second in the hammer and qualified for the regional meet with a toss of 62.28m (204-4).
Back on the track, senior Aaron Aguayo almost ran a sub-four minute mile by clocking in at 4:00.14. The time also moved him up to second on ASU's all-time list.
Freshman Kari Hart ran the 1,500m in 4:25.08, which regionally qualified her and was the 10th-fastest time in school history.
In the pole vault, three Sun Devils had marks that were among the top 10 in ASU history.
Freshman Angela Piana and junior Alana Waterford tied for fourth-best with clearances of 3.70m, while freshman Lisa Navarro increased her No. 10 spot with a clearance of 3.30m.
In the men's javelin, junior Brad Roth had a mark of 68.82m to hold on to the No. 5 spot on ASU's all-time list, while senior Andrew Smith tossed 66.69m, which was sixth-best in school history.
Both marks were also personal bests.
At the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., on Thursday and Friday, the Sun Devils were led by junior Jacquelyn Johnson, who won the heptathlon and regionally qualified with a score of 2,226 points.
After going into the second day of competition in third place, Johnson scored 804 points and finished third in the long jump, scored 685 points and finished second in the javelin and scored 777 points and finished seventh in the 800m run to take first place overall in the competition.
"We just wanted to get her qualified, and she did," Kraft said. "It was just really a glorified practice session for her."
Also on the women's side, sophomore Jenna Kingma and freshman Ali Kielty both regionally qualified in the 5,000m run with times of 16:08.54 and 16:33.57, respectively.
Junior Corey Randall also qualified for regionals in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 10:26.51.
The men's team also got a regional qualifier when junior Kyle Alcorn ran the 5,000m in 13:55.17, which was also the eighth-best time in school history.
At the Mesa Classic on Friday, the Sun Devils had one regional qualifier and a pair of event winners.
Whiting regionally qualified and placed eighth in the discus with a mark of 55.84m.
The Sun Devils got wins from senior Jimmie Gordon in the 400m dash with a time of 47.57 and freshman Chelsea Caloia in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time 11:39.58.
"It's been a solid weekend, but we're four weeks out [from the Pac-10 Championships], so these things need to come together like this," Kraft said.
"It's just very pleasing to see. We're where we need to be to be. We just need to stay healthy and we're just going to continue to get better."
The Sun Devils will head to San Diego, Calif., this weekend to compete in the UC San Diego Triton Classic on Friday and Saturday.
Reach the reporter at:gina.mizell@asu.edu.
