Senior Matt Turner is not scared.
Nerves are nonexistent.
He's trying not to worry about it, but it'll be hard.
Instead, he's focusing on how much fun he's going to have.
"I'm excited," he said. "Very excited."
He says he's just going to be himself, but he's anxious to see if he's going to be pushed to become better Saturday night.
"I want to see how good this is going to be," he said. "Is he going to make me jump far? I think he's definitely going to challenge me."
"He" is former Sun Devil and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Dwight Phillips, who will compete against Turner in the long jump as stars of the past and present collide at Sun Angel Stadium this weekend for the 29th Sun Angel Track Classic.
In addition to Phillips, the competition will also feature former Sun Devils Roger Cahill, who will race in the 5,000 meters, and Vince Mosca, who will throw in the invitational version of the shot put. Former Sun Devils Nick Hysong, a 2000 Olympic gold medalist, will also be on hand to compete in the pole vault and 2008 USA Indoor Champion Trevell Quinley will compete alongside Turner and Phillips in the long jump.
Turner met Phillips for the first time Thursday at practice — without exchanging any trash talk.
"I know when to be quiet," Turner said with a laugh. "I'm not going to go over my boundaries.
"The only message I can say to Dwight is I hope he doesn't underestimate anybody in the field."
Underestimating the competition is something the ASU track and field team can't afford to do this weekend as a number of quality teams will be participating in the meet.
"It's going to be an outstanding event with a lot of outstanding teams," coach Greg Kraft said.
Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Wisconsin and UA will be represented at the meet, and all are ranked in the top 20 for either the men or women's teams or both.
The competition is a prominent fixture on the schedule, not only because of the teams it attracts but also because most of ASU's athletes will be in action, Kraft said.
But one Sun Devil who will be out of commission for the weekend is sophomore Ryan Whiting, who suffered a sprained ankle last week in the weight room.
Junior Marcus Duncan will compete in the 4x100-meter relay team, and senior Jordan Durham will replace junior Stephanie Garnett in the women's 4x100-meter relay.
"We're trying to get a good assessment of where we are," Kraft said. "It's time for kids to stick their claim to the roster."
Solidifying roster spots may be a challenge with the mix of talent comprising the competition. But the inclusion of athletes like Phillips into the meet provides athletes like Turner with that extra motivation to complete the outdoor season as a champion and make a strong case for competing in the Olympics this summer in China.
"It actually gives me hope. Everyone does start out average," Turner said. "To be a pro or be good at what you do, you have to do more than the average person does, and that's something that Dwight has done, and that's what I plan to do."
The meet is also an opportunity to show off for the home crowd, Turner said.
"This is going to be the primetime meet," he said. "This is the first meet to show how good I am, and jumping against an Olympic gold medalist, it doesn't get any better than that."
Reach the reporter at: sarah.mclellan@asu.edu.
