As ASU sophomore thrower Sarah Stevens calmly stepped inside the shot put circle, she was oblivious to the tension and pressure all around her. It was her final throw of the NCAA Indoor Championships and she was in second place.
When Stevens unleashed her final throw, head coach Greg Kraft watched intently, knowing what was at stake for his team. A first-place finish by Stevens would give the Sun Devils the National Championship.
“I can remember every detail of that meet,” Stevens said. “This was my last chance and I might as well give it everything I’ve got.”
Sarah Stevens came through in the clutch, throwing a lifetime best of 18.16 meters while also giving her team ten points for her first-place finish, elevating them to the status that Stevens herself had just achieved: national champion.
“She stepped in the circle, didn’t hesitate and nailed it to win us the national championship,” Kraft said. “It takes someone special to do that, and when the whole team is counting on you, that is really cool.”
Her first individual national title was only the beginning for Stevens, as she would go on to win another individual crown in the discus at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She also recorded four second-place and four third-place finishes during her storied and successful career as a Sun Devil.
But her most impressive achievement may have come a few weeks ago when she was selected as a 2010 NCAA Top VIII winner, an award given to only eight athletes in the nation, recognizing them for the their excellence involving academics, athletics and in the community.
The awards banquet was recently held in Atlanta, where Stevens got to meet the other recipients of this year’s award, including former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow. Since the award was created in 1973, award winners have included Peyton Manning, John Elway and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Stevens said she was in awe of the dedication and commitment of her fellow award winners.
“It was an honor to stand next to the greatest athletes of the country and of the past 25 years,” she said.
Her achievements aren’t limited in her sport, however, as she received the Top VIII award based on her incredible academic success.
While at ASU, Stevens twice served as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) on campus and was also named the 2009 Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for track and field.
Although she is just a short time removed from her time at ASU, the 15-time All-American is already considered one of the greatest Sun Devil athletes in history.
Kraft noted that Stevens put in the time in academics and athletics and still had time to help out in the community.
“What really set her apart was her commitment off the track,” Kraft said. “It amazes me that someone has so much energy.”
Kraft also said that Stevens was the ultimate team leader as she competed in multiple events in order to help score as many points as possible for her team.
“She did three events and was very versatile,” Kraft said. “She brought a lot to the table.”
ASU sophomore thrower Cj Navarro said she learned a great deal from Stevens and appreciated her as a team leader for the women.
“She was really good at filling the leadership role,” Navarro said. “I tried to follow her example in meet and mental preparations.”
Navarro said that Stevens was never one to be down or frowning on the track.
“She was always one to be positive,” Navarro said. “If practice wasn’t going well, she would joke around and make you not feel as frustrated.”
Stevens said she now looks back on her time as a Sun Devil and says she enjoyed every moment of it and doesn’t have any regrets — even with her collection of near-misses at a large haul of individual national championships.
“When I look back at my career, there is nothing I am disappointed in,” she said. “I was competing against some really great athletes, and I couldn’t be any more excited or happy about how I competed in college.”
The next step for Stevens, who still trains on campus, is the 2012 Olympics in London.
Kraft notes that competing in the grandest stage of them all is about the only thing she hasn’t achieved.
“Sarah’s done everything you can do at a young age except make the Olympic team,” Kraft said.
Stevens admits that she would like to make the U.S. Olympic team but says that it’s still a few years down the road.
“I know there are still a few things I want to accomplish,” she said. “The big focus is to make the team and make an impact on the world stage.”
She also knows that track won’t be her main focus in life forever. She has that covered, too, as she wants to be an elementary school teacher.
She recently took part in student-teaching for first graders and said “she fell in love with them the moment they walked through the door.”
Stevens, with all she has done for the sport, also wants to get into coaching down the road.
“I have been given so much through athletics,” she said. “I want to be able to give that back to the kids.”
Lucky for them, they will get to learn from one of the best.
Reach the reporter at elsmith8@asu.edu
