With a week to go until the NCAA Indoor National Championships, most of the athletes on the ASU track and field team know whether they are in or out after competing this past weekend at the Iowa State Last Chance Meet in Ames, Iowa.
Both the men and women’s 4x400 relay teams ran season-best times in tough fields. The women’s team of Dominique’ Maloy, Keia Pinnick, Kayla Sanchez and Jasmine Chaney finished at 3:37.36, good for sixth at the meet and ninth-best in school history. The men’s team of Donald Sanford, Justin Kremer, Ray Miller and Joel Phillip, which is headed for nationals, ran 3:06.70 to finish second at the meet. The mark is also the fourth-best in ASU history.
Chaney also finished second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.34 seconds.
ASU coach Greg Kraft said only two of his athletes are on the bubble as the selection committee makes its decisions by tonight. Usually the committee selects 16 athletes from each event, with more being allowed entry if times or marks are the same. Spots are also freed up if an athlete competes in more than one event.
ASU senior sprinter Lawrence Trice Jr., who finished second in the 60-meter dash at Iowa State with a time of 6.70 seconds, is probably out, Kraft said. Trice is currently tied for the 19th spot in the event, making it unlikely that he will be selected to run.
Kraft said that he believes ASU freshman thrower Jordan Clarke will be selected to nationals in the shot put. Clarke, who has been hampered by a hand injury the past few weeks, currently sits at 16th in the event.
At this time of year, Kraft said, injuries and illnesses are affecting every team trying to win a national championship.
“Everybody has issues — that’s why the best team wins,” Kraft said, noting that luck will also come into play next weekend.
ASU sophomore distance runner Mason McHenry improved his season-best in the 800-meter race to 1:48.04, as he won the event this past weekend. McHenry’s time places him in the top 12 nationally and also guarantees him a spot at nationals.
After a short week of practice, the Sun Devils that have qualified for the national meet will travel to Fayetteville, Ark. on Wednesday to get accustomed to their surroundings. Kraft said the athletes’ workouts early in the week will be crucial, especially with the earlier travel day.
“Once you get to the site, it’s hard to work out,” he said. “You have to do whatever will help the kids’ confidence.”
Reach the reporter at eric.l.smith@asu.edu
