After an impressive start to the indoor season, this weekend the ASU track and field team faces its first national measuring stick.
The majority of the Sun Devils will be traveling to the Texas A&M Conference Challenge in College Station, Texas, the site of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship. Others will participate in the Mountain T’s Invitational in Flagstaff.
The Conference Challenge will be a great preview in terms of competition and should give the Sun Devils a feel for the venue that will host the NCAA Championship.
“This next weekend will be a definite step-up in class,” ASU coach Greg Kraft said.
Athletes listed with the top times from the other top track conferences, like the Big 12 and Southeastern Conference, will attend this meet, which provides a great challenge for ASU.
“You can race against the clock all you want, but if you put that person next to you, it gives you that much more adrenaline. It gives you that much more competitiveness,” redshirt senior pole vaulter Corey Phallen said.
Redshirt senior sprinter Jasmine Chaney exemplifies the motivation to beat the other competitors rather than worry about the clock.
Chaney has set personal records in each of the first two meets of the season, but her times are still not at the top.
“I’m not getting complacent with my times, and I’m not being satisfied with my times,” Chaney said. “They are [personal records] and a lot of people have told me they are great times, but I see that there are girls still running faster than me.”
Chaney will get another shot to improve while testing out the playing surface for the NCAA Championship. It is what Phallen sees as the purpose for this weekend.
“It’s why we go to this meet, because we’re going there for nationals. It gives you that feeling of what the track is going to be like and what the runways are going to be like,” Phallen said.
For the Sun Devils, getting that experience is important for continuing the fast pace they have already set. Phallen sees their season-long mantra present in this opening pace.
“We’re going out there and supporting each other,” Phallen said. “It’s not ‘I’m going to do this’ or ‘I’m going to do that,’ it’s ‘we’re going to do this’ and ‘we’re going to do that.’”
With the team’s upward trend and mentality, Chaney envisions a happy return to College Station in March.
“I think our team can win a national championship,” Chaney said. “Some are improving faster than others, but we’re still improving as a team.”
Reach the reporter at zcavanag@asu.edu
