As March rolls around, the madness of being “on the bubble” stretches off the court and all over the college sports landscape.
With the regular portion of the indoor season completed, some members of the ASU track and field team are getting one final shot to qualify for the NCAA Championships at the Last Chance Meet at Iowa State, which begins on Friday.
“It’s do or die,” redshirt senior pole vaulter Corey Phallen said. “If you do it, you’re in, and if you don’t, you’re out. That’s pretty much all there is to it.”
Phallen is one of eight Sun Devils trying to improve their positions in the NCAA rankings for the opportunity to compete for an individual title, along with redshirt sophomore thrower Jordan Clarke, redshirt freshman thrower Anna Jelmini, freshman pole vaulter Shaylah Simpson, and the women’s 4x400 meter sprint team of redshirt senior Jasmine Chaney, senior Dominique’ Maloy, sophomore Keia Pinnick and junior Kayla Sanchez.
In general, the NCAA takes the top 15 in each event, with some technicalities allowing for more or less athletes in the 14 to 18 bubble selection range.
The selections will be announced on Monday, March 7, at 5 p.m.
With the high stakes of the meet, getting to be one of those lucky selections, Phallen doesn’t want to get overcharged.
“You can get all pumped for a meet, but when the time comes and you step on that runway, you have to calm yourself down and know that you have to hit these marks,” Phallen said.
Phallen knows the marks he must hit as he currently sits five spots and 0.13 meters out of the bubble range and eight spots and 0.14 meters outside of the qualifying range in the pole vault.
He wants to make that huge push in what could be his final indoor meet at ASU.
“It’s what I’ve been working for the past four years,” Phallen said. “It’s the last chance. It’s do or die. I can’t explain that feeling of what it would be like to go [to nationals].”
While the pole vaulters and sprint team look to get into the NCAAs, the throwers, Clarke and Jelmini, are looking to fix technique and solidify their spots at the Championships.
“It’s going there to get more practice for competition,” Jelimini said.
Clarke and Jelmini sit at Nos. 14 and 13, respectively, in the shot put rankings, which would put them in if the Championships were today. There’s no pressure to outdo their previous marks this weekend.
“It’s not like I’m pressing anything,” Jelmini said. “I’m just taking the things from practice and see if they apply to a meet setting. Just some technical things.”
Technicalities aside, these Sun Devils are pushing to earn the one last hurrah of the indoor season.
Reach the reporter at zcavanag@asu.edu