While the season is long and the successes have so far been numerous, the ASU track and field team has continually found ways to improve its marks.
Redshirt senior Jasmine Chaney made a statement in the late session on Saturday at the ASU Invitational at Sun Angel Stadium.
Chaney recorded personal records to win the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdle races with times of 13.18 seconds and 57.4 seconds, respectively. Her 100-meter time was the fourth best in Sun Devil history.
ASU head coach Greg Kraft was satisfied, but reiterated a mantra that is a key to a complete and successful track season.
“You don’t want someone to get too high or too low,” Kraft said. “You see some younger athletes put so much into each meet, and they are emotionally drained going through the outdoor season.”
In the same steady realm was the continuation of impressive freshman seasons on the No.16 women’s side from true freshman Shaylah Simpson and redshirt freshman Anna Jelmini.
On Friday, Simpson won her second consecutive women’s pole vault event by clearing a mark of 3.9 meters.
Jelmini opened with a personal record of 53.48 meters in the women’s hammer throw to finish in sixth, two spots behind junior teammate Ashley Lampley’s own personal record of 53.99 meters.
Jelmini followed up that performance on Saturday with a win in her first women’s discuss event for ASU with a throw of 60.49 meters.
The throw was the third best in Sun Devil history, behind only Leslie Deniz and Ria Stahlman, both Olympians at the 1984 Los Angeles games.
The men’s side saw more success on the track in the middle and long distances over the weekend.
At the Stanford Invitational on Friday, redshirt senior Ben Englehardt and redshirt junior Daniel Lovell finished 22nd and 23rd, respectively, in the 10,000-meter race. Their times placed the pair at fifth and sixth on the all-time ASU list.
Back in Tempe on Saturday, redshirt freshman Nick Happe broke an ASU Invitational record in the 5,000-meter with his winning time of 14 minutes and 10.56 seconds.
“It’s been a real positive step for our middle distance runners,” Kraft said. “Those are the things that we need to see happen, and they bode well for our outdoor season.”
The best men’s success for ASU in field events both came on Friday as redshirt senior Corey Phallen finished third in the pole vault with a cleared mark of 5.1 meters and redshirt sophomore Jordan Clarke finished fifth in the hammer throw with a mark of 60.45 meters.
Only five Sun Devils will compete next weekend, as three men’s decathletes and two women’s heptathletes will compete at the Jim Click Multis in Tucson.
Reach the reporter at zcavanag@asu.edu
