Coach Greg Kraft showed no signs of worry about splitting his ASU indoor track and field team up for last weekend’s three tournaments. Kraft's confidence rang true after a record-setting weekend when the Sun Devils cemented themselves as one of the best teams in the nation.
At the Don Kirby Invitational, two Sun Devils earned automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Indoor National Championships.
In the 60-meter dash, redshirt sophomore Ryan Milus punched his ticket to Boise with a career best of 6.58 seconds. Although Milus finished runner-up to defending national champion senior Jeff Demps from the University of Florida, Kraft was proud of the sophomore’s performance.
“We were quite impressed,” Kraft said. “Ryan really had a good race against Demps. It was a tremendous boost to his confidence.”
Sophomore jumper Bryan McBride also gained an auto-qualifier when he set a personal record in the high jump for the third consecutive meet. His jump of 2.26 meters was good enough for third nationally and tied the ASU indoor record in the event.
Kraft is excited to see McBride continue to put up big numbers.
“His jump really puts him in a different class,” Kraft said. “We are really excited about him.”
The Sun Devils had other great performances at the Don Kirby Invitational, including wins from seniors John Kline in the 800-meter and Chris Benard in the triple jump.
At the Husky Invitational, the distance team also had an impressive weekend led by remarkable performances from freshman Shelby Houlihan and junior Nick Happe.
Houlihan showed off her versatility, winning the indoor mile in a time of 4:41.26. It was the first time the freshman ran the race, but she still set the ASU indoor record for the event and fell just four seconds short of qualifying for nationals.
Kraft is continually impressed with Houlihan's performances.
“It looks like she can do it all,” Kraft said. “She has the ability to be great, but also has the desire. We are extremely pleased with her so far this year.”
Happe also put in a solid performance, finishing the 5000-meter run in a time of 13:54.51. The run qualified Happe in the top 15 for the event and put him in position for a possible national qualifier berth.
Kraft believes Happe still needs to do more though.
“He's probably going to have to drop down his time, and it's just one of those things based on the descending order list,” Kraft said.
At the Boise Invitational, the throwers also put forth solid efforts.
Outdoor national champion redshirt junior Jordan Clarke won another shot put competition with a throw of 18.83 meters.
Clarke didn't set a personal record, but Kraft isn't too worried about his All-American.
“He's doing well,” Kraft said. “He is looking to manage his own expectations, which is tough.”
Redshirt sophomore Anna Jelmini, ASU’s other All-American thrower, earned her top throw of the year at 16.07 meters.
Jelmini is starting to return to last year's form but isn't completely there yet.
“Last week was her best week of practice, but she puts a lot of pressure on herself to perform well,” Kraft said. “She knows what she needs to do.”
Kraft likes where his team is now and is confident moving forward.
“We are really solidifying ourselves as one of the better teams in the country,” Kraft said.
The No. 21 women’s team and No. 24 men’s team will race next weekend at the NAU Tune-Up before the MPSF Conference Championships in two weeks.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
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