Redshirt junior Jordan Clarke must have gotten ice in his veins while growing up in Anchorage, Alaska.
After entering the track and field national championships as the No. 8 seed, Clarke hurled a throw of 20.86 meters on his last attempt to win the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championship for the shot put.
The throw was good enough to beat the junior's personal record by over a meter and help the ASU men's track and field team place fourth.
Clarke, who has now won both an indoor and outdoor championship, earned praise from coach Greg Kraft.
“Jordan was one of the favorites coming in, but he basically (set a personal record) by three feet on his last throw,” Kraft said.
Senior Mason McHenry also came out of the weekend victorious, winning the title in the 800-meter event with a time of 1:47.87, a mere tenth of a second off his personal record.
McHenry now has two All-America performances in his career, and Kraft likes McHenry’s progression.
“Mason has always been a very talented student athlete that showed flashes of brilliance throughout his career, but it was a process with him,” Kraft said. “He was very decisive and confident and raced well.”
Senior Chris Benard finished in second place in the triple jump, earning a personal record with a jump of 16.50 meters.
Benard led the competition until the final jump, when Florida’s Omar Craddock surpassed him.
Regardless, Kraft is extremely proud of Benard's performance this weekend.
“Chris has had an issue in his career of fouling his last jump,” Kraft said. “He came out on his last jump and got a lifetime best, so there's nothing more we could really ask for.”
Sophomore Bryan McBride earned his first career All-America honor, finishing in sixth place in the high jump with a mark of 2.20 meters.
Redshirt sophomore Anna Jelmini was the only scorer on the women's side, notching a career-best throw in the shot put at 17.15 meters and finishing fifth overall.
Kraft knows this is just another step for the budding star.
“Anna has a lot of hype, and she's going through that process right now,” Kraft said. “I'm really proud of her maturity as a student athlete, and she's only going to get better.”
Redshirt sophomore Nick Happe fell victim to bad luck in the mile, colliding with a fallen runner on a turn. Happe was only able to finish in 15th place with a time of 4:13.18.
“There was a runner who was incidentally run off the track and they put him in the final, while Nick Happe was clearly going to qualify,” Kraft said. “He was knocked down, so it's disappointing on a lot of fronts.”
Redshirt sophomore Ryan Milus and junior Christabel Nettey both earned second team All-America honors, but were not able to reach the finals in their respective events. Milus ran the 60-meter dash in 6.64 seconds to earn 13th place while Nettey earned 11th place in the long jump with a jump of 6.15 meters.
The Sun Devils now shift their focus to the outdoor season, as the team starts competition this Saturday at the Baldy Castillo Invitational.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
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