The indoor season for the ASU track and field team will come to a conclusion this weekend, when eight Sun Devils compete in the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships.
The group of six men and two women will travel to Idaho with hopes of bringing national championships back to Tempe.
The Sun Devils' best chance of a championship will come from All-America athlete and shot put national champion Jordan Clarke. The junior currently holds the eighth-best throw in the nation, but is accustomed to surprising the field after winning the shot put event at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships last year.
Senior Chris Benard also poses a great threat to the rest of the competition, as he was recently named USTFCCCA West Region Field Athlete of the Year, and comes into the championships with the third best triple jump mark in the nation. Benard broke the school record in the event earlier this season and has not been defeated this year.
Sophomore high jumper Bryan McBride has made a name for himself this year, as he currently holds the third best high jump in the nation. The jump tied the Sun Devils’ record in the event.
Sophomore sprinter Ryan Milus is the final automatic qualifier on the men's side. Milus ran a 6.60 second 60-meter run earlier this year, good enough for fourth in the nation. Milus will get another chance to compete against defending champion and two-sport star Jeff Demps of Florida.
All-America senior Mason McHenry will get his last chance to compete on the indoor circuit this weekend as the No. 8 seed in the 800-meter run.
Redshirt sophomore Nick Happe finished out his indoor campaign strong, running his second sub-four-minute mile of the year in last weekend's Last Chance Meets.
The best chance for the women's side comes from All-America shot-putter Anna Jelmini. The sophomore, who enters with the 11th-best throw in the nation, has a season long throw of 16.91 meters.
Also competing for the Sun Devils is junior Christabel Nettey. She has been fighting injury all year and only enters with the 14th-best mark in the long jump.
The Sun Devils will compete Friday and Saturday at the Jacksons Indoor Track in Nampa, Idaho.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
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