On a weekend in which high school records were broken and Olympic-caliber athletes competed, the ASU track and field team could have been a mere afterthought at the 33rd annual Sun Angel Classic.
However, a strong team performance, led by freshman Shelby Houlihan, allowed the Sun Devils to steal the show.
Houlihan, in only her second career outdoor 800-meter race, set a freshman record and rose to third all-time in ASU history en route to a 2:03.85 finish.
Coach Greg Kraft thought Houlihan's performance was the best of the day.
“The performance of the meet for me was Shelby's 800-meters,” Kraft said. “She's really good, talented, tough and really embodies what we do. We couldn't be prouder of her.”
Junior Christabel Nettey also had a successful day for the No. 19 women’s squad, winning both the long and triple jump competitions.
Nettey also set a personal record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.21 seconds.
The women's relay teams also had a successful meet, winning both the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays. The 4x100-meter team finished in 45.07 seconds, while the 4x400-meter team enjoyed a brisk win in 3:37.80.
Redshirt sophomore Anna Jelmini won the discus with a toss of 57.39 meters to continue her strong season in the event.
On the men's side, sophomore Bryan McBride took part in possibly the most entertaining event of the day. McBride went toe-to-toe with former U.S. Olympian Jamie Nieto in the high jump before losing in a jump-off.
McBride's day was far from over, though.
The sophomore set a personal record in the triple jump, finishing at 15.38 meters, despite not being fully rested.
“My performance today was pretty good,” McBride said. “I was actually tired because of the high jump, but after this week of practice, I knew I could do well regardless of whether I was tired or not.”
Senior Chris Benard had another solid day, winning both the long jump and triple jump competitions for the No. 10 ASU men.
It was Benard's first outdoor triple jump competition of the year, but the senior still set a personal record of 16.38 meters.
Benard also set a personal record of 7.75 meters in the long jump and was impressed with his performance on the day.
“I'm staying consistent in the triple jump, and I'm good with that,” Benard said.
Redshirt sophomore Derick Hinch continued to impress in the pole vault, winning his second straight competition with a clearance of 5.41 meters.
Junior Chris Burrows finished in fourth place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.93 seconds.
“It wasn't what I wanted, but I can't complain because it was a nice start,” Burrows said.
Burrows also ran the opening leg of the 4x400-meter competition, which was won by ASU after sophomore anchor Will Henry closed the gap on Oklahoma to help the group finish in 3:06.83.
The Sun Devils will perform in their final home meet of the season next week as they face off against Arkansas and LSU in a tri-meet competition.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
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