Junior pole vault specialist Kelli Gibson lifts her legs and twists her body over the pole during the ASU Invitational on March. 23. The ASU track and field team dominated its home meet, taking 10 event titles. (Photo by Sean Logan)The outdoor season for track and field presents different obstacles for the athletes ranging from wind factor, heat exhaustion and even the track.
The only breeze that blew through Sun Angel Stadium on Saturday was the one coming off of Devan Spann’s tailwind. The redshirt freshman recorded a personal best in the men’s 100-meter dash with a winning time of 10.61 and a third-place finish in his first-career 200-meter dash.
“Honestly, it feels good,” Spann said. “It’s the second time I’ve ran the 100 in over three years. Not bad (and) faster than last week, so I’m proud of myself.”
Jus an hour prior in the men’s 4x100, Spann and his teammates were neck and neck with Kansas State going into the last transfer between senior Chris Burrows to redshirt junior Ryan Milus.
They dropped the baton thus disqualifying the team. Spann knew the group had a chance at redemption later that evening.
“Oh yeah, we’re going to fix it in the 4x400 and make up for it,” Spann said.
They did.
The men ran away with the victory in the last race of the meet by seven seconds.
Spann wasn’t the only one from the men’s 4x400 team that had success elsewhere in the meet.
Burrows’ time of 47.94 in the 400m dash was .8 seconds faster than the next sprinter.
On the distance side, redshirt freshman Ryan Herson’s time of 14:02.92 in the 5000 meter would put his first “W” on his track and field record and was also the fastest time in the country.
No. 8 women rise up
In the women’s 400m dash, junior Alycia Herring ran away with the third place finish with a time of 55.89.
Herring would experience a long day of events, but the exhaustion would pay off in the end.
The junior finished on top in the long jump with a leap of 5.93m (19-05.50), a second place finish with her teammates in the 4x100 meter and a first place finish in the 4x400 to end the evening for the women.
“Today’s really been a challenge because I haven’t done the double 4x with the long jump,” Herring said. “I just recently added the long jump about 10 days ago, so I’m just trying to get in a rhythm.”
Herring’s teammates, senior multi-athlete Keia Pinnick and sophomore mid-distance runner Shelby Houlihan, also rose to the occasion for the Sun Devil women.
Pinnick continued to shine on all platforms, taking first place in the women’s 100m hurdles at the beginning of the day with a time of 13.41. Pinnick would go on to finish second in the women’s 400m hurdles and help the women’s 4x100-meter team to a second place finish as well.
Her time of 57.89 in the 400m hurdle would be a personal best and seventh all time for ASU.
Houlihan found herself in an old atmosphere — running sprints. Houlihan walked away from Saturday’s meet with a victory in both the 800m dash and the 4x400-meter relay.
Her time in the 800-meter dash is also currently the top time in the country barring other times from the weekend.
Kraft praised the performance of Houlihan the most on the women’s side for her stepping up in a big role.
“She really had that work load in high school, so I think she’s very comfortable,” Kraft said. “She’s made of the right stuff so it makes her a good competitor and I think she has the pride of a champion.”
But biggest contribution from all of the women was redshirt junior Chelsea Cassulo’s performance in the hammer throw.
Cassulo’s throw of 69.80 meters (229-00) was a whole meter further than the previous ASU-record holder. The redshirt junior thrower will look to continue her success from the indoor season into a top performance in the new season.
Kraft believes whole-heartedly that Cassulo will be a pillar for the women’s success for the remainder of the season into nationals.
Reach the reporter at msterrel@asu.edu
