
Entering the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in Eugene, Ore., last week, ASU senior thrower Jordan Clarke had the chance to become the second athlete in NCAA history to win five national championships.
He missed that milestone by three centimeters in his last event as a Sun Devil.
Clarke had a throw of 20.28 meters in the shot put, placing second to Texas sophomore Ryan Crouser's 20.31 meters.
But Clarke's shortcomings weren't reflective of the ASU track and field program's success in Eugene over the weekend.
Senior thrower Chelsea Cassulo and redshirt junior Anna Jelmini took home individual NCAA championships. As a team, the ASU women finished 10th overall while the men placed 28th overall.
Cassulo became the first Sun Devil to capture a national title in the hammer throw at 69.21 meters. Cassulo entered the final round at fifth place before posting her winning mark on her final throw, beating Illinois State senior Brittany Smith by 61 centimeters.
Jelmini won the NCAA title in the discus by posting the two highest marks in the event, with her highest at 57.95 meters in her last throw to defeat UA sophomore Julie Labonte. Jelmini placed second last year and actually finished with a higher score then at 58.79 meters. She also placed 11th in the women's shot put two days later.
Senior Keia Pinnick placed third in the heptathlon with a score of 5,984, a career-high and the third highest in ASU history. Pinnick thrived in running and jumping but struggled in the throwing events. Her scores were 13.13 seconds at 100-meter hurdles (a career-high and event best), 23.6 seconds in the 200-meter dash (event best), 1.66 meters in the high jump, 11.07 meters in the shot put, 6.07 meters in the long jump, 38.13 meters in the javelin throw and a time of 2:10.09 in the 800-meter (event best).
Clarke, Cassulo, Jelmini, Pinnick and sophomore distance runner Shelby Houlihan finished the 2013 outdoor season as first-team All-Americans.
Jelmini was also named a second-team All-American in the shot put and senior Christabel Nettey joined her on the list after her 13th-place finish in the long jump.
Redshirt junior Ryan Milus and the men's 4x100 relay team of Milus, senior Chris Burrows, junior William Henry and redshirt freshman Devan Spann were the men's second-team All-Americans.
Sophomore hurdler Cameron Taylor and the women's 4x400 relay team of junior Sarah Geren, junior Ke'Nya Hardge, junior Alycia Herring and sophomore Brianna Tate were named honorable mention All-Americans.
Texas A&M; and Florida shared the overall team title in the men's division while Kansas won the NCAA women's championship outright.
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion