
As the calendar flips into the New Year and the temperatures rise in Arizona, the ASU track and field teams look to heat up for the 2015 season, which begins Jan. 16 at NAU.
While there was much success in 2014, the team looks to improve upon its relatively high finishes in both the Pac-12 Championship and the NCAA Championships.
In distance and mid-distance running, the team will look for big performances by redshirt junior Ryan Herson, who set career bests in both the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter last year.
On the women’s side, senior Shelby Houlihan will continue to lead ASU as the face of success for the program.
Houlihan won the Pac-12 title in both the 1,500 and 5,000 and went on to win the 1,500 at the national championships in Eugene last June. It was her first national championship and the first national championship for that event in school history.
ASU has excellent relay teams, including the men’s 4x400 meter relay team that won the Pac-12 Championship and went on to finish fourth in the national championships.
The women’s 4x400 meter relay team also had an impressive showing last year, coming in third in the Pac-12 Championships.
Out in the field, the Sun Devils will be stout competition because of redshirt senior Bryan McBride. McBride won the national championship in the high jump last year and is back for his senior season to reach new heights and defend his national title.
Junior Josh Dixon placed second in the triple jump at the Pac-12 Championships and is looking for a conference title to call his own.
On the women’s side, redshirt senior Alex Hartig had top 10 finishes in both the shot put and javelin throw events at the Pac-12 Championships.
Senior Jessika Byrd finished seventh in the hammer throw in the Pac-12 Championships.
All of these athletes’ performances throughout the season and in the championship events helped power ASU’s field teams and they are looking for improved results for this season.
The Sun Devils lost a key sprinter in Ryan Milus to graduation this past year, but 2015 still holds lots of talent for both the men’s and women’s sprint teams.
Redshirt senior Devan Spann will be looking to carry the load for the men’s team after top-five finishes in the 100 and 200 meters at the conference championship last year.
Sophomore LaTroya Franklin and senior Brianna Tate are two of the top returning women’s sprinters, both of who had top-10 finishes in the 200 and 400 meters respectively.
As a team, ASU fared well last year in the major tournaments, with the men finishing fourth in the Pac-12 and tied for 13th in the national championships. The women finished tied for third in the Pac-12 and tied for 22nd in the national championships.
The Sun Devils will only get better as many of their most talented athletes are juniors and seniors with plenty of experience. While last season was great for ASU, this season looks to be promising, too.
Reach the reporter at tjwilkin@asu.edu or follow @Twilkins23 on Twitter.
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