Then-freshman Shelby Houlihan closes in on the finish line during the Pac-12 Cross-Country Championships on Saturday. Houlihan’s second-place finish this weekend secured her spot in the indoor championships. (Photo by Beth Easterbrook/The State Press)The ASU track and field teams completed their first split of the season at the Husky Classic in Seattle and the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque this weekend, putting together a solid overall effort.
The action began on Friday in Washington at the Husky Classic where the Sun Devil distance runners were competing. Sophomore CJ Albertson ran his first 5k ever in a time of 14 minutes, 19.87 seconds.
At the Don Kirby Invitational on Friday, the field athletes had their own successes. Freshman Maggie Ewen gained another top-5 finish in the women’s weight throw with a throw of 18.69 meters. Senior Bryan McBride finished sixth in the men’s high jump with a jump of 2.14. Senior Ryan Leslie also had a top-5 finish in the men’s weight throw with a distance of 18.80.
On the field at the Invitational on Friday, senior Devan Spann was the star for the Sun Devils. Spann finished second in the men’s 200-meter dash with a time of 20.82 seconds, good enough for second place in ASU indoor history.
The Husky Classic continued on Saturday with the women’s 3000. Sophomore Chelsey Totten had the fastest time of the competing Sun Devils, running a 9:36.02.
Junior Trevor Landry ran the men’s 800 in a time of 1:53.37 while junior Ian Roberts had the fastest time of any other ASU runner with a time of 4:10.29 in the men’s mile.
Saturday was a pretty good day for the Sun Devils out on the track. The only win of the day came from senior Cameron Taylor, who won the men’s 60 hurdles in a time of 7.84 seconds.
In the women’s 400 dash, senior Brianna Tate finished third with a blistering time of 53.46 seconds.
Spann continued his spectacular weekend on Saturday with a third-place finish in the men’s 60m dash. Spann ran a time of 6.69 seconds, his second-best time of the season.
The weekend ended for ASU with the women’s 4x400 relay team who finished second with a time of 3:39.14.
Senior Shelby Houlihan, who did not compete in either of the team events this weekend, was busy in New York running the women’s Wanamaker Mile. The Wanamaker Mile is one of the most prestigious track events in the world.
Houlihan finished 7th with a time of 4:30.77, which beat her own indoor school record of 4:33.04. Her time in the Wanamaker Mile is the second-fastest in the NCAA. She has officially qualified for the indoor championships on March 14th.
The Sun Devils next meets are Friday, February 20th at the NAU Tune-up in Flagstaff, Arizona and Saturday, February 21st at the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Indiana.
Reach the reporter at tjwilkin@asu.edu or follow @TWilkins23 on Twitter.
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