ASU women win track title

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. - Jacquelyn Johnson successfully defended her national pentathlon crown and Amy Hastings turned in another clutch performance to pace the Arizona State women’s track and field team to its first NCAA championship Saturday inside the Randal Tyson Track Center.

Coming down to the final race of the evening, the Sun Devils held off a late charge from Tennessee and LSU to win their first team title and the second in program history after the men took the outdoor title in 1977.

“It was a huge night,” coach Greg Kraft said. “It worked out kind of like we thought. That’s always nice.”

ASU scored 38 points to claim the crown, with LSU second (33), Tennessee third (30) and Georgia fourth (28). The Sun Devil men tied for 25th overall with nine points as Wisconsin won with 40 points.

The Sun Devils 1,600-meter relay team needed to defeat Tennessee to win the team title and did just that as Bridgette Williams, Johnson, Shauntel Elcock and Latosha Wallace finished second in their heat in 3:36.17 with Tennessee third in 3:37.75, assuring the maroon and gold of the title.

Craft credited Sarah Stevens by getting the Sun Devils off to a great start by winning the shot put Friday night.

The championship is the first for the school since the women’s golf team won the 1998 championship.

Before the relay could do its part, Hastings came back to run another solid race after running a grueling 5,000-meter run the night before in which she placed fourth. Hastings fought off several challenges during the 3,000, running in 9:19.31 and placing sixth to earn the all-important four team points that solidified the scoring.

Johnson opened things with a personal best and third-best time in school history, 8.30 in the 60 hurdles, scoring 1,061 points. Leading by 11 points heading into the second event, Johnson cleared 1.75 meters (5-foot-8.75) in the high jump to place third in the event and earn 916 points, but Diana Pickler of Washington State surpassed her overall point total as Johnson’s 1,977 points was 64 behind. Johnson reclaimed the lead in the next event, however, as she tossed a personal-best mark of 12.83 meters (45-01.25) in the shot put to score 716 points. Her overall total of 2,693 points was just four ahead of Pickler.

In the long jump, Johnson recorded a mark of 5.79 meters (19 feet) to score 786 points, but Pickler posted a longer mark to take a 38-point lead into the final event, meaning Johnson would have to beat her closest competitor by 3.5 seconds or better to erase the deficit and claim her second indoor national crown and fourth overall.

She did just that in the 800. With a personal best of 2:17 heading into the meet, Johnson exploded from the starting gun and ran 2:13.52 to score 914 points and defeat Pickler, 4,393-4,339. Johnson’s foursecond personal best beat out Pickler by seven seconds, giving the team another 10 points in the standings.

Ryan Whiting made a solid debut in the NCAA Championships, as the redshirt freshman placed third in the men’s shot put event and earned All-America honors. Whiting recorded a toss of 20.01 meters (65-07.75) on his second attempt to take the lead, which he held until eventual winner Noah Bryant of Southern California recorded what would be the winning mark of 20.55 meters (67-05.25) on his fifth attempt. Whiting’s mark stands as a school record and makes him the lone Sun Devil to ever throw past 20 meters.