Track and Field to wrap up season at NCAA Outdoor championships
The Arizona State men's and No. 9 women's track and field teams will take part in the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships this week in Eugene, Ore., beginning Wednesday, June 5. The Sun Devils will have eight individuals and two relays in action at Hayward Field, with events running through Saturday afternoon.
Five individuals competing in six events will be in action for the ASU women while the men will have three individuals competing. The women's 4x400-meter relay and men's 4x100-meter relay squads will also be in action. Chelsea Cassulo will get the action going for the Sun Devils in the women's hammer throw beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday while the men's 4x100-meter relay will be the first running event in action beginning at 4:15 p.m. Thursday's field events start at 1:30 p.m. and the running begins at 4 p.m. The field events on Friday start at 3:15 p.m. with the running starting at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the final day of competition, is scheduled to have the field events start at 12:30 p.m. and the running at 2:05 p.m.
OUT OF THE BLOCKS
• The Sun Devil track team lays claim to four returning first-team outdoor All-Americans (Jordan Clarke, Anna Jelmini, Keia Pinnick and Christabel Nettey) in action this weekend
• The ASU women finished in the top 10 at the indoor championships for the first time since 2009 while the men posted a top-25 finish for the eighth time in the last 10 years
• The Arizona State women currently have three student-athletes ranked No. 1 in the country in their respective events: Christabel Nettey (long jump), Anna Jelmini (discus) and Chelsea Cassulo (hammer)
• Two of ASU's longest-standing school records were dropped this season at the Sun Angel Classic, with Christabel Nettey knocking off Jacinta Bartholomew's 24-year old school record in the long jump and Shelby Houlihan taking the reins in the 1,500-meter run after unseeding Priscilla Hein's 14-year old record as well.
• Chelsea Cassulo set the NCAA Dual Meet hammer throw record with her winning mark of 69.52m (228-01) at the Double Dual. She set the school record and became the sixth-best collegiate performer in history after going over 70 meters at the NCAA West Prelims
• Cassulo, Nettey and Ryan Herson (5k) have all been named Pac-12 Athletes of the Week with their performances this season
• Chelsea Cassulo (hammer) and Christabel Nettey (long jump) each broke conference championship records at the Pac-12 Championships in their winning performances
• In finishing third overall, the ASU women have been in the top-three at the conference championships in eight of the last nine seasons (since 2005). No other school can lay such a claim.
• On the men's side following the team's fourth-place at the Pac-12 Championships, the Sun Devils have been a top-four team in 11 of the last 14 seasons (since 2000). Only USC and Oregon (both 12 of 14) have a better track record in that time.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Coverage throughout the weekend will be provided through a combination of the University of Oregon live streaming service through the Pac-12 Networks and the ESPN Family of Networks. A full broadcast schedule is available here: http://www.ustfccca.org/weekly-results/national-championships-central-o…; Fans can follow the Sun Devils on Twitter at @SunDevilTFXC for updates throughout the week on the ASU squad.