ASU track squad sets high marks at Mt. SAC Relays

Art Preuss

The competition at this year’s Mt. SAC Relays lived up to its billing.

ASU senior distance runner, Brandon Bethke, finished the 5,000m race with the second-fastest NCAA time this season, 13:27.83.  But he finished fourth overall.

Christabel Nettey ran the 100m hurdles in 13.40, the tenth-fastest time in ASU history.  She finished eighth overall.

Kauren Tarver finished the 3,000m steeplechase in 10:26.61, to earn a spot at No. 8 in the ASU record book.  She finished 12th overall.

You get the picture.  Great field.  Great competition.

The Sun Devils were among the thousands of accomplished athletes that showed up over the weekend in Walnut, Calif., for the 52nd edition of the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays.  The field included high school, collegiate, and professional participants.

ASU held its own with the college crowd, picking up a number of first-place finishes and an array of top-10 performances.

On Friday, a freshman stepped up for the Devils in the open discus, as Jordan Clarke recorded a heave of 181’01” to win that event, and on Saturday, Dominique’ Maloy added a first place in the 100m dash with a time of 11.94.

ASU’s men’s relay teams did especially well, as both the 4×100 and 4×400 teams finished second in the invitational section.  The 4×100 relay squad ran a 39.97 time, which was put it first among the college teams entered in the event, and the 4×400 team placed second in 3:03.78 for second place behind USC.

In the men’s field events, Jordan Clarke placed fifth overall in the shot put, but his toss of 60’01” topped the field of college competitors.  And Austin Prince cleared 16;06 3/4″ to win the Open ‘C’ Division of the pole vault.

For the women, Cj Navarro threw the hammer 170’04”, which placed her 23rd in the overall field – but the mark was the eighth-best in school history. And in the 3,000m steeplechase, Cherise McNair became the tenth-best all-time by running 10:35.97.  She finished 17th.

The kind of competition the Mt. SAC provides will help the Sun Devils warm up for their own meet, the Sun Devil Open, next Saturday.  That will be the final home event of the season.

(Photo: ASU Athletics)