The great outdoors

 by Sarah McLellan
 published on Monday, March 24, 2008

Eric Binns / THE STATE PRESS

IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE: ASU senior April Kubishta vaults herself over the bar at the Baldy Castillo Invitational on Saturday. She cleared 4.15 meters to win the event.

The scenery may have changed, but the momentum generated by ASU's indoor track championships was not lost in the transition to the outdoor season. Rather, it was handed off gracefully to a mostly different contingent of athletes.

The Sun Devils won five events and secured nine qualifying berths to the NCAA West Region Championships as a small group of athletes competed Friday and Saturday in the Baldy Castillo Invitational on the Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium.

From under the artificial lights to basking in the glow of the sunshine, the Sun Devils demonstrated the versatility and the depth of the program, an option that can be exploited in the outdoor season.

"We have an opportunity to give more people competitive opportunities," ASU coach Greg Kraft said of the transition.

Senior Brad Roth started his season by winning the javelin with a throw of 69.52 meters, securing a regional berth.

"Roth really started where he left off," Kraft said. "That was a great opener for him. He really does live and breathe the event."

Roth shared the spotlight on the men's side with senior Tomas Navarro, who won the shot put with a toss of 17.13 meters and placed second in the discus with a throw of 54.11 meters. His performance in the discus was the best among collegiate entrants in the event.

Navarro also took third in the hammer with a throw of 60.74 meters, rounding out the weekend with three regional berths.

"It was really nice for us to have Tomas start off so nice in the hammer," Kraft said.

Navarro was followed in the hammer by freshmen Jeff Helwig, who finished eighth with a toss of 55.01 meters, and junior Andy Haas, who placed 12th after throwing 50.35 meters.

The men's side had one final victory courtesy of the 4x400-meter relay team, which finished in 3:09.16 to earn a regional qualifying bid. The quartet was the same group of athletes minus junior Joel Phillip that finished third at the NCAA Indoor Championships to give the men's team the title over Florida State. Freshmen Nectaly Barbosa replaced Phillip in the event, a nod to the team's options with the event.

"You can never have too much depth," Kraft said.

On the women's side, sophomore Kari Hardt won the 800 meters in a time of 2:09.86, and senior April Kubishta took the pole vault with a clearance of 4.15 meters. Kubistha's mark was a regional qualifier as was senior Alana Waterford's clearance of 3.85 meters.

In the javelin, sophomore Addison McGrath and junior Lissa Regets had regional-qualifying throws. McGrath threw 44.34 meters in just her second career throw in competition, while Regets had a toss of 43.21 meters.

The weekend's action showcased plenty of new faces and highlighted the decisions that will have to be made in the coming weeks in regards to race and competition lineups.

"You're just trying to look at your personnel," Kraft said of the first outdoor meet. "You still have about 18 roster spots on each side you're trying to put together."

Reach the reporter at: sarah.mclellan@asu.edu.