• Slug: Sports-ASU Track and Field, 810 words.
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By David Veenstra
Cronkite News

EUGENE, Oregon – The Sun Devil women are sitting in first place after day two of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field.

Only six of the 21 events have been scored on the women’s side; however, a dominant day from the Arizona State ASU throwers launched the Sun Devils to the top of the team leaderboard.

ASU graduate student Beatrice Lllano placed third in the women’s hammer throw finals, while ASU junior Shelby Moran finished fifth. Both Llano and Moran set personal records.

After the first flight – a grouping of 12 of the 24 throwers – Moran was the leader after the opening three throws, and Llano found herself in third after the first flight concluded.

In both the first and second flights, each thrower receives three throws and the top nine individuals athletes over the two flights are aggregated and advance to the final series, where three additional throws are awarded.

Both Llano and Moran advanced to the final series, with Moran sitting in fourth and Llano nabbing the ninth and final spot.

“I was just like, ‘Please, God, if I make it to the final, please, I’m going to redeem myself,” Llano said. “And when I finally made it, I was like it’s go time, I can’t be passive, I just got to show that I am a good competitor and just get the best out of myself.”

Llano did just that, getting the best out of herself in the finals as her fifth-round 72.10 meter-heave (236′ 6″) catapulted the Norwegian graduate student to third after she sat in eighth through four throws.

“I’m so proud of Beatrice Llano,” ASU coach Dion Miller said. “She did such a great job of qualifying in ninth and then moving up to third. That was a huge upswing for our team.”

Llano’s fifth-round throw was her longest throw in three years as the four-time first-team All-American battled through injuries the last several years.

“Going pro is looking good now,” Llano said.

Moran’s longest throw of the day, a 70.58-meter hurl (231′ 6″) on her fifth-round throw, not only was a personal record, it moved her to third all-time on the ASU leaderboard (Llano is second).

“We train together every day in the weight room and on the field,” Moran said of  Llano. “We just are there to support each other and be good training partners. We just push each other.”

In the women’s shot put final, ASU’s Jorinde van Klinken placed second. The Dutch Olympian’s longest throw of the day came on her fourth toss at 18.58 meters (60′ 11½”)

Through all six rounds, van Klinken never moved out of second after Ohio State senior Adelaide Aquilla set a collegiate record on her first attempt at 19.64 meters (64′ 5¼”). That broke former Sun Devil Maggie Ewen’s 2018 record of 19.46 meters (63′ 10¼”),  set in 2018.

“She wanted to win, but for (Aquilla) to break the collegiate record and for her  to finish second, I’m so proud of her and what she was able to accomplish today,” Miller said.

Van Klinken will attempt to defend her discus championship on Saturday afternoon. The graduate student enters the final with the No. 1 ranking after her throw of 64.75 meters (212′ 5″) earlier this season.

In the women’s 200-meter semifinals, ASU freshman Adriana Tatum failed to advance to Saturday’s final. Tatum ran 23.33 seconds and finished last in her heat.

“I thought I was going to stay in the 22s, but at least I’m staying consistent,” Tatum said. “I didn’t fall off too far.”

Tatum ends her freshman year second on the ASU all-time leaderboard in the 200 after running 22.77 at West Regionals.

“It was amazing because I had no expectations of coming this far,” Tatum said, looking back on her first year. “I thought I was going to peak at Pac-12s and then that was going to be it for me. (I thought) I wasn’t going to go to regionals or nationals, so the fact that I’m even here is a blessing in itself.”

“It was a great day,” Miller said. “I thought both of our upperclassmen did a great job (in the women’s hammer throw). Super proud of the young ladies today, and we’re going to start off with the men tomorrow, so I thought it was a great day.”

Friday night, Sun Devil sophomore Jeremy Cody will jump in the high jump finals at 5:30 p.m., and freshman Ralford Mullings and senior Turner Washington, who took second in shot put Wednesday, will represent the Sun Devils in the discus final at 5:35 p.m. ASU freshman Dayton Carlson will run in the 800-meter finals at 7:14 p.m, and ASU junior Vincent Mauri takes the track at 7:55 p.m. in the men’s 5,000-meter race. The ASU men are tied for 11th after seven of 21 events have been scored.

Men’s high jump and discus can be streamed on ESPN3. Television coverage starts at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

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