TEMPE, Ariz. -- The 21 qualifying Arizona State track and field athletes begin competition at the NCAA Outdoor Regional Championships on Thursday, May 26 in Lawrence, Kansas hosted by the University of Kansas. 

For the second-straight meet, they will have to encounter harsh conditions in an unfavorable environment in order to qualify for the NCAA Championship.

"Unfortunately for the regional meets where we've had sites, it's par for the course," said Director of Track and Field Greg Kraft. "A lot of the time your student-athletes pick up the vibe of the environment they're in. We've gone through this before so we know how to handle it and how to decompress the athletes so they don't put more pressure on themselves, because as in life, you can only control what you can control."

From the time the Sun Devils touch down on Tuesday to the day they are scheduled to depart on Sunday, the forecast calls for rain, scattered thunderstorms and winds. As Kraft said, his teams' encountering this type of weather over his 20-year tenure is no surprise at this time of the season. The key is not letting everything around you effect your routine and focus on your craft. 

"When you get in competition, it's about who keeps their composure," said Kraft. "You may not be able to win during that down time, but I've definitely seen athletes lose it. They couldn't handle rain or lightning delays. NCAA Rules say every time lightning strikes, the return to the track is delayed 30 minutes. Then you have to give athletes time to go back out there and get their marks if they're jumping or pole vaulting, or get back in the circle for practice throws."

One difference between the outdoor and indoor seasons when it comes to the regional meet is how you qualify for the NCAA Championships. In the indoor season, the regional result may not have any correlation to who competes at the indoor championships. It's quite the opposite in the outdoor season, as what you've done all season up to that point has no impact on your qualification for the outdoor championships. The top 12 finishers in each event will automatically qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships from the East and West Regional meets.

On top of that, each athlete will only have three jumps, throws or vaults to make the top-12. There will not be a fourth, fifth and sixth attempt. 

"For a number of our athletes, this is their national championship," said Kraft of the format. "The design of this event is it's the first round of the championship, similar to our softball team going to a regional site and then a super regional.

"They have to be wise and smart about how they compete. They need to get their first throw or jump in to start the competition off on a positive note."

This leaves no room for error, but Kraft says it truly shows who the elite athletes in the country are.

"For me, the outdoor meet is a fairer competitive opportunity where you go on that day and prove your medal, head-to-head in the circle, on the runway or on the track," said Kraft. "At the NCAA Indoor Championship, you get there based on a performance that could have happened in December and their fitness level could be completely different."

However, Kraft says other uncontrollable factors can provide a double-edged sword if you happen to fall on the wrong side of that equation.

"One of the things we've experienced before is some of the events are so sensitive to the wind -- it's not necessarily fair, but when you have six heats of the 100-meter dash, you can run two races with a tail wind, then you have a delay due to weather, and the next four heats could be into a head wind," said Kraft. "That impacts the qualifying. Sometimes you could be doing everything right, but just have bad luck."

Nonetheless, Kraft is confident in his 21 competing athletes and what each of them brings to the table despite the conditions, even if that means a late change like at the Pac-12 Championships.

"We have people that we feel could step in and substitute," said Kraft. "For example, in our men's 4x100, Ben Trotter stepped in and ran a wonderful lead-off leg and we still captured the Pac-12 Championship. We'll be taking Jamol James and Ben both, they'll warm up and I feel comfortable no matter who runs lead off that we'll be one of the 12 teams advancing."

The Sun Devils begin competition on Thursday, May 26 with the women's and men's 1,500-meter prelim events.

Action can be watched here and followed with live results here. 

 

THURSDAY TRACK EVENTS

Women's 1,500m Prelims (5:30 p.m. CT)

-Jen Owen (Prelims Heat 4)

Men's 1,500m Prelims (6 p.m. CT)

-Ryan Herson (Prelims Heat 3), Bernie Montoya (Prelims Heat 4)

Women's 100m Prelims (6:30 p.m.)

-Jasmine Gibbs (Prelims Heat 2)

Men's 100m Prelims (6:55 p.m. CT)

-Reggie Lewis (Prelims Heat 1), Isaiah Underwood (Prelims Heat 4)

Women's 400m Prelims (7:20 p.m. CT)

-LaTroya Franklin (Prelims Heat 5), Sierra Irvin (Prelims Heat 6)

THURSDAY FIELD EVENTS

Men's Hammer Throw (12 p.m. CT)

-Kyle Long (Flight 2)

Women's Hammer Throw (4 p.m. CT)

-Ginger Jarchow (Flight 1), Maggie Ewen (Flight 3)

Men's Pole Vault (4:30 p.m. CT)

-Nathan Hiett (Prelims Flight 2)

FRIDAY TRACK EVENTS

Women's 400m Semis (6 p.m. CT)

-TBD

Women's 100m Semis (6:30 p.m. CT)

-TBD

Men's 100m Semis (6:45 p.m. CT)

-TBD

Women's 200m Prelims (8 p.m. CT)

-LaTroya Franklin (Prelims Heat 1)

Men's 200m Prelims (8:25 p.m. CT)

-Reggie Lewis (Prelims Heat 2)

Men's 3,000m Steeplechase (9:30 p.m. CT)

-CJ Albertson (Prelims Heat 2)

FRIDAY FIELD EVENTS

Women's Discus Throw (12 p.m. CT)

-Ginger Jarchow (Flight 2), Maggie Ewen (Flight 3)

Men's Javelin Throw (12 p.m. CT)

-Hudson Keffer (Flight 1)

Men's Discus Throw (4 p.m. CT)

-Quaid Vuncannon (Flight 1), Kyle Long (Flight 3)

SATURDAY TRACK EVENTS

Men's 4x100 Relay (6:15 p.m. CT)

-James/Trotter, Underwood, Hasson, Lewis (Heat 1)

Women's 1,500m Semis (6:30 p.m. CT)

-TBD

Men's 1,500m Semis (6:45 p.m. CT)

-TBD

Women's 200m Semis (7:35 p.m. CT)

-TBD

Men's 200m Semis (7:50 p.m. CT)

-TBD

Women's 5,000m Run (8:05 p.m. CT)

-Chelsey Totten (Prelims Heat 2)

Men's 5,000m Run (8:45 p.m. CT)

-CJ Albertson (Prelims Heat 1)

SATURDAY FIELD EVENTS

Men's Triple Jump (3 p.m. CT)

-Josh Dixon, Tim White (Prelims Flight 3)

Women's Shot Put (3:30 p.m. CT)

-Maggie Ewen (Prelims Flight 3)

Men's Shot Put (6 p.m. CT)

-Ahmed Hassan (Flight 2), Tom Anderson (Flight 4)

Women's Triple Jump (6:30 p.m. CT)

-Keyasia Tibbs (Prelims Flight 4)