Washington Breaks Discus Record, Multiple All-Time Entries Recorded in Tucson
TUCSON – The Sun Devils kicked off University of Arizona's Willie Williams Classic in strong fashion Friday, with seven Sun Devils setting personal bests on the first day of competition down in Tucson, Arizona. NCAA indoor shot put champion Turner Washington highlighted the day by breaking the ASU outdoor discus record (64.23m/210' 8"). Carlan Naisant capped off the day with a 13-foot PR that moved him to fifth all-time at ASU.
"I'm not surprised with Turner," head coach Dion Miller said. "Obviously it's the first meet so we just wanted to see where he was. He hasn't thrown since 2018 so coming out today and seeing him break the school record was great. He's been putting in a lot of work and the best is yet to come for him."
For Washington, he came into the meet believing he could flirt with Ryan Whiting's program mark.
"I knew I could come close," Washington said. "Going into my last throw I said 'Alright, I really want to break this record right now.' The way my fourth and fifth throws were I knew that if I just pushed the disc all the way around and worked my legs through it, I could get over the mark. I was expecting maybe 62 meters but not 64 so overall I'm super pumped about it."
"It's absolutely fantastic to see Turner achieve that and it's a big weight off his shoulders too," throws coach Brian Blutreich said. "He hasn't thrown discus in a meet since 2018 so to break Ryan Whiting's school record and have an eight-meter PR is an absolutely fantastic start. He had a big week in the weight room and coming off an emotional NCAA Championship win, that's a massive win for him and we're really happy."
Shelby Moran kicked things off with a victory in the hammer throw, setting a huge personal best. Her throw of 64.31m/211'0 etches her name in the sixth spot in the ASU record book for the event, just in front of teammate Kaylee Antill.
Washington continues to break records at Arizona State, setting yet another school record, this time in the discus. Washington opened his day with a 58.67m/192'6" throw to move him to sixth in the ASU record book just temporarily. He would go on to set a new program record of 64.23m/210'8" in the discus. Washington broke Ryan Whiting's record (62.08m, 2009) by over two meters.
Senior Katie Eidem concluded the field events for the women with a personal best in the long jump. Her leap of 5.79m/19'0" added almost a full foot to her personal best.
You may say he "ran with the night," Vincent Mauri earned his first 1,500m victory of his collegiate career, finishing in 3:49.98. Mauri was one of five Sun Devils to finish in the top-five in the event. Alex George was right behind, finishing fourth in 3:54, and in the women's race, Lena Lebrun (4:31.54), Caitlin Rose (4:32.91) and Jane Miller ( 4:34.06 - PR) took third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Naisnt closed out the day for ASU, hurling the jav 71.54m/234' 8" on his fifth attempt to slide up to fifth all-time at ASU. He won the event handedly, beating Grand Canyon's Jesse Newmanby 12 feet.
"It's been a long time coming," Naisant said. "PR-wise I knew I could get there, it's just a matter of time and perfecting technique. I've really been looking up to [Hudson Keffer] and his top marks and how he threw. Coming into this meet I wasn't expecting much. I've been doing pretty well at practices but for the most part I just wanted to get back into the groove and get a good mark out there."
Will Williams Classic Day One
Sun Devil Finishes
Hammer
Shelby Moran - 64.31m/211' - PR
Kaylee Antil - 58.77m/192' 9"
Discus
Turner Washington - 1st, 64.23m/210' 8" - ASU Record
Ian Schulz - 3rd, 53.71m/176' 2"
Jared Tracy - 12th, 47.26m/155'
High Jump
Alexander Gonzales - 5th, 1.86m
Pole Vault
Cole Riddle - 1st, 5.20m/17' 0 ¾"
Jimmy Escobar - 4th, 4.75m/15' 7"
Long Jump
Men
Dylan James - 2nd, 7.43m/24' 4 ½"
Women
Amanda Carty - 3rd, 5.93m/19' 2 ¾"
Katie Eidem - 6th, 5.79m/19' - PR
Ta'nalya Gordon - 7th, 5.72m/18' 9 ¼"
Javelin
Men
Carlan Naisant - 1st, 71.54m/234' 8" - PR
Alex Ramirez - 7th, 55.13m/180' 10"
Women
Cerah Moren - 3rd, 46.60m/152' 10"
Lillian Wyckoff - 5th, 43.62m/143' 1"
Keiley Sharp - 6th, 42.79m/140' 4"
Katie Eidem - 17th, 26.87m/88' 2"
1500m
Men
Vincent Mauri – 1st, 3:49.98
Alex George – 4th, 3:54.21
Adam Meyer – 13th, 4:00.47
Dylan Kingston – 15th, 4:02.16
Chris Keeley – 16th, 4:03.36
Joseph Dicke – 17th, 4:04.12
Garrett McSheffrey – 22nd, 4:09.94
Conant Smith - DNS
Women
Lena LeBrun - 3rd, 4:31.54
Caitlin Rose - 4th, 4:32.91
Jane Miller - 5th, 4:34.06 - PR
Bianca Tinoco - 6th, 4:37.37
Megan Reniewicki - 8th, 4:39.53 - PR
Ava Shackell - 12th, 4:43.14 - PR
Emily Gallegos-Francksen - 15th, 4:44.44
Jenna Lee - 18th, 4:50.07
200m
Alonna Johnson – 9th, 26.39
Arius Williams - NT
Josephine Anokye - NT
Taryn Hankins - NT