July 17, 2008
TEMPE, Ariz. - Three members of the Arizona State University track and field program will be competing at the NACAC Under-23 Championships this weekend in Toluca, Mexico, as Sarah Stevens, Matt Turner and Ryan Whiting were selected to Team USA for the event that features athletes from the countries in North American, Central American and the Caribbean. Stevens will compete in the shot put and hammer, Turner in the long jump and Whiting in the shot put and discus in the meet that runs July 18-20.
Stevens, a rising senior on the Sun Devil squad, is coming off a season in which she won the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Discus Championship and earned four total All-America honors on the year, including honors in the indoor shot put, the outdoor shot put, the outdoor discus and the outdoor hammer. Her top marks this season in the two events are 17.78m (58-04.00) in the shot put, achieved during the indoor season, and 66.52m (218-03) in the hammer. Stevens placed 10th overall in the shot put at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials earlier this month.
Turner, who recently completed his collegiate career, enters the NACAC meet after taking fifth at the U.S. Olympic Trials where he jumped a personal-best mark of 8.12m (26-07.75). During his senior year, Turner earned All-America honors in the long jump twice (once each indoor and outdoor) with his second honor coming as he placed second overall at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Whiting, a rising junior for the Sun Devils, was a three-time All-American on the year and placed sixth in the shot put at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Whiting was an indoor All-American in the shot put as he won his first NCAA title with a collegiate-record toss of 21.73m (71-03.50). Outdoors, Whiting placed second in the shot put and was sixth in the discus to earn his other two All-America honors on the season.
