With the first championship meet just two weeks away, the ASU track and field athletes will make a last push to qualify.
Meanwhile, redshirt junior pole-vaulter Derick Hinch said his mentality stays the same, while the physical aspect of competing increases.
“No real change in mindsets,” Hinch said. “Just tampering down the weights and workouts and allow our body to start peaking.”
Hinch is coming off of a first-place and third-place finish in his last two meets and will travel to the Mt. SAC Relays as the No. 13 pole vaulter in the country.
Continuing that success doesn’t sound like too much of a worry either.
“I just have to keep working hard and competing, and it will all fall into place,” Hinch said. “I’m feeling good about this season. The next few weeks are going to be huge for qualifying for regionals and eventually nationals.”
Along with Hinch, the men’s distance runners will travel to Walnut, Calif., for the meet.
Senior Nick Happe, who is currently No. 25 in the men’s 1500-meter, intends to climb the rankings this weekend.
Happe took second overall and first of all collegiate athletes at the Sun Angel Classic in the 1500-meter run two weeks ago.
Women want to remain consistent
For the No. 8 women Sun Devils, sophomore distance runner Shelby Houlihan is looking to continue her hot streak.
Houlihan ranks No. 10 in the 800-meter and No. 12 in the 1500-meter.
She doesn’t plan to stop there and continues to make her way up the rankings.
Just two weeks ago, Houlihan wasn’t even in the top 50 in the women’s 1500-meter.
Fellow teammate, No. 10 junior pole-vaulter Shaylah Simpson, is also coming off a stellar performance.
After a few bumps in the road, Simpson got back on the winning track and in a big meet.
Her victory at LSU’s Battle on the Bayou helped the women to their third-place finish.
She’s looking to feed off that successful performance as she continues to climb the national rankings.
Reach the reporter at msterrel@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @ASUreporter_MT
