The 2008 track and field season ended with Greg Kraft and his Sun Devils throwing up the pitch fork with George W. Bush at the White House. Will the 2009 seasons – which kicks off tonight – conclude in the same fashion? These five Sun Devils will have the most say in that.

1. Ryan Whiting, Jr., Throws
Whiting is ranked atop the national standings in the shot put at 21.73m—a full two meters better than No. 2 Zach Lloyd of Arizona. A native of Harrisburg, Penn., Whiting broke a 31-year-old collegiate record to win the national title in the men’s shot put. The feat was chosen by trackshark.com as the fourth biggest moment of the 2007-08 college track season. (That’s him setting the record in the video below.)

Whiting is more than just a jock too. In a Q&A with the Pac-10, he said his favorite class was Structural Analysis and Design, he’d rather have dinner with Warren Buffett than anyone else alive or dead, and that he’d like to appear on the cover of Forbes Magazine.

2. Sarah Stevens, Sr., Throws
Stevens, the defending champion in the outdoor shot put from Ft. Collins, Col., carries on the tradition of great throwers in ASU’s women’s program. With ASU holding a slight team lead over LSU in the 2007 outdoor championships, Stevens and fellow thrower Jessica Pressley put the competition away by posting top three shot puts. Pressley has since graduated, but Stevens is ranked second in the shot put and third in the weight throw.

3. Joel Phillip, Sr., Multiple Events
Phillip represented his home country of Grenada at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and unlike former Sun Devil Lewis Banda, he wasn’t there prowling for Asian women. He’s ranked third nationally in the 400m dash and will team with Darryl Elston, Justin Kremer and a Sun Devil to be named later on ASU’s third-ranked 4x400m relay.

4. Brandon Bethke, Jr., Distance
A Californian who originally chose to pursue his college career in the winter wonderland that is Wisconsin, Bethke returned West to ASU this summer. In two seasons at Wisconsin, he won three individual conference championships and was named the 2006 Big Ten Cross Country Newcomer of the Year and the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Year. He’s ranked third in the 3,000m and sixth in the mile.

5. Stephanie Garnett, Sr., Jumps
Garnett won seven individual state track titles, was named MVP of the basketball team, and came up a quarter-inch shy of breaking a 25-year-old all-conference state record in the long jump while prepping at Winslow. She’s come a long way since then and is ranked fifth nationally in the long jump.

Thank you to trackshark.com for the individual preseason rankings.

More Sun Devil News, Less Hassle

Don’t fool around with bookmarks or the refresh button. We’ve made it easier to subscribe, so you can have Sun Devil news delivered FREE straight to your inbox.

Tags: Other ASU Sports , Brandon Bethke, greg kraft, joel phillip, lewis banda, Ryan Whiting, Sarah Stevens, Stephanie Garnett // 2 Comments »