Sun Devils shine in the City of Angels at Mt. SAC Relays

(Photo credit: Nickolas Montei/WCSN)

WALNUT, Calif. — Jayden Davis may not have won the 400-meter title, but he came less than two-tenths of a second from doing so, not to mention he was running against a world champion.

The Arizona State sophomore sprinter and three-time world champion Fred Kerley lined up side by side in the final heat of the Mt. SAC Relays invitational elite Saturday afternoon.

The two kept the race close, with Kerley just beating out the young Davis. Kerley yelled, “I never left,” following his victory.

“Honestly, just inspiring,” Davis said when asked about racing the Olympian. “That’s someone I was watching just two, three years ago on TV, and to be running toe-to-toe with him and for him to acknowledge me is a lot.”

Davis’ 44.84 time moved him into sixth place in ASU history for the men’s 400m dash.

Davis also anchored the men’s 4x400m relay team that placed second. Despite getting the baton in fourth place, graduate sprinter Nicholas Ramey started the third leg boldly and attempted a takeover on the first curve.

Ramey managed to close the gap between one and two quite a bit, giving Davis the baton and the ability to walk down two of the three teams in front of him. Arkansas was the only team that survived Davis’ attack, finishing with the nation’s fastest time at 3:01.82.

“I just knew they were all within tracking distance,” Davis said. “So I just went for it, I thought I had it.”

Arizona State finished at 3:01.85, which ranks as the second fastest time in the nation.

“It’s really good for our first time running as a full four-by-four,” Davis said.

Senior thrower Ines Lopez Arias also had a second-place finish, but she was sitting all the way down at seventh with just one throw left in the women’s elite discus.

“Do this, through the hip here, hold the throw here,” Lopez Arias said, elaborating on overthinking her first five throws.

What worked? “Just freaking throw it,” Lopez Arias said.

After hovering in the 53 range, Lopez Arias launched a 56-meter throw, her longest of the meet and the entire NCAA season, catapulting her into second place on her final throw to win the silver medal.

It was Lopez Arias’ second year in a row medalling at Mt. Sac, which she claimed in an Instagram story earlier in the week was her favorite meet of the year.

Other placements during Saturday’s elite portion of the meet included freshman distance runner Evaline Chepkoech and sophomore jumper Alexandria Johnson, who placed sixth in the women’s 800m dash and the women’s long jump, respectively.

Graduate thrower Danielle Sloley and Lopez Arias placed seventh and eighth in the women’s shot put earlier in the morning, with senior thrower Brandon Lloyd falling in at ninth on the men’s side of the event.

For Friday’s collegiate divisions, Arizona State swept the 800m dash with junior distance runner Tyler Schierenberg and freshman middle distance runner Taylor Brown taking gold. Freshman distance runner Dennis Rono snagged second in the 1500m, with a 3:45.83. Freshman sprinter Mateo Medina took fourth in the men’s 200m with a 21.02, while freshman sprinter Malik Franklin finished fifth in the men’s 400m for Malik Franklin, and sophomore thrower Sam Cappos took sixth in the men’s shot put.

The Sun Devils will now start working towards the Texas Invite in Austin, with just one meet following that before the Big 12 Conference Outdoor Championships.