UA track and field fell short in its bid to defeat rival Arizona State in the state's three-school meet in Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe this weekend.

Men's and women's squads from UA, ASU and Northern Arizona squared off against one another on Saturday in the annual outdoor double dual meet. The Wildcats had no problem with NAU, as both the men's and women's squads disposed of the Lumberjacks by over 40 points. Neither Arizona squad was as fortunate versus the Sun Devils however, dropping their closely contested meets by less than 10 points.

The men fell to the Sun Devils, 100-92, and handily beat the Lumberjacks, 112-69. The Wildcat women lost an even closer decision, 91-87, to ASU, while trouncing NAU, 110-52.

Sharifa Jones excelled on both the track and the field for the Wildcats. The sophomore from Marietta, Ga. added to her victory in the 100-meter hurdles by leaping herself into another first place finish in the long jump. Both marks were good enough to earn the University of Michigan transfer NCAA regional qualifying marks. Her time of 13.52 seconds in the hurdles was an improvement on her former NCAA qualifying mark of 13.56. The mark was a personal record for Jones.

The sophomore was a member of the winning 4 by 100-meter relay squad that came within .10 seconds of breaking the school record in that event.

"She had a great day, a long day," head coach Fred Harvey said of Jones.

Amy Linnen proved that the foot injury she suffered in mid-March ÷ at the beginning of the outdoor season ÷ has recovered nicely. The junior led the pack of UA pole-vaulters, taking first place in the event. Arizona took the top seven places in the pole vault behind Linnen's first place victory.

"This weekend was a great opportunity to work on a few things and get back into rhythm," Harvey said of Linnen.

On the track for the men's squad, Jeff Hunter continued to excel for the Wildcats. The sophomore from El Cajon, Calif. ran in the lead-off position for Arizona's winning 4 by 100-meter relay squad. Hunter also took first place finishes in both the 110- and 400-meter hurdles. The sophomore played an important role in the Wildcats' 4 by 400-meter relay squad as well. In his leg of the 4 by 400, Hunter ran his lifetime best time despite finishing second behind ASU's powerful quartet.

All totaled, Arizona left Tempe with 39 improved performances. The Wildcats

claimed victories in 19 of the 38 events between the three schools. The Tempe tri-meet was the final outing for the Wildcats before heading to the Pac-10 Combined Championships.

The conference championship is slated for May 17-18 on the campus of Southern California. This weekend, Amanda Underwood and Jake Arnold will head to Los Angeles to compete in the conference championship for the heptathlon and decathlon respectively.

The two-week break for the Wildcats will give them an opportunity to rest and prepare for the conference championships.

"We will focus more on rest and speed endurance exercises," Harvey said of the hiatus. "We want to be sharp for the Pac-10s."