May 20, 2000
EUGENE, Ore. - Toby Stevenson set a new Pac-10 conference, conference meet and school record, and became Stanford's first league champion in the pole vault since 1965 when he vaulted 18-9 1/4 during first day activity on Saturday at the 2000 Pacific-10 Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.
Sally Glynn, a junior, moved ahead in the final 200 meters to edge Pac-10 favorite Kelly MacDonald of Arizona State to win the 3,000 meter conference title in a season-best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 9:22.11.
Stevenson, who is now the #1 collegiate leader in the pole vault this year, made his historic vault on his first try. Stevenson's effort broke the long-standing conference mark of 18-8 3/4 set by UCLA's Mike Tully in 1978. Tully set the former record at the conference meet at Oregon State.
"All year long I've been getting more and more confident," said the three-time All-American from Odessa, Tx. "My base has been getting higher, and when you're base is higher, your peak is higher. I knew it was a going to take over 18 feet to win, with the great track conditions, and the great fans in Eugene. Going over 18-9, everything was perfect. I just sailed over.
Stevenson also exceeded the Olympic qualifying standard of 18-4 1/2.
"I was having a good time," said Stevenson. "All the pole vaulters have kind of a fraternity. I cheer for them and they cheer for me. We feed off the energy from each other."
Stevenson, a senior, missed on all three attempts at 19-0 1/2.
"I'm confident I'll get that mark later," said Stevenson, who had a previous career-best of 18-4 1/2, first set in 1998 and later tied at the Stanford Invitational earlier this year.
Stanford's last conference champion in the pole vault was Jim Eshelman at 16-0 3/4 in 1965 in Pullman, Wa.
Glynn is the second Cardinal runner to win the 3,000 meter conference title in the last three seasons. In 1998, Monal Chokshi won the Pac-10 title in a time of 9:23.92.
"The pace was pretty slow in the beginning, but then it picked up," said Glynn. "The plan was to go with the flow, and then take the lead when comfortable."
Glynn also has the third-best conference time in the 5,000 meters (15:59.10), an event slated for Sunday at 6:58 p.m.
Brent Hauser, the ten-time All-American, captured the 10,000 meters in a time of 29:27.90. "The pack tried not to go out hard early, but then I tried to open it up a bit as the race went along," said Hauser.
This is the third time in the last four years that a Stanford athlete has won the Pac-10 title in the 10,000 meters. Rob Reeder won the conference title (29:48.88) in 1997, and Nathan Nutter won the Pac-10 title (29:55.20) last year.
Several Stanford athletes ran successful qualifying races to advance to Sunday's finals. The list includes Wilsa Charles in the 100 meters (11.68) and the 200 meters (23.80), Jayna Smith in the 400 meters (53.66), Michael Stember in the 800 meters (1:50.39), Ryan Carroll in the 800 meters (1:51.65), Jonathan Stevens in the 800 meters (1:51.96), Malindi Elmore in the 800 meters (2:09.91), Lindsay Hyatt in the 800 meters (2:10.76), and Michael Harte in the 110 meter hurdles (14.41).
The Cardinal women's 400 meter relay team (Julie Tinker, Jayna Smith, Danielle Spurlock, Wilsa Charles) also qualified for Sunday's final with a time of 45.91.
Stanford's men's team is currently in first place with 45 points, compared to USC with 58.
The Stanford women's team is in a close battle with UCLA and Washington State for the team championship after the first day. The Cardinal resides in second place with 45 points, compared to UCLA with a first place total of 54. Washington State is third with 39 points.
The Pac-10 Championships will conclude on Sunday.
Cardinal Chatter
Wilsa Charles ran the second-fastest time in Stanford school history in the 100 meters (11.68) in the prelims ... Charles' previous best time was 11.70 in 1999 ... Charles' 200 meter time of 23.68 in the prelims moves her to #2 all-time at Stanford ... Her previous best was 23.98 in 1999 ... Julie Tinker bettered her season-best in the long jump by nearly six inches with a career-best 19-8 ... That jump also is sixth-best all-time at Stanford.