March 10, 2001
Fayetteville, Ark. - The Stanford men completed competition with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas Saturday. Louisiana State stole the team title from Texas Christian in the meet's final event, the 4x400-meter relay, as LSU finished first and TCU dropped the baton and finished last.
In Saturday's action, junior Gabe Jennings finished third in the mile with a time of 3:58.54 to earn All American honors. Jennings had run the fastest time of the preliminary heats at 3:59.75 and also anchored the Cardinal's distance medley relay to a national championship with a 3:56.4 1,600 meters Friday night.
In the 3,000 meters, junior Jonathon Riley earned a third-place finish with his time of 8:06.04, and redshirt freshman Seth Hejny was 9th in 8:12.65. Riley took control of the race when the pack seemed content to jog through the first kilometer. Riley's spurt stratified the pack, as defending champion David Kimani and Villanova's Adrian Blincoe were the only runners to cover the move.
With less than a kilometer to go, Kimani jostled his way to the lead and pulled away as Blicoe challenged. Riley held on to third to earn his second All American honor of the meet, having finished fourth in Friday's 5,000-meter run. Hejny's finish also earned him All American status.
For the women, sophomore Lauren Fleshman ran 4:43.52 for third and was also named an All American.
Senior Elena Villareal closed out her collegiate indoor career with a 9:36.65 in the 3,000 meters, good enough for 12th. The Stanford women scored a total of six points in the meet for 31st place overall. UCLA captured the team title with 53.5 points.
The Cardinal returns to outdoor competition on March 25 at the Stanford Open.
MEN'S FINAL TEAM SCORES:1. LSU, 34 points 2. TCU, 33 3. Arkansas, 32 4. Alabama, 31 5. Stanford, 28.5
Stanford Individuals
Men's Distance Medley Relay
1. Stanford 9:30.01 (Donald Sage, Mark Hassell, Jonathan Stevens, Gabe Jennings)
Men's Mile
3. Gabe Jennings 3:58.54
Men's 3,000 Meters
3. Jonathon Riley 8:06.049. Seth Hejny 8:12.65
Men's 5,000 Meters
4. Jonathon Riley 13:51.6811. Louie Luchini 14:09.88
Men's High Jump
7 (tie). Michael Ponikvar 6-11.75
Women's Distance Medley Relay
11. Stanford 11:40.10 (Ashley Couper, Danielle Spurlock, Lindsay Hyatt, Elena Villareal)
Women's Mile
3. Lauren Fleshman 4:43.52
Women's 3,000 Meters
12. Elena Villareal 9:36.65