May 10, 2009
Eugene, Ore. - With the 2009 Pac-10 Track and Field Championships still a week away, the first points were awarded with the heptathlon and decathlon competitions. The Cardinal picked up four team points for the men from Corey Dysick and three team points from Whitney Liehr for the women.
Dysick competed in the decathlon for the first time this season and set a big personal best with 6,864 points. Dysick also earned the regional standard in his best event, the pole vault. His vault of 16-6 ¾ was the best of the competition and a career best for Dysick outdoors.
Liehr finished with 5,459 points, which just missed the NCAA automatic standard, but did improve her provisional mark. The score was also a personal best for the Stanford sophomore. Liehr's top event was the 100-meter hurdles where she scored 991 points. She also excelled in the long jump where she earned the regional standard with a leap of 19-11 ½.
Also competing for the women was Kara Bennett, who placed 11th. Bennett was just off her personal best with a score of 4,544 points.
In addition to the Pac-10 multis, a small group of Stanford athletes traveled to Sacramento State to compete in the final regular season meet for Stanford. The group was looking for some last personal bests with the Pac-10 Championships a week away.
The men were led by Justin Reed in the 800 meters, who achieved a personal best time of 1:51.81. Other personal bests included Miles Unterreiner in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:55.16 and Carter Wells in the hammer throw with a toss of 188-4.
The lone personal bests for the women came from Shataya Hendricks in the 200 meters with a time of 24.26 and Molly Kinsella in the hammer throw with a toss of 155-4.
The Cardinal will return to Eugene next weekend, May 16-17, for the rest of the Pac-10 Championships. Both the men and women figure to be in contention for the title.