May 17, 2009
Eugene, Ore. - Sunday afternoon marked the completion of the 2009 Pac-10 Track and Field Championships from historic Hayward Field. The Stanford women finished as the Pac-10 runner-up, led by a Pac-10 title from Lauren Centrowitz in the 5,000 meters. The men finished third, including a Pac-10 title from Daniel Schaerer in the discus.
The women finished with 138 points to trail the Pac-10 champion, Oregon with 165.5 points. Arizona State claimed third with 112 points. The Oregon men also claimed the conference title with 158 points, while USC was second with 117. The Stanford men claimed third with 93 points.
Centrowitz led the Stanford distance runners with her first Pac-10 title. She used a strong finish to cover the 5,000 meters in 16:15.86. The Cardinal scored big points in the event as Laurynne Chetelat finished third in 16:21.16 and Kate Niehaus placed sixth in 16:31.69.
Centrowitz also competed in the 1,500 meters where she entered the final with the fastest time in the conference. However, the Stanford senior ended up fifth in a time of 4:28.72 after being involved in a mix up on the last lap. The Cardinal still managed big points in the event as Alicia Follmar placed second with a time of 4:26.66 and Madeline Duhon placed eighth in 4:30.51.
Whitney <!>Liehr |
The other big event for the Stanford women on Sunday was the triple jump. Whitney Liehr leaped a career best 42-8 to claim second place. The mark for Liehr ranks third on the all-time Stanford list. Arantxa King finished third with a mark of 42-0 ½ and Jordan Merback claimed fifth with a mark of 40-4 ½.
The Stanford throwers had a strong day with a pair of top performances. Jaynie Goodbody claimed third in the hammer throw with a toss of 192-3, while Michaela Wallerstedt placed fourth in the discus with a mark of 166-7. The throw for Wallerstedt was a career best.
In the relays the Cardinal placed fifth in the 4x100-meters (45.63), while they claimed sixth in the 4x400 (3:41.22) and achieved the regional standard. Shataya Hendricks, Liehr, Brittni Dixon-Smith and Griffin Matthew made up the 4x100 team, while Ashley Menzies, Idara Otu, Dixon-Smith and Claire Cormier Thielke ran the 4x400.
Cormier Thielke also led Stanford in 800 meters with her sixth place finish. Her time of 2:10.83 was just ahead of Kaylin Pennington who placed seventh with a time of 2:11.91.
Also scoring points for the Stanford women were Otu in the 400-meter hurdles with a career best time of 59.00 and Matthew in the 100 meters with a time of 11.75. The time by Otu was the fourth fastest in Stanford history.
Daniel<!> Schaerer |
The Stanford men were led by Schaerer who claimed his first Pac-10 title in the discus. His toss of 208-6 was just off the school record of 2008 U.S. Olympian Michael Robertson who tossed 210-1 in 2007. Geoffrey Tabor also placed in the discus, claiming seventh with a toss of 181-5.
The top event for the Cardinal men was the 5,000 meters where Chris Derrick finished third with a time of 13:54.76. Garrett Heath placed fifth with a time of 14:12.30, while his brother Elliott Heath placed seventh with a time of 14:13.76.
Garrett<!> Heath |
Garrett Heath also competed in the 1,500 meters where he placed fourth with a time of 3:51.33.
The Cardinal also fared well in the hurdles with a pair of third place finishes. Amaechi Morton claimed third in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 50.44, while Myles Bradley claimed the same place in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 13.75. J.J. Jackson also fared well claiming sixth in the 110 hurdles with a career-best time of 14.23.
Bradley also competed in the triple jump where he claimed eighth place with a mark of 48-10.
In the relays, the Stanford men claimed fourth in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 40.59, while they finished sixth in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:11.94. Daniel Belch, Tyrone McGraw, Zach Chandy and Ryan Fisicaro made up the 4x100 relay, while Chandy Andrew Dargie, Justin Reed and Durell Coleman ran the 4x400.
Dargie also competed in the open 400 meters where he placed eighth with a time of 47.95.
The second place finish for the Stanford women was their fourth consecutive runner-up finish. The men earned their best finish since 2003 when they placed second. The Cardinal will next compete back in Eugene at the NCAA West Regional on Fri.-Sat., May 29-30.