Feb. 27, 2010
Stanford, Calif. - The Stanford track and field teams completed competition on Saturday at the MPSF Championships with both teams finishing in second place. The Cardinal men finished with 95.5 points to trail only UCLA, while the women finished with 113 points, trailing only Oregon. Both teams had athletes set school records and achieve numerous NCAA qualifying times.
The women had a pair of individual champions, led by Katerina Stefanidi who bettered her own school record in the pole vault. The sophomore from Greece vaulted 14-1 ¼ to take the conference title with a collegiate-best performance that is among the best in the NCAA so far this year.
The other individual title also came in the field with Whitney Liehr taking the title in the triple jump. Liehr leaped 40-9 ½ to earn the first conference title of her career. The Cardinal had two other point scorers in the triple jump with a fifth-place finish from Jordan Merback (39-1 ¾) and an eighth-place finish from Karynn Dunn (39-1 ¾).
The Cardinal also had multiple point scorers in the 60 meters, led by freshman Carissa Levingston. Levingston finished as the MPSF runner-up with a career-best time of 7.33, an NCAA provisional standard. The time was also the third fastest in school history. Griffin Matthew finished just behind Levingston in third (7.46) and Shataya Hendricks placed eighth in 7.60 to round out the Stanford scoring in the event.
The other point scorer in the sprints was Hannah Farley who placed seventh in the 400 meters with a time of 55.80.
In the distances, the Cardinal got a pair of provisional standards in the 3,000 meters from Stephanie Marcy and Georgia Griffin. Marcy placed seventh in 9:31.34, while Griffin was eighth in 9:31.66. The Cardinal also had a pair of point scorers in the mile with Madeline Duhon placing fifth with a time of 4:49.84 and Justin Fedronic in sixth with a time of 4:50.54.
The Cardinal women completed its scoring in the afternoon's final event, the 4x400-meter relay. The team of Farley, Levingston, Hendricks and Arantxa King placed fourth with a time of 3:42.81.
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Elliott <!>Heath scored 18 points for Stanford over the two days. |
The distance runners once again paced the men with Elliott Heath completing an outstanding meet. Heath, who took the meet title in the 5,000 meters on Friday night, followed that up with a runner-up finish in the 3,000. His time of 8:00.00 was also a provisional standard. The Cardinal scored big points in the event with Jake Riley placing fourth with a time of 8:02.81 and Justin Marpole-Bird taking sixth in 8:03.95.
The Cardinal also had a pair of top results in the middle distances, led by Dylan Ferris and his runner-up finish in the 800 meters. Ferris finished with a time of 1:49.05, just off his season best. In the mile, the Cardinal was paced by Andrew Berberick who placed fifth with a time of 4:03.55.
In the sprints, Tyrone McGraw established a new school record in the 60 meters with a time of 6.80. The time was good enough for fifth place. Daniel Belch also scored points for Stanford in the event, placing seventh with a time of 6.86.
McGraw was not the only Stanford sprinter to establish a new school record, however, as Amaechi Morton bettered his own mark in the 400 meters. His time of 46.71 was a provisional standard and good enough for third place. In the field, the Cardinal got a boost from Geoffrey Tabor in the shot put as he matched his career high with a toss of 58-5 ¼. The throw earned Tabor the runner-up position in event and a provisional standard. The other point scorer in the field was Jules Sharpe who placed sixth in the high jump (6-9 ½).
Like the women, the Cardinal men also finished the day by placing fourth in the 4x400 meters. The team of Durell Coleman, Morton, Zach Chandy and Justin Reed finished with a time of 3:12.53.
The Cardinal will complete the indoor season in two weeks at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. The meet will be Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13. Next weekend, the Cardinal will begin the outdoor season with the Stanford Quad Meet. The Cardinal will play host to several schools in Northern California at Cobb Track and Angell Field on Saturday, March 6.