March 27, 2010
Stanford, Calif. - The 2010 Stanford Invitational got off to an outstanding start on Friday from Cobb Track and Angell Field. The meet features some of the top high school and collegiate talents from around the nation as well as a few pros. Friday saw an NCAA record fall in the women's 10,000 meters and the return of a 2008 U.S. Olympian and Stanford graduate.
Friday night's distance carnival was once again the top draw of the meet with the ideal conditions of Cobb Track in late March leading to extremely fast races. None was faster than the top section of the women's 10,000 meters when Lisa Koll of Iowa State set a new NCAA record in the event. Her time of 31:18.07 smashed the record of former NCAA Champion Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech. The time was also the fastest in the world this year for Koll.
Earlier in the day, Stanford was treated to the return of Jillian Camarena, a 2004 graduate, who competed for the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Camerana, who still owns the Stanford record in the shot put won Friday's competition by over 10 feet with a toss of 61-5 ½.
Leading the current Cardinal was Amaechi Morton who set a new personal best in the 400 meters in winning the event. Morton's time of 46.66 moves him to eighth on the all-time Stanford list in the event. Morton also competed in the 110 high hurdles, finishing third with a time of 14.58 and qualifying for Saturday's final.
The other event winner for the Stanford men was Jules Sharpe in the high jump. The Cardinal freshman cleared 6-10 ¼ to take the meet title.
The Cardinal had several top performers under the lights including a couple personal bests for veterans of the distance program. Brendan Gregg broke the 29-minute barrier to smash his personal best in the 10K with a time of 28:56.44. Meanwhile, Benjamin Johnson lowered his personal best in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:09.89.
Other standout performances included a personal best for Durell Coleman in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 42.36 to place third and an impressive closing kick from Ramsey Chapin to win his section of the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:48.98 to lead the freshmen distance runners.
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Georgia<!> Griffin ran one of the fastest 10,000-meter times in Stanford history. |
The Cardinal women were led by Georgia Griffin in the 10,000 meters. In the race where Koll set the NCAA record, Griffin held strong in the chase pack to finish with a time of 33:39.52. The time moves Griffin to seventh on Stanford's all-time list in the 10K.
Also faring well on the track were Shataya Hendricks and Whitney Liehr who both made finals. Hendricks qualified for the final of the 100 meters, which was also contested on Friday. She finished sixth in the final, but ran faster in the prelims, notching a time of 11.94. Liehr moved through to the final of the 100-meter hurdles that will be contested on Saturday with a time of 14.03.
Liehr also competed in the Collegiate portion of the long jump where she finished as the runner-up to teammate Karynn Dunn. Liehr leaped 18-11 ¼, while Dunn jumped 19-8 ¼. Brittni Dixon-Smith had the best jump of the day for Stanford with a mark of 19-8 ¾, while competing in the Invitational section of the event.
The Stanford Invitational will resume Saturday at 9:00 a.m. with the high school sections of the 4x100-meter relay. Several Stanford athletes will also compete, including Liehr in the final of the 100 hurdles and Dylan Ferris running in the top section of the 800 meters.