May 2, 2010
Stanford, Calif. - The reputation of the Payton Jordan Invitational as the place where records are broken continues to grow. In front of the packed bleachers at Cobb Track and Angell Field, Chris Solinsky obliterated the American Record in the 10,000 meters. Solinsky became the first non-African to run under 27 minutes with a time of 26:59.60.
Solinsky's run was just one of many great performances during the evening distance carnival. The combination of elite professional and collegiate runners once again provided some exciting and record-breaking performances.
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Solinsky's broke the American Record of Meb Keflezighi, who ran 27:13.98 also at the Payton Jordan Invitational back in 2001. He came from the pack to overtake Galen Rupp with 800 meters to go before hammering the last half mile under two minutes. Rupp was rabbitted through the first 5K in 13:34 and then assumed the lead for most of the race as he pushed towards the record. He did indeed ran under the old record, finishing with a time of 27:10.74, but was just fourth place. Sam Chelanga of Liberty was the first collegiate, finishing third in 27:08.39 to smash his own collegiate record. Daniel Salel of Kenya finished second in 27:07.85.
The women's races were highlighted by the 5,000 meters, where Shalane Flannagan, like Rupp, took the race out at a record-breaking pace. Already, the American Record holder at 5,000 and 10,000 meters, Flannagan could not hold the pace and was overtaken by Shannon Rowburry in the final lap. Rowburry finished with a time of 15:00.51 for the win. The San Francisco native was a 2008 Olympian at 1,500 meters, but moved up in distance and ran a personal best.
While Solinsky and the professional runners were the talk of the meet, several Stanford athletes also put on stellar performances.
 Amaechi<!> Morton broke his own school record in the 400-meter hurdles  |
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Early in the meet, Amaechi Morton lowered his own school record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.03. Morton won the race in a time that puts him third on the NCAA list. Durell Coleman also competed and ran a personal-best time of 51.70, which ranks in the top 25 in the NCAA entering Saturday.
In the distances, Dylan Ferris led Stanford, winning the top section of the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:40.07. His time ranks ninth in Stanford history and is currently fourth in the NCAA. Just behind Ferris was Elliott Heath who ran 3:41.27 to finish second. His time ranks fifth in the NCAA. Chris Derrick also competed in the same race, running 3:42.45 in his first collegiate 1,500 meters. The sophomore showed he has the speed although he will likely go back to longer distances the rest of the season.
Stanford had several other standout performances in the distances. Jake Riley and Brendan Gregg both set personal bests in the 5,000 meters, running times of 13:48.65 and 13:56.89, respectively. The duo joins Heath, Derrick and JT Sullivan to give Stanford five runners under 14 minutes in the 5K this season.
Sullivan competed in his main event, the steeplechase, and earned a big personal best. He finished with a time of 8:47.35, which puts him in the top 10 in the NCAA. Benjamin Johnson also competed in the race and set a personal best with a time of 8:58.92.
In the 800 meters, Justin Reed went under 1:50 for the first time, finishing with a mark of 1:49.23.
The sprints were dominated by Daniel Belch who won both the 100 and 200 meters. Belch won the 100 in 10.71, but set a personal best in the 200 with a time of 21.57.
In the field events, the Cardinal men had a couple of individual winners with Casey Roche taking the pole vault with a season-best mark of 17-0 ¼ and Robert Hintz winning the javelin with his collegiate best of 195-8.
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The Stanford women also had a strong showing in the distance carnival with freshman Kathy Kroeger leading the way. Kroeger finished with a time of 16:01.13, which ranks No. 10 all-time at Stanford and No. 4 for a freshman. Stephanie Marcy also fared well in the same race, running a personal best with a time of 16:18.13.
The middle distances also saw some personal bests as Justine Fedronic ran 2:10.77 in the 800 meters and Madeline Duhon ran 4:22.30 in the 1,500 meters.
Carissa Levingston and Griffin Matthew dominated the sprints with each winning a race. Levingston took the 100 meters with a time of 11.70, while Matthew captured the 200 with a career-best time of 23.41.
On the field, Katerina Stefanidi continued her impressive season, easily winning the pole vault with a mark of 13-10 ½. In addition, Jaynie Goodbody won the hammer throw with a season-best mark of 196-9, while Liz Minoofar won the javelin with a career-best mark of 147-10.
Overall, it was an outstanding day of track and field. The crowd saw record-breaking performances from elite professionals as well as collegiate action that included some top performances from the home team.
Stanford will next compete at the Pac-10 Championships. The multi-event portion will take place next weekend, May 8-9, while the rest of the meet is in two weeks on May 15-16.