Feb. 26, 2011
Seattle, Wash. - The Stanford men earned the first MPSF title in program history, scoring 107.5 points edge Arizona with 102. On the women's side, the Cardinal placed third with 96.5 points, while Oregon won the conference title.
A year after finishing as the conference runner-up, the Cardinal men finally broke through with the indoor conference title. The MPSF for indoor track and field was established in 2002, but the Stanford men had yet to win a team title, despite the women winning five. That would change on Saturday using individual titles from Elliott Heath in the mile and Amaechi Morton in the 400 meters as well as much improved depth, the Cardinal earned its championship.
The Cardinal women moved up from fourth place after day one for its eighth-consecutive top-3 finish at the MPSF meet. Stanford was led by Whitney Liehr who earned her second consecutive MPSF title in the triple jump.
Stanford did its most damage on the way to the conference title in the mile, led by the 2011 indoor season standout Elliott Heath. Heath captured the MPSF title in the mile, running 4:00.52. It was a personal best for Heath, although he ran well below that time in a relay split earlier this season. Heath was not alone, however, as four Stanford milers placed in the top-7. Andrew Berberick finished as the conference runner-up to Heath in a time of 4:01.67, while Dylan Ferris was fourth in 4:03.37. Freshman Michael Atchoo chipped in a seventh-place finish, crossing the line in 4:07.78. Adam Thorne finished one spot out of scoring position in ninth (4:10.70).
In the 3,000 meters, JT Sullivan added a runner-up finish with a personal-best time of 7:57.04. Brendan Gregg (8:06.45), Tyler Stutzman (8:06.84) and Erik Olson (8:09.93) finished just outside scoring position in 9th, 10th and 12th, repectively.
Morton added an MPSF title in the 400 meters to his growing resume. The Cardinal junior blew away the field, running 46.50, as the only runner under 47 seconds. A day after finishing second in the 200 meters, Morton earned the first indoor conference title of his career. Spencer Chase also competed in the 400 and placed sixth with a time of 47.82. The career-time for Chase earned Stanford three big points in the team race.
Later in the day, Morton and Chase combined with Alfredo Corral and Spencer Castro in the 4x400-meters. The Cardinal finished fifth, just edging UCLA at the line.
Also adding three points in the sprints was Tyrone McGraw who finished third in the 60 meters. McGraw ran a time of 6.88, which was just off his season best.
In the field, Stanford was led by Jules Sharpe who finished third in the high jump. Sharpe cleared 7-2 ¼, the same height as the top two finishers, but was third based on earlier misses. In addition to Sharpe, Stanford earned points in the shot put as Jeremy Hines and Geoffrey Tabor finished fourth and sixth, respectively. Hines tossed 57-3 ¾, while Tabor threw 56-11 ½.
Whitney<!> Liehr won the MPSF title in the triple jump. |
The Cardinal women scored its biggest points in the jumps thanks to the individual title from Liehr in the triple jump. Liehr leaped 40-9 ½, which coincidentally was the exact same mark as last year when she was also the MPSF champion. In the long jump, Liehr led a 3-4-5 finish by Stanford with a mark 19-10 ¾. Brittni Dixon-Smith and Karynn Dunn also finished in the points with leaps of 19-8 ¾ and 19-8 ¼, respectively.
The other big field event for Stanford was the pole vault. Katerina Stefanidi was unable to defend her MPSF title from a year ago, but did finish as the runner-up with a mark of 13-11 ¾. Ellie McCardwell finished in a tie for seventh with a mark of 13-1 ¾ to give Stanford 9.5 points in the event.
Also adding points in the field events was Alyssa Wisdom in the shot put. The converted sprinter continued her impressive transformation with a sixth-place finish with a toss of 48-10.
On the track, the Cardinal scored points in every event. Carissa Levingston placed fifth in the 60 meters (7.54), while Shataya Hendricks was seventh (7.93). Also faring well in the sprints were Hannah Farley and Kellie Schueler who placed sixth and seventh in the 400 meters. Farley ran 55.54, while Schueler ran 55.85. Farley, Dixon-Smith, Kori Carter and Levingston then combined for a time of 3:39.26 in the 4x400 meters to place fifth.
Carter also competed in the final of the 60-meter hurdles, placing seventh with a time of 8.50. Teammate Katie Nelms was one spot better in sixth, running 8.47.
In the middle distances, Justine Fedronic added a fourth-place finish in the 800 meters, running a time of 2:07.37. In the mile, Kristin Reese finished sixth with a time of 4:48.27.
In the 3,000 meters, Jessica Tonn and Stephanie Marcy finished third and fourth. Tonn ran a time of 9:19.77, while Marcy ran 9:19.96. Marcy completed a big weekend after placing third in the 5,000 meters on Friday night.
The Cardinal will now have one last weekend to earn NCAA qualifying standards at meet in Washington and Arkansas. Otherwise, all that remains of the indoor season is the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 11-12.