May 27, 2011
EUGENE, Ore. - The Cardinal continued a strong meet at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds with six more athletes earning a trip to the NCAA finals in Des Moines, Iowa. Stanford now has a total of seven men and five women who will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with one day still to go.
The women were led by Kori Carter who ran well for the second consecutive day. She earned a spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after running 57.87 in the quarterfinals of the 400-meter hurdles. Carter placed second in her heat and was sixth overall and nearly missed breaking her own school record in the event. Earlier in the day, Carter won her heat of the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 13.50. She will now look to qualify through to Des Moines in a second event with the quarterfinals of the high hurdles on Saturday.
Katie Nelms also competed in both races, but did not advace. Nelms finished 28th in the 100 hurdles with a time of 13.94 and also fell short in the 400-meter hurdles, running a time of 1:01.06 to placed 19th overall.
In the field events, both Katerina Stefanidi and Whitney Liehr earned spots in the NCAA finals. Stefanidi tied for the meet title, clearing 13-5 ¼ without a miss. She was one of nine to clear that height, but the competition ended with each having already clinched advancement. Liehr placed fourth in the triple jump after earning a mark of 42-8 on her first jump. Liehr passed her last two attempts as she has already secured her trip to Des Moines.
On the track, Carissa Levingston who advanced to the quarterfinals in the 200 meters. Levingston ran a time of 24.05 to place 19th overall. She will run again on Saturday with hopes of moving on to Des Moines.
The men continued its impressive showing in the distances as JT Sullivan and Benjamin Johnson are both heading to Des Moines in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Sullivan and Johnson both placed third in their heats and were eighth and ninth overall. Sullivan ran a time of 8:50.52, while Johnson clocked a time of 8:51.44.
Also excelling was Amaechi Morton who advanced in the 400-meter hurdles. Morton cruised to a time of 49.99 to place second in his heat and sixth overall. He will advance to the NCAA finals where he placed third last season.