June 11, 2011
DES MOINES, Iowa - The 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships wrapped up on Saturday afternoon with both Stanford teams finishing in the top-10. The Stanford men scored five more points thanks to Chris Derrick and finished with 29 to finish in sixth place. The Cardinal women who did not have an athlete compete on Saturday finished with 25 points and in a tie for eighth.
The pair of top-10 finishes was the first time Stanford has accomplished the feat since 2005 when the men were seventh and the women were fifth. The sixth-place finish for the men was the best since 2001 when the Cardinal was fourth.
Texas A&M swept the titles with 55 points for the men and 49 for the women.
The lone event to feature Stanford athletes on Saturday was the men's 5,000 meters. Derrick led the Cardinal with a fourth-place finish and a time of 13:36.17. Elliott Heath also competed in the event, but was 22nd in 14:28.08. Derrick ran with the leaders most of the way, but did not quite have the closing speed to compete for the title.
It is the second straight day Derrick took home a fourth-place finish as he had an identical finish in the 10,000 meters on Friday. Derrick will take home two first-team All-America honors for his efforts and now has 10 for his career.
The NCAA Championships concludes the collegiate season, but several Stanford athletes will continue to train and will compete at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships from June 23-26, in Eugene, Oregon.