April 29, 2012
STANFORD, Calif. -- The reputation of the Payton Jordan Invitational continues to grow with another incredible night of record-breaking performances. At the forefront of the evening was Stanford's Chris Derrick, who set the American Collegiate Record in the 10,000 meters and was one of 28 athletes on the evening to earn the Olympic `A' Standard.
Derrick ran a smart tactical race hanging in the pack for the first 5k, before surging to the lead with six laps to go. He led for a few laps, before the elite field began to trade pace-setting duties as the tempo quickened. Cam Levins of Southern Utah finished with a furious kick to win in 27:27.96, while Derrick was third in 27:31.38. Levins ran the fastest time in the world this year, but Derrick grabbed the American Collegiate Record as Levins is Canadian.
His time broke the record of Galen Rupp by just over two seconds and was also the Stanford record by a whopping 28 seconds. Previously, Ian Dobson had been the only Cardinal to break 28 minutes, running 27:59.72 in 2005. Derrick and Levins were two of eight to earn the Olympic `A' Standard in 10k, meaning Derrick now has the `A' Standard in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
Despite the excitement of the 10k, the 5,000 might have been the most thrilling race of the night as the incredible Lopez Lamong won after coming to a complete stop before the final lap. Lamong kicked to the lead with 600 meters to go, thinking he was on his final lap. As came to the bell he stopped to celebrate what he thought was the end of the race, but really he still had one to go.
Photographers on the track urged him to restart and after a couple of seconds, Lamong realized his mistake and kept going. The U.S. flag bearer at the 2008 Olympics wasn't deterred, however. Lamong restarted and finished with another blazing lap to win the race in a world-leading time of 13:11.63. Lamong was one of seven to capture the Olympic `A' Standard in the race. Finishing ninth in a personal best of 13:27.07 was Stanford grad Garrett Heath. Heath will likely move down to his better event, the 1,500 meters, for the Olympic Trials.
On the women's side, Sally Kipyego stole the show with her dominating performance in the 5,000 meters. Kipyego ran a new Cobb Track and Angell Field record of 14:43.11 to win by 25 seconds. Kipyego ran solo the entire race to smash the previous record. She was one of six to grab the Olympic `A' Standard in the event.
In the women's 10,000, six more earned the `A' Standard led by Betsy Saina who won in 31:15.97
The final `A' Standard was Andy Baddeley of Great Britain who won the men's 1,500 in 3:35.19.
Aside from the elites, Stanford also had several top efforts. Tyler Stutzman continued his breakthrough season with a personal best in the 1,500 meters. Stutzman ran a time of 3:40.53, which ranks 10th in Stanford history. Michael Atchoo also ran well with a time of 3:42.36.
In the 5,000 meters, Stanford had a pair of nice efforts in the second section. Brendan Gregg ran a personal best of 13:48.49, while teammate Miles Unterreiner was not far behind in 13:50.90.
In the sprints, Amaechi Morton led the Cardinal with a personal best of 46.12 in the 400 meters. The 400-meter hurdles specialist now ranks third in the open 400 meters after Sunday's race.
Also faring well was Colin Hepburn, who won both the 100 and 200 meters. Hepburn ran times of 10.83 and 21.53, respectively.
In the field, Geoffrey Tabor led the Cardinal with a season-best toss of 187-1 in the discus.
Leading the Stanford women was Kathy Kroeger who broke through with a huge personal best in the 5,000 meters, running 15:33.76 to finish second in her section of the event. The mark ranks sixth in school history, but more importantly qualifies Kroeger through to the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer.
In the 1,500 Jessica Tonn third in her section of the 1,500, running 4:23.77. Claire Collison also had a strong race, placing second in her section with a time of 4:33.08.
Justine Fedronic led the Cardinal in the 800 meters with a time of 2:05.42.
In the sprints, Shataya Hendricks won the 100 meters with a time of 11.50.
Katie Nelms ran a personal-best time of 13.24 to win the 100-meter hurdles. The time ranks second in school history to Kori Carter who placed second on Sunday with a time of 13.30. Carter did come back to win the 400-meter hurdles later with a time of 57.62.
In the field, Alyssa Wisdom finished second in the shot put with a toss of 50-2 ¾. She finished behind only Stanford grad and Olympic medal contender Jillian Camarena-Williams who won with a Stadium Record mark of 64-1 ¼.
Next up for the Cardinal will be the Pac-12 Championships. Next weekend will be the heptathlon and decathlon competitions with the rest of the meet taking place in two weeks.