April 6, 2013
TUCSON, Ariz. - Stanford junior Kori Carter ran the 400-meter hurdles in 54.71 seconds at the Jim Click Shootout track and field meet on Saturday, shattering her own school record while running the fastest time in the world this year.
Carter outdueled Arizona's Georganne Moline, the defending Pac-12 champion and a 2012 Olympic finalist, who was second in 54.98 at University of Arizona's Roy P. Drachman Stadium. Both achieved the `A' standard (55.40) for the World Championships, to be held in Moscow, Russia, in August.
Carter crushed her Stanford standard of 57.10, which she set at the 2011 Pac-10 Championships in Eugene, Ore. Carter holds every school indoor and outdoor hurdles record and, though she is the defending Pac-12 champion in the 100 hurdles, Stanford coaches believe her future is in the 400 hurdles. She seemed to prove them right in her season debut in the event.
"Our major focus has been transitioning her to the 400 hurdles," said sprints/hurdles coach Jody Stewart. "We thought, long term, she's going to be great."
During the indoor season, Carter ran her share of 60 hurdles races -- breaking her own school record in the process -- but also extended her to 200s and 400s.
The endurance work showed. Carter surged to the lead at the start, only for Moline to pull ahead at 250 meters. But Carter continued to push, pulling even at the 10th hurdle and surging ahead in the final meters.
"It was a great race," Stewart said. "The best part was Kori's response when Georganne took the lead. She stayed composed, kept her focus, and kept working."
Carter's time would have won the 2012 NCAA championship and placed her third at the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials.
To her potential, Stewart cautioned looking too far ahead.
"One step at a time," he said.
Three other Stanford women were meet winners - Jordan Merback in the triple jump.
Fedronic ran 2:03.93 in her season debut in that event to close within 0.4 of her school record and edged freshman teammate Amy Weissenbach, whose 2:05.39 placed her second and made her the No. 7 performer in school history.
Fedronic achieved the USATF Championships 'A' standard of 2:05.00.
Bain, the 2012 NCAA runner-up and Pac-12 champion, made her season debut with a throw of 158-10, and Merback won at 40-11 1/2.
In all, Stanford achieved school all-time Top 10 marks in five events. In addition to Carter and Weissenbach, Alyssa Wisdom reached her outdoor best of 53-6¼ to move into No. 4 on the list while finishing fourth in the women's shot put. And Jules Sharpe achieved an outdoor best of 7-1½ to move into a tie for fifth on the all-time men's high jump list while placing third.
In addition, Stanford's 4x400 women's relay team of Carissa Levingston, Carter, Fedronic, and Kristyn Williams placed second with a time of 3:35.11 to move into No. 10 on Stanford's all-time outdoor list.
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Stanford results:
Men
200 - 5, Nicholas Bayley 49.26. 800 - 3, Luke Lefebure 1:52.56; 5, Marco Bertolotti 1:52.80; 7, Will Drinkwater 1:56.02; 13, Tim Luthin 2:00.33. 1,500 - 2, Kenny Krotzer 3:52.58; 7, Billy Orman 3:55.01; 8, Luthin 3:56.52. 4x400 relay - 7, Chase, Lefebure, Bayley, Brinkley 3:17.80.
HJ - 3, Garrett Starkey 15-9 1/4; 7, Dalton Duvio 15-5 1/2. LJ - 6, Willis 23-7 1/2; 14, Charlie Kerr 21-7 1/2. TJ - 7, Geoffrey Tabor 56-9 1/4; 9, Nick Budincich 49-10. DT - 3, Tabor 179-10; 8, Budincich 160-10; 11, Lucas Rowley 145-3. HT - 5, Rowley 189-1. JT - 3, Andrew Rondema 186-5; 10, Kerr 168-1.
Women
200 - 4, Katie Nelms 24.87. 400 - 3, Kristyn Williams 54.65; 8, Amy Weissenbach 2:05.39; 6, Claudia Saunders 2:09.29; 10, Alli Billmeyer 2:14.62; 14, Molly McNamara 2:16.82. 1,500 - 2, Tate Murray 4:36.88; 8, Julia Foster 4:39.84; 10, McNamara 4:42.53. 100H - 2, Nelms 13.75. 400H - 1, Kori Carter 54.71 (school record; World Championships 'A' standard; fastest time in the world this year); 6, Kala Stepter 1:01.32. 4x400 relay - 2, Levingston, Carter, Fedronic, Kr. Williams 3:35.11; 6, Stepter, Weissenbach, Saunders, Farley 3:49.95.
HJ - 4, Jordan Merback 18-5 1/4. TJ - 1, Merback 40-11 1/2. SP - 4, Shavana Talbert 46-10. DT - 6, Rebecca Hammar 169-4; 13, Talbert 120-7. HT - 10, Hammar 138-4. JT - 1, Brianna Bain 158-10; 4, Kiernan Haggerty 139-9.