T&F Notes: Outdoors, Indoors

STANFORD, Calif. – With the indoor season complete, the Stanford track and field team turns its focus outdoors. Cardinal throwers and pole vaulters compete Saturday at the Hornet Invitational at Sacramento State, the site of the U.S. Championships in June.

Among them will be freshman Megan Glasmann, making her collegiate debut. The Park City, Utah, native is No. 2 all-time among high school javelin throwers. She won the 2013 U.S. junior national championship by 10 feet, and her best toss of 176-11 won her the Pan Am Junior title in Medellin, Colombia. That throw was No. 10 by an American last year, including collegians and professionals. It also ranks No. 3 all-time among U.S. juniors.

With the exception of the javelin, Cardinal throwers began the outdoor season  March 8 at Berkeley's Outdoor Opener and a Stanford freshman made an immediate impact. Valarie Allman had four official discus throws and each exceeded the existing school freshman record, one that had lasted 28 years. Allman’s winning throw of 187-7 was No. 3 in Stanford history and would have placed second at the 2013 NCAA championships.

That throw remains No. 1 among collegians this year, by one inch over the 187-6 by USC junior Alexandra Collatz at the Cal State L.A. Invitational.

In all, nine Stanford athletes will compete in Sacramento, plus two freshman throwers who will compete unattached.

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Meet information:

When: Saturday
What: Hornet Invitational
Where: Sacramento, Calif.
Site: Hornet Stadium
Events begin: Field, 9:15 a.m.; Running, 10:30 a.m.

Follow the action:

Live results: Click here
Event schedule: Click here

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Stanford schedule and athletes:

9:15 a.m., Men’s hammer: Lucas Rowley.
     followed by, Women’s hammer: Valarie Allman, Rebecca Hammar.
9:30 a.m., Women’s javelin: Megan Glasmann.
     followed by, Men’s javelin: Andrew Rondema, Brendan Duncan (unattached).
9:45 a.m., Women’s shot put: Alyssa Wisdom.
     followed by, Men’s shot put: Nick Budincich, Sina Javidan-Nejad (unattached). Note: After men’s hammer.
11:15 a.m., Women’s pole vault: Ellie McCardwell.
     followed by, Men’s pole vault: Dylan Duvio.
2:15 p.m., Men’s discus: Nick Budincich, Lucas Rowley, Sina Javidan-Nejad (unattached). Note: After men’s shot put.       
2:30 p.m., Women’s discus: Valarie Allman, Rebecca Hammar. Note: After women’s hammer.

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Two Stanford signees won national championships last weekend at the New Balance Indoor Nationals at The Armory in New York City.

Oliva Baker won the girls’ 400 meters in 53.49. Baker, of Maplewood, N.J., is the nation’s No. 1 high school quartermiler, with a best of 52.71. Baker also is the reigning New Balance Outdoor Nationals champion.

Elise Cranny won the girls’ 800 in 2:06.47. Cranny, of Niwot, Colo., won her second title at the meet, following her mile championship last year. Her 1,500 best, the 4:15.07 she ran at Stanford’s Payton Jordan Invitational last year, makes her the No. 3 high school performer ever, trailing only Mary Cain and Jordan Hasay.

Among others who signed with Stanford in early February, Claire Howlett was third in the girls’ 5,000 (16:58.35), Leah Giger was fourth in the girls’ shot put (50-0), and Harrison Williams was fifth in the boys’ pole vault (15-10).

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Steven Solomon, fresh off his 400 leg on Stanford’s winning distance medley relay at the NCAA indoor championships on Friday, will take some time away from intercollegiate competition to run at the Australian national championships April 3-6 in Melbourne.

Solomon, a two-time national 400 champion and a 2012 Olympic finalist at age 19, will be competing for a spot on Australia’s Commonwealth Games team. The winner earns automatic qualification and two others will be selected by a committee. The top three, at least, seem assured of being part of the Aussie 4x400 relay, which has reached the Olympic and World Championships finals the past two years.

Because of his international commitments, Solomon’s training schedule has to take his late season into account. The NCAA’s are the focus for most collegiate athletes and annually are held in early June. But for Solomon, the Commonwealth Games will be July 23-Aug. 3 in Glasgow, Scotland, the 2012 London Olympics ended Aug. 12 and the 2013 Worlds ended Aug. 18.

A review at Solomon’s relay leg reveals how spectacular it was. After Marco Bertolotti moved Stanford into second, Solomon pushed the Cardinal into first and extended his lead throughout. His split of 45.75 was more than one second faster than the next-fastest in the field and more than two seconds faster than all but three others. Luke Lefebure and Michael Atchoo ran confidently from the front to give Stanford its fourth NCAA men’s DMR victory.

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Kori Carter, a current Stanford senior who won the women’s NCAA 400-meter hurdles in collegiate record time last year, makes her season debut in that event at the Stanford Invitational on Friday, April 4, at 2:46 p.m.

Carter was undefeated through the 2013 collegiate season, winning Pac-12 championships in both hurdles, and earning first and second places at the NCAA’s, the latter in the 100 hurdles.  

Carter’s first full professional season began when she won her heat in the 200 at the indoor Husky Classic in Seattle on Feb. 15. Carter continues to be coached by Stanford associate head coach Jody Stewart. The following is how her Diamond League-heavy season shapes up:

April 4: Stanford Invitational (400 hurdles); April 18-19: Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. (100H); May 17: Ponce Grand Prix-IAAF World Challenge in Ponce, Puerto Rico; May 31: Nike Prefontaine Classic-Diamond League in Eugene, Ore. (400H); June 11: Bislett Games-Diamond League in Oslo, Norway (400H); June 26-29: USATF Championships in Sacramento, Calif. (400H).

July 18: Herculis-Diamond League in Monte Carlo, Monaco (400H); Aug. 10: Grande Premio Brazil-IAAF World Challenge in Belem, Brazil (100H); Aug. 24: Birmingham Grand Prix-Diamond League in Birmingham, England (400H); Sept. 5: Memorial Van Damme-Diamond League in Brussels, Belgium (TBD).

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At the NCAA indoor championships last weekend in Albuquerque, N.M., Stanford brought 12 athletes – six men and  six women – and each earned first-team All-America honors by placing in the top eight in their events.

Below is a list of Stanford’s indoor All-Americans this year: