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Track & Field

Big Meet CXX

BERKELEY, Calif. – The Big Meet, one of the country’s great track and field traditions, continues on Saturday with the 120th track and field duel between Stanford and California. The meet will be held at Berkeley’s Edwards Stadium, beginning with the women's hammer throw at 9:30 a.m., and with running events at noon, beginning with the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. This is the only dual meet on the schedule for either team, and extends a tradition that began in 1893. Cal leads the men's series, 67-50-2, having broken Stanford’s six-year winning streak in 2013. For the women, Stanford leads the series, 21-11, and has won the past three.

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Meet information:

When: Saturday
What: Big Meet
Where:
Berkeley, Calif.
Site: Edwards Stadium
Events begin:
Field, 10 a.m.; Running, noon.

Follow the action:

Live results: Click here

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Meet schedule

Field events:
10 a.m.: Women’s Hammer, followed by the Men’s Hammer
Noon: Women's Long Jump, followed by the Men's Long Jump
12:30 p.m.: Women's Javelin, followed by the Men's Javelin
1 p.m.: Women's Pole Vault, followed by the Men’s Pole Vault
12:30 p.m.: Women’s Shot, followed by the Men's Shot
1 p.m.: Men's High Jump, followed by the Women's High Jump
1:30 p.m.: Women’s Triple Jump, followed by Men’s Triple Jump
1:30 p.m.: Women’s Discus, followed by the Men's Discus

Running events:
Noon: Women's 3,000 Steeplechase
12:15 p.m.: Men's 3,000 Steeplechase
12:30 p.m.: Women's 4 x 100 Relay
12:35 p.m.: Men's 4 x 100 Relay
12:40 p.m.: Women's 1,500
12:45 p.m.: Men's 1,500
12:55 p.m.: Women's 100 Hurdles
1:05 p.m.: Men's 110 Hurdles
1:10 p.m.: Women's 400
1:15 p.m.: Men's 400
1:20 p.m.: Women's 100
1:25 p.m.: Men's 100
1:35 p.m.: Women's 800
1:40 p.m.: Men's 800
1:50 p.m.: Women's 400 Hurdles
1:55 p.m.: Men's 400 Hurdles
2 p.m.: Women's 200
2:05 p.m.: Men's 200
2:10 p.m.: Women's 3,000
2:25 p.m.: Men's 3000
2:40 p.m.: Women's 4 x 400 Relay
2:50 p.m.: Men's 4 x 400 Relay

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Watch For:

Brianna Bain
Personal best: Javelin, 183-10

The Stanford junior is the two-time defending Pac-12 champion women’s javelin champion and a two-time first-team outdoor All-America. Bain opened her season Friday with a winning throw of 180-5 at the Stanford Invitational. For the year, the throw ranks No. 1 among American collegians, No. 2 among Americans, and No. 3 among collegians. It also marked the second-farthest throw from Bain who was third at the 2013 NCAA Championships and second in 2012. She was No. 5 in Track & Field News’ annual U.S. rankings.

Steven Solomon
Personal best: 400, 44.97

The Stanford sophomore broke the 20-year-old school record in the 400 meters on Saturday by winning his third Australian national championship, in Melbourne. His time of 45.36 broke the Stanford mark of 45.85 by Rene Rodriguez, and earned Solomon Pac-12 Track Athlete of the Week honors, as well as passage to this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Solomon is a 2012 Olympic finalist in the event and his time last weekend was his fastest since the London Games. Solomon will run the 400 and 4x400 at the Big Meet.

Amy Weissenbach
Personal bests: 800, 2:00.98; 1,500, 4:17.40

The Stanford sophomore is a five-time All-American, earning first-team outdoor honors last year when she placed sixth in the 800 at the NCAA Championships. She went on to advance to the final at the USATF Championships by running 2:00.98 in the semifinals to set a national freshman record and was No. 10 in Track & Field News’ annual U.S. rankings. In the indoor season, Weissenbach won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title in 2:04.99 and qualified as an individual to the NCAA’s, but chose to focus on the distance medley relay, which she led to second place. Weissenbach opened her outdoor season at the Stanford Invitational, placing eighth in the top section of the 1,500, in 4:19.71.

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Stanford All-Americans

Stanford has 16 All-Americans – nine men and seven women. Here is a thumbnail of each:

Men
Michael Atchoo, sr., Troy, Mich.: On March 14, anchored Stanford to the NCAA indoor title in the distance medley relay. The four-time All-American also can claim Stanford’s indoor mile record (3:57.14).

Marco Bertolotti, sr., Port Washington, N.Y.: Led off Stanford’s NCAA champion DMR last month. Has a best mile of 4:01.38 indoors.

Luke Lefebure, jr., West Chester, Pa.: Ran the 800 leg on Stanford’s NCAA champion DMR last month. Lefebure also was the Elite 89 winner for having the highest cumulative GPA (currently 3.83) among competitors at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships. He is a three-time All-America with an 800 best of 1:48.80 (indoors).

Erik Olson, sr., Novato, Calif.: A three-time All-American, the Bay Area native earned his initial first-team All-America honor by placing seventh in the 3,000 at last month’s NCAA Indoor Championships. Carries a 5,000 best of 13:42.52 (indoors).

Jim Rosa, jr., West Windsor, N.J.: Placed fifth at the 2013 NCAA Cross-Country Championships and was the highest-finishing American-born runner in the field. He also was second at the Pac-12 cross-country championships, but missed the indoor season with an injury.

Joe Rosa, jr., West Windsor, N.J.: Equaled his twin brother’s national finish by placing fifth in the 5,000 at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month. Has a 5,000 best of 13:44.85 (indoors).

Steven Solomon, soph., Sydney, Australia: The three-time Australian national 400 champion was a 2012 Olympic finalist. He keyed Stanford’s victory in the distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month with a 45.75 split.

Tyler Stutzman, sr., Charlottesville, Va.: The three-time All-American had no remaining eligibility indoors this year, but opened the outdoor season by winning the top section in the 1,500 at the Stanford Invitational in 3:42.45. He has a 1,500 best of 3:40.43.

Dartis Willis II, jr., Beverly Hills, Mich.: A 2012 outdoor honorable mention in the high jump, Willis has a best of 7-2 ¼ and an all-conditions long jump best of 24-2 ½. Willis has not competed since the 2013 season because of injuries.

Women
Brianna Bain, jr., Beaverton, Ore.: A two-time first-team outdoor All-American, Bain is the two-time defending Pac-12 javelin champion. Her season debut throw of 180-5 ranks No. 1 among American collegians.

Aisling Cuffe, jr., Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y.: The six-time All-American placed second in the 5,000 at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month. Cuffe is the reigning Pac-12 cross-country champion and placed fourth at the NCAA Championships last fall.  

Claudia Saunders, soph., Cincinnati, Ohio: A two-time All-American, Saunders ran the 800 leg on Stanford’s distance medley relay team that finished second at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month. She holds an 800 best of 2:05.07 (indoors), despite focusing on the event only for the past year.

Jessica Tonn, sr., Paradise Valley, Ariz.: A three-time All-American, Tonn was 16th at the 2013 NCAA Cross-Country Championships and was the Pac-12 runner-up in the 10,000 last year.

Amy Weissenbach, soph., Los Angeles, Calif.: Set a national freshman record in the 800 last year with a 2:00.98, earning her passage into the USATF Championship final, in which she placed eighth. She is a returning first-team outdoor All-American in the event and helped the Stanford DMR to second at the recent NCAA Indoor Championships.

Kristyn Williams, soph., Grand Prairie, Texas: Holds the Stanford indoor record in the 400 and helped the Cardinal place second in  the distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month. Opened the outdoor season by winning the Stanford Invitational last week in 52.70, the No. 3 outdoor time in school history.

Alyssa Wisdom, sr., Coral Springs, Fla.: Arrived at Stanford as a sprinter, but a medical condition forced her to change events. She developed into a second-team outdoor All-America in the shot put and won the 2013 Jamaican national championship. Her best is 55-8 ¼.

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National Rankings

The following are the Stanford athletes in qualifying position for the NCAA West Prelims. The top 48 individuals and top 24 relay teams in the region by the end of May 18 advance to the NCAA West Prelims. Their NCAA Division I ranking is listed first, with their regional qualifying ranking in parentheses.

Men
800: 26th, Tyler Stutzman, 1:49.87 (9th)
800: 71st, Marco Bertolotti, 1:50.93 (27th)
1,500: 1st, Tyler Stutzman, 3:45.04 (1st)
1,500: 17th, Erik Olson, 3:45.04 (10th)
1,500: 18th, Marco Bertolotti, 3:45.08 (11th)
1,500: 20th, Justin Brinkley, 3:45.30 (12th)
1,500: 46th, Joe Rosa, 3:47.05 (25th)
5,000: 39th, Michael Atchoo, 14:06.91 (16th)
10,000: 53rd, Thomas Graham, 29:37.49 (32nd)
10,000: 110th, Jack Bordoni, 30:51.83 (48th)
Pole vault: Dylan Duvio, 16-6 ¾ (29th)
Triple jump: 13th, Darian Brooks, 50-6 ¾ (2nd)
Discus: Lucas Rowley, 174-9 (30th)
Hammer: Lucas Rowley, 194-8 (30th)
Javelin: Andrew Rondema, 202-5 (30th)

Women
400: 5th, Kristyn Williams, 52.70 (1st)
1,500: 7th, Jessica Tonn, 4:19.51 (5th)
1,500: 8th, Aisling Cuffe, 4:19.60 (6th)
1,500: 10th, Amy Weissenbach, 4:19.71 (7th)
1,500: 27th, Claudia Saunders, 4:22.70 (15th)
5,000: 40th, Rebecca Mehra, 16:23.91 (16th)
5,000: 64th, Cami Chapus, 16:34.93 (26th)
5,000: 71st, Vanessa Fraser, 16:37.83 (30th)
10,000: 44th, Megan Lacy, 34:53.07 (25th)
Pole vault: 76th, Ellie McCardwell, 12-7 ½ (35th)
Shot put: 70th, Alyssa Wisdom, 47-11 ¾ (37th)
Discus: 2nd, Valarie Allman, 187-7 (2nd)
Discus: 26th, Rebecca Hammar, 169-3 (17th)
Javelin: 3rd, Brianna Bain, 180-5 (1st)
Javelin: 24th, Megan Glasmann, 159-10 (12th)

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The First

This is the 120th Big Meet, but it's been 121 years since the first. The men's-only meet (the schools wouldn't hold their first women's matchup until 1980) took place on April 22, 1893 at the Olympic Club Grounds in San Francisco. Cal won 10 of the 14 events and swept five events while earning a 91-35 victory. Stanford had no coach and swept only one event - the two-mile bicycle race. Though the meet was held annually, Stanford didn't win until the 11th edition, in 1903.