PHILADELPHIA – Just over a month after competing for national championships, Stanford’s distance medley relays will be put to the test once again, this time at the Penn Relays.
On March 14, the Cardinal men’s DMR captured NCAA indoor title and the Stanford women were second. The lineups promise to be close to those that competed in Albuquerque, and are part of a contingent of 14 athletes that Stanford will bring to Franklin Field for relays Thursday through Saturday.
Another Stanford group will compete at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley on Friday and Saturday.
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Meet information:
What: Penn Relays
When: Thursday-Saturday
Where: Philadelphia, Pa.
Site: Franklin Field
Events begin (PDT):
Thursday: Field, 6 a.m.; Running, 7 a.m.
Friday: Field, 6 a.m.; Running, 6 a.m.
Saturday: Field, 6 a.m.; Running/Walking, 4 a.m.
Follow the action:
Live results and Event Schedule: Click here
Flotrack premium webcast: Click here
TV: Saturday, 9:30 a.m., NBC Sports Network
Stanford's Penn Relays schedule and athletes (all times Pacific):
Thursday:
2:20 p.m., Women’s Distance Medley Relay (championship): Amy Weissenbach, Kristyn Williams, Claudia Saunders, Aisling Cuffe.
Friday:
10:10 a.m., Women’s 4x1,500 Relay (championship): Aisling Cuffe, Rebecca Mehra, Claudia Saunders, Jessica Tonn, or Amy Weissenbach.
11:25 a.m., Men’s Distance Medley Relay (championship): Marco Bertolotti, Steven Solomon, Luke Lefebure, Michael Atchoo, or Tyler Stutzman.
Saturday:
10:25 a.m., Men’s 4xMile Relay (championship): Michael Atchoo, Marco Bertolotti, Erik Olson, Tyler Stutzman.
1:40 p.m., Men’s 4x800 Relay (championship): Justin Brinkley, Scott Buttinger, Luke Lefebure, Tyler Stutzman.
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What: Brutus Hamilton Challenge and Open
When: Friday-Saturday
Where: Berkeley, Calif.
Site: Edwards Stadium
Events begin:
Friday: Field, 8:30 a.m.; Running, 12:30 p.m.
Saturday: Field, 10 a.m.; Running, 12:40 p.m.
Follow the action:
Live Results: Click here
Stanford schedule and athletes:
Friday (Open)
Running Events:
12:40 p.m., Women’s 1,500: Sophie Chase (unattached), Jackie Choucair, Vanessa Fraser, Sophia Ginez, Danielle Katz, Megan Lacy, Tate Murray, Aimee Trujillo.
1 p.m., Men’s 1,500: Kevin Bishop, Jack Bordoni, Thomas Graham, Kenny Krotzer, Jim Rosa, Joe Rosa, Garrett Sweatt, Adam Thorne, Sam Wharton (unat.).
1:45 p.m., Women’s 400: Amabel Stokes.
2:25 p.m., Women’s 800: Hannah Brown, Molly McNamara.
2:35 p.m., Men’s 800: Thomas Rigby (unat.).
2:50 p.m., Women’s 400 Hurdles: Malika Waschmann.
3:15 p.m., Women’s 200: Amabel Stokes.
3:30 p.m., Men’s 200: Miguel Shaw.
3:45 p.m., Women’s 3,000 Steeplechase: Danielle Katz, Tate Murray.
4 p.m., Men’s 3,000 steeplechase: Jack Bordoni.
Field Events:
8:30 a.m., Women’s Hammer: Valarie Allman, Rebecca Hammar.
10:30 a.m., Men’s Hammer: Brendan Duncan (unat.), Lucas Rowley.
11 a.m., Women’s Pole Vault: Ellie McCardwell.
12:30 p.m., Men’s Shot Put: Nick Budincich, Sina Javidan-Nejad (unat.).
12:30 p.m., Women’s Discus: Rebecca Hammar.
2:15 p.m., Men’s Discus: Nick Budincich, Brendan Duncan (unat.), Sina Javidan-Nejad (unat.), Lucas Rowley.
2:30 p.m., Men’s Pole Vault: Dalton Duvio (unat.), Dylan Duvio.
3 p.m., Women’s Shot Put: Rebecca Hammar, Alyssa Wisdom.
3:15 p.m., Men’s Javelin: Andrew Rondema.
4:15 p.m., Women’s Javelin: Brianna Bain, Megan Glasmann.
Saturday (Invitational):
Running Events
2:55 p.m., Women’s 800: Cami Chapus, Rebecca Mehra.
3:05 p.m., Men’s 800: Thomas Coyle (unat.), Will Drinkwater.
3:25 p.m., Men’s Mile: Jack Keelan (unat.), Sean McGorty (unat.).
4:20 p.m., Women’s 4x400 Relay: Stanford.
Field Events
10 a.m., Women’s Pole Vault: Ellie McCardwell.
10 a.m., Women’s Shot Put: Rebecca Hammar, Alyssa Wisdom.
12:30 p.m., Men’s Pole Vault: Dalton Duvio (unat.), Dylan Duvio.
12:30 p.m., Women’s Discus: Valarie Allman, Rebecca Hammar.
1:30 p.m., Women’s Triple Jump: Carla Forbes (unat.).
2 p.m., Men’s Discus: Nick Budincich, Lucas Rowley.
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Penn Relays Overview: The Penn Relays is annually the best attended track and field meet in the U.S. and among the most highly-attended meet in the world. The three-day meet is expected once again to top 110,000 in total attendance and the Saturday competition regularly attracts 48,000 spectators to Franklin Field on the University of Pennsylvania campus. The meet, which began in 1895, is in its 117th year and will have 22,000 entries, from youth to masters.
Historic Franklin Field: The Penn Relays are held between the venerable brick walls of Franklin Field, the 52,593-seat stadium built in 1895. Besides track and field, the stadium also is notable for other reasons. It was the home of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1958-1970, the site of the 1960 NFL Championship game (a 17-13 Eagles victory over Green Bay and Vince Lombardi) and the place where Philadelphia fans cemented their merciless reputation by infamously booing and throwing snowballs at Santa Claus, at an Eagles game in 1968.
Men’s DMR: The Penn Relays distance medley relay pits Stanford against Oregon, among others. Oregon’s Edward Cheserek, who won the 3,000 and 5,000 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, did not run on Oregon’s runner-up DMR while Stanford romped to a relatively easy victory. The Ducks’ squad also could include defending NCAA outdoor 1,500 champ Mac Fleet and U.S. national team quartermiler Mike Berry. Stanford could counter with its NCAA champion lineup of Marco Bertolotti (1,200), Steven Solomon (400), Luke Lefebure (800), and Michael Atchoo (1,600). All four will be in Philadelphia, though Tyler Stutzman, a 3:58 miler who had no indoor eligibility, also could factor into the Cardinal lineup.
Women’s DMR: Stanford’s distance medley relay team finished second to Arkansas at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a lineup of Amy Weissenbach, Kristyn Williams, Claudia Saunders, and Justine Fedronic. The race was the last in the collegiate career of fifth-year senior Fedronic, and her spot is expected to be taken by Aisling Cuffe, the reigning Pac-12 cross country champion.
Stanford women at the Penn Relays: Stanford has had great success at the Penn Relays. Stanford won the women’s 4x1,500 three consecutive years, from 2004-06. However, it was a third-place finish in the distance medley relay in 2008 that really caught people’s attention. One lap into her opening leg of 1,200 meters, Stanford’s Alicia Follmar was tripped from behind and spiked in the head as she lay on the ground. With blood streaming down the right side of her face and with abrasions evident on the side of her body, Follmar got up and continued to run. Over the final two laps, she passed seven runners, moving from 10th to third, which is where the Cardinal ultimately finished.
Jody’s baby: Last week, Amber Stewart, the wife of Stanford associate head coach Jody Stewart gave birth to a baby boy, Sebastian Anthony Stewart. The future Cardinal sprinter/hurdler weighed in at 6.5 pounds and measured 20 inches. This is their first child.
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National/Regional 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 competition May 18 advance to the NCAA West Prelims. Their NCAA Division I ranking is listed first, and their regional qualifying ranking is in parentheses.
Men
400: 50th, Steven Solomon, 46.89 (24th)
800: 23rd, Luke Lefebure, 1:48.79 (5th)
800: 56th, Tyler Stutzman, 1:49.87 (17th)
800: 79th, Justin Brinkley, 1:50.29 (27th)
1,500: 11th, Tyler Stutzman, 3:42.45 (8th)
1,500: 51st, Erik Olson, 3:45.04 (32nd)
1,500: 53rd, Marco Bertolotti, 3:45.08 (34th)
1,500: 61st, Justin Brinkley, 3:45.30 (39th)
5,000: 73rd, Michael Atchoo, 14:06.91 (38th)
10,000: 69th, Thomas Graham, 29:37.49 (39th)
Pole vault: 68th, Dylan Duvio, 16-8 ¾ (42nd)
Triple jump: 30th, Darian Brooks, 50-6 ¾ (13th)
Discus: 79th, Lucas Rowley, 174-9 (40th)
Hammer: 65th, Lucas Rowley, 198-11 (28th)
Javelin: 86th, Andrew Rondema, 205-2 (34th)
Women
400: 11th, Kristyn Williams, 52.70 (7th)
800: 71st, Amy Weissenbach, 2:08.15 (28th)
1,500: 17th, Jessica Tonn, 4:19.51 (10th)
1,500: 18th, Aisling Cuffe, 4:19.60 (11th)
1,500: 20th, Amy Weissenbach, 4:19.71 (12th)
1,500: 24th, Rebecca Mehra, 4:20.35 (16th)
1,500: 57th, Claudia Saunders, 4:22.70 (29th)
5,000: 70th, Rebecca Mehra, 16:23.91 (31st)
5,000: 111th, Cami Chapus, 16:34.93 (47th)
10,000: 71st, Megan Lacy, 34:53.07 (37th)
Pole vault: 64th, Ellie McCardwell, 13-0 ¼ (31st)
Shot put: 90th, Alyssa Wisdom, 47-11 ¾ (48th)
Discus: 4th, Valarie Allman, 187-7 (4th)
Discus: 38th, Rebecca Hammar, 169-3 (25th)
Javelin: 4th, Brianna Bain, 180-5 (1st)
Javelin: 29th, Megan Glasmann, 159-10 (15th)