FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The Stanford track and field teams will travel to the NCAA West Preliminary Round, on Thursday through Saturday at University of Arkansas. The top 12 placers in each of the nation’s two regionals -- the other is in Jacksonville, Fla. -- advance to the NCAA Championships June 11-14 in Eugene, Ore.
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Meet Schedule
Thursday: Field events, 10 a.m. PT; Running events 2:30 p.m. PT
Friday: Field events, 8 a.m. PT; Running events, 3 p.m. PT
Saturday: Field events, 8 a.m. PT; Running events, 4 p.m. PT
Follow the Meet
West Preliminary Site: Click here.
Live Results: Click here.
Video Broadcast Links
Thursday (Starts at 2:30 p.m. PT): Click here.
Friday (Starts at 3 p.m. PT): Click here.
Saturday (Starts at 4 p.m. PT): Click here.
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Regional Prevew
Stanford sends 29 athletes to Fayetteville, 15 men and 14 women. Participants qualified by ranking among the top 48 in the western half of the country.
Stanford has one No. 1 seed and 10 among the top five. Aisling Cuffe, the school record holder in the 5,000 meters, is the Cardinal headliner. She ran 15:11.13 at the Payton Jordan Invitational. The time made her the third-fastest in collegiate history and the second-fastest among Americans collegians.
Cuffe is one of four Stanford runners in the women’s 5,000 field, including No. 3 seed Jessica Tonn, No. 33 Vanessa Fraser, and No. 44 Cami Chapus. The total ties for the most Stanford athletes in any event. The other is the men’s 1,500, which includes No. 5 Tyler Stutzman, No. 7 Michael Atchoo, No. 17 Marco Bertolotti, and No. 36 Justin Brinkley.
Stanford lineups feature eight men and five women who have won All-America honors. Of those, women’s javelin thrower Brianna Bain (No. 4 seed) and women’s 800 runner Amy Weissenbach (No. 2) are returning first-team outdoor All-Americans.
Ten Stanford women will attempt to advance to nationals for the first time, including three freshmen – Fraser, discus thrower Valarie Allman (No. 5), and javelin thrower Megan Glasmann (No. 13). The men have 12 searching for their first NCAA Championships berths, including one freshman – pole vaulter Dylan Duvio (No. 16).
If the seeds hold, Stanford would advance seven women and eight men. Stanford’s top men’s seed is Pac-12 triple jump champion and school record-holder Darian Brooks (No. 3, 52-6 ¾).
Two Stanford athletes are scheduled to compete in two events: Chapus in the women’s 1,500 and 5,000, and Lucas Rowley in the men’s discus and hammer throws.
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Stanford's National Top 20
(Season best and national Division I rank in parentheses)
Women
Valarie Allman, discus (187-7, No. 6): The freshman has a best of 187-7, achieved in her first collegiate meet. Allman is No. 3 on Stanford’s all-time list. She was second at the Pac-12 Championships.
Brianna Bain, javelin (180-5, No. 9): The junior and two-time first-team All-America is a three-time Pac-12 champion in the javelin, throwing 173-11 to win the conference on May 17. Was ranked No. 5 in Track & Field News U.S. rankings in 2013 … her personal best throw of 183-10 is a school record and was No. 4 by an American in 2013.
Aisling Cuffe, 5,000 (15:11.13, No. 1): A six-time All-America, Cuffe ran the fastest collegiate time of the year in breaking a school record held by Lauren Fleshman. Cuffe ran 15:11.13, making her the third-fastest collegian in history. Cuffe is the reigning Pac-12 cross country champion, was fourth in the NCAA cross country championships, and second in the NCAA indoor 5,000.
Claudia Saunders, 800 (2:03.44, No. 8): The rapidly improving sophomore ran her personal best of 2:03.44 at the Payton Jordan Invitational. A high school hurdler, Saunders didn’t commit herself to the 800 until arriving at Stanford. She was fourth at the Pac-12 Championships and is a two-time indoor All-America for her role on Stanford’s distance medley relay teams.
Jessica Tonn, 5,000 (15:32.26, No. 7): The three-time All-America is the reigning Pac-12 10,000-meter champion, running 34:09.13 in Pullman, Wash. Tonn will run the 5,000, having set her personal best of 15:32.26 at the Payton Jordan Invitational on May 4.
Amy Weissenbach, 800 (2:02.60, No. 2): The sophomore from Los Angeles has an 800 season best of 2:02.60 from the Payton Jordan Invitational on May 4. She did not run in the Pac-12 final as a precaution because of a minor injury. She is a three-time All-America and a returning first-team All-America after placing sixth in the NCAA outdoors last year. She went on to set the national freshman record of 2:00.98 by advancing to the USATF Championship final and earned a No. 10 U.S. ranking by Track & Field News for 2013.
Men
Michael Atchoo, 1,500 (3:41.92, No. 16): Covered the final lap in 56 seconds to finish third in the Pac-12 1,500 final behind Arizona’s Lawi Lalang and Oregon’s Edward Cheserek. Atchoo anchored Stanford’s NCAA indoor champion distance medley relay team in March. He is a three-time first-team indoor All-America and broke the Stanford indoor mile record with a 3:57.14 to win the MPSF championship in Seattle in 2013. He has a best of 3:39.57 in the 1,500 and a season best of 3:41.92.
Darian Brooks, triple jump (52-6 ¾, No. 11): The junior won the Pac-12 triple jump title on the final jump of the competition, a school-record 52-6 ¾ effort was a full two feet farther than his best coming into the meet. Brooks set four personal bests at the meet, culminating in his winning jump.
Erik Olson, 5,000 (13:36.91, No. 8): Set his personal best in the 5,000 of 13:36.91 at the Payton Jordan Invitational. Olson earned first-team All-America honors by placing seventh in the 3,000 at the NCAA indoor championships in March. He is a three-time All-American.
Joe Rosa, 5,000 (13:33.56, No. 6): Ran his 5,000 best of 13:33.56 in finishing second in the ‘B’ race at the Payton Jordan Invitational for the No. 8 time in Stanford history. Rosa won the Pac-12 title in the 10,000, running 29:16.71 on May 17. He also earned first-time All-America honors by placing fifth in the NCAA indoor 5,000.
Steven Solomon, 400 (45.76, No. 15): The sophomore from Sydney, Australia, reached the 2012 Olympic final in the 400 when he posted a personal record 44.97 in the semifinals. Solomon placed eighth in London and has secured a berth in this year’s Commonwealth Games by winning the Australian national championships in April in 45.36, a Stanford school record. Solomon was second in the Pac-12, running 45.79.
Tyler Stutzman, 1,500 (3:40.21, No. 8): Earned first-team All-America honors by placing fourth in the mile at the 2013 NCAA indoor championships, and ran four sub-four-minute miles indoors, three in 2013 and another this year. The fifth-year senior won the Stanford Invitational 1,500 in 3:42.45, and improved upon that time to 3:40.21 at the Payton Jordan. He is a three-time All-American.
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Stanford’s Schedule:
(all times Pacific)
Thursday
10 a.m., women’s javelin (first round): Brianna Bain, Megan Glasmann.
11 a.m., men’s pole vault (first round): Dylan Duvio.
3:30 p.m.: men’s 1,500 meters (first round): Michael Atchoo, Marco Bertolotti, Justin Brinkley, Tyler Stutzman.
3:30 p.m., men’s javelin (first round): Andrew Rondema.
4 p.m., women’s 1,500 (first round): Cami Chapus, Rebecca Mehra, Tate Murray.
4:30 p.m., women’s pole vault (first round): Ellie McCardwell.
5:20 p.m., men’s 400 (first round): Steven Solomon.
6:10 p.m., men’s 800 (first round): Luke Lefebure.
6:35 p.m., women’s 800 (first round): Claudia Saunders, Amy Weissenbach.
7 p.m., men’s 10,000 (semifinal): Jim Rosa.
7:40 p.m., women’s 10,000 (semifinal): Megan Lacy.
Friday
8 a.m., men’s hammer (first round): Lucas Rowley.
1 p.m., women’s discus (first round): Valarie Allman, Rebecca Hammar.
4 p.m., men’s 400 (quarterfinal): Steven Solomon.
5 p.m., men’s 800 (quarterfinal): Luke Lefebure.
5:15 p.m., women’s 800 (quarterfinal): Claudia Saunders, Amy Weissenbach.
Saturday
1 p.m., men’s discus (first round): Nick Budincich, Lucas Rowley.
4 p.m., men’s triple jump (first round): Darian Brooks.
4:30 p.m., men’s 1,500 (quarterfinal): Michael Atchoo, Marco Bertolotti, Justin Brinkley, Tyler Stutzman.
4:45 p.m., women’s 1,500 (quarterfinal): Cami Chapus, Rebecca Mehra, Tate Murray.
6:05 p.m., men’s 5,000 (semifinal): Garrett Sweatt, Erik Olson, Joe Rosa.
6:45 p.m., women’s 5,000 (semifinal): Cami Chapus, Aisling Cuffe, Vanessa Fraser, Jessica Tonn.
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Justine Fedronic, who placed third in the NCAA women’s outdoor 800 last season and completed her Stanford eligibility with the 2014 indoor campaign, ran the leadoff leg in the 4x800 for France at the World Relay Championships in Nassau, Bahamas, on Sunday.
Fedronic opened with a 2:02.60 to put France in second at the first exchange behind only the United States, the eventual winner. France finished sixth in a national record 8:17.54 and Fedronic ran the fastest split on the French team.
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These Stanford athletes have achieved the qualifying standards for the USATF Championships in Sacramento on June 26-29:
Women
Valarie Allman, discus
Brianna Bain, javelin
Aisling Cuffe, 5,000
Megan Glasmann, javelin
Claudia Saunders, 800
Amy Weissenbach, 800
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These Stanford athletes have achieved the qualifying standards for the IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, Ore., on July 22-27 (athletes still must finish first or second in their national championship meets):
Men
Scott Buttinger (Canada), 800
Thomas Coyle (U.S.), 1,500
Dylan Duvio (U.S.), pole vault
Jack Keelan (U.S.), 1,500
Sean McGorty (U.S.), 1,500, 5,000
Sam Wharton (U.S.), 5,000
Women
Valarie Allman (U.S.), discus
Sophie Chase (U.S.), 1,500
Vanessa Fraser (U.S.), 3,000, 5,000
Megan Glasmann (U.S.), javelin