SEATTLE – In her highly-anticipated collegiate debut, Stanford freshman Elise Cranny captured the Washington Invitational cross-country meet Saturday and led the Cardinal women to a second-place finish.
Cranny, the reigning U.S. junior national cross-country champion, was patient before making a decisive move over the final 1,000 meters to win the 6-kilometer race (3.73 miles) in 20:11 at Jefferson Park Golf Course.
No. 4-ranked Stanford was second with 55 points, trailing only No. 3 Oregon’s 48.
"I was really excited for my first college race," Cranny said to Flotrack.org. "Wearing a Stanford uniform, putting it on this morning was really exciting."
Emma Fisher (20:42), Sophie Chase (20:44), and Rebecca Mehra (20:47) finished together in 10th through 12th , and freshmen Abbie McNulty (20:58) and Claire Howlett (21:00) placed 21st and 24th in their first collegiate races to complete the Cardinal’s top five.
The No. 6 Stanford men, paced by Garrett Sweatt’s eighth-place finish, were third behind No. 2 Northern Arizona (62) and No. 21 UCLA (72).
Sweatt, having the best race of his collegiate career, covered the 8-kilometer (4.97-mile) course in 23:40. A junior biology major who hopes for a career in cancer research, Sweatt was Stanford’s No. 6 runner at the 2013 NCAA Championships. Behind him were Jack Keelan (14th, 23:45), Michael Atchoo (18th, 23:49), Sam Wharton (23rd, 24:02), and Cameron Miller (29th, 24:11) among the team’s top five.
In both races, Stanford did not use its full squads by plan and because of injury concerns, choosing to run several of its top runners last week at the Stanford Invitational instead. The Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 18 will be a closer proximity to Stanford’s best teams, and the Pac-12 Championships on Oct. 31 may be the first chance for Stanford to run at full strength.
Coach Chris Miltenberg’s plan for Cranny was to stay with the main pack and remain patient as it dwindled, and then make a move down the final stretch. Indeed, Cranny followed the plan to perfection to win by seven seconds over runner-up Melanie Townsend of Northern Arizona. Cranny, the fourth-place finisher in the 1,500 meters at the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships this summer, certainly had the speed to pull it off.
"I knew If I was going to make a move, I needed to make a strong one," said Cranny, who averaged 5:25 per mile. "I knew I had to make the first move and had to finish strong. We always work in practice on building strength for that final 500."
Miltenberg, Stanford's Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, described the race as part of an educational process.
“We talked about being patient,” Miltenberg said. “In high school, she had limited opportunities to run in a pack. This is about getting experience and learning more about her.
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised, I knew she could do it. It was just a great sign of where she’s at. She’s handled all the expectations really well -- the biggest expectations are the ones she puts upon herself. The important thing is to set goals in things that we can control.”
The Stanford women followed the same theme of patience, moving up in the field the entire race while closing the gap on Oregon at every split.
For the Cardinal men, the plan was to run together and work through the field without having the benefit of All-Americans like Korolev and the Rosas leading the way. In an NCAA Championship race, the rest of the team will have to find its own way, and that was the experience this race was supposed to simulate.
“I was thrilled with the way they executed the plan,” Miltenberg said. “If we’re going to be good, we can’t get hung up on individual places. It’s a reflection of a culture here that’s turning toward great individuals running for team success.”
As for Cranny, the Colorado native is definitely enjoying her new life at Stanford.
"It's like a family," she said to Flotrack.org. "Coach Milt emphasizes training as a family, not just as a team. That's helped my transition. It's been a lot of fun."
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Washington Invitational
At Jefferson Park Golf Course
Seattle, Wash.
MEN (8K)
Team scores – 1, Northern Arizona 62; 2, UCLA 72; 3, Stanford 92; 4, Virginia 112; 5, Oklahoma 129; 6, Washington 152; 7, Villanova 153; 8, Indiana 157; 9, Portland 204; 10, Wyoming 258; 11, Idaho 305.
Winner and Stanford results – 1, Patrick Tiernan (Villanova). Stanford: 8, Garrett Sweatt 23:40; 14, Jack Keelan 23:45; 18, Michael Atchoo 23:49; 23, Sam Wharton 24:02; 29, Cameron Miller 24:11; 67, Patrick Gibson 25:02; 76, Marco Bertolotti 25:21.
WOMEN (6K)
Team scores – 1, Oregon 48; 2, Stanford 55; 3, Washington 119; 4, UCLA 134; 5, Portland 144; 6, Wyoming 160; 7, Villanova 195; 8, Indiana 216; 9, Northern Arizona 216; 10, Utah 233; 11, Oklahoma 288; 12, Idaho 350.
Winner and Stanford results – 1, Elise Cranny (Stanford) 20:11. Stanford: 10, Emma Fisher 20:42; 11, Sophie Chase 20:44; 12, Rebecca Mehra 20:47; 21, Abbie McNulty 20:58; 24, Claire Howlett 21:00; 49, Claudia Saunders 21:22; 92, Amy Weissenbach 22:11.