STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford has the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in men’s track and field. That was the verdict handed down by Milesplit.com on Tuesday.
Taking the season-best marks from the class of 2015, the athletes were broken down by their future schools and places on the season lists were scored like a championship meet.
Stanford scored 28 points, followed by Houston with 27, and UCLA with 25.
The Cardinal got big points from Grant Fisher, the two-time Foot Locker national cross country champion, who topped the lists in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. The Grand Blanc, Michigan, product became the seventh high school runner in history to run a sub-4 mile. His season bests were 3:57.93 in the 1,600 and 8:40.53 in the 3,200.
Also scoring was Alex Ostberg, the 2014 New Balance Outdoor Nationals 5,000 champ, who was second to Fisher on the 3,200 list. Ostberg, of Darien, Connecticut, ran 8:43.93.
The recruiting class also includes 2015 New Balance Outdoor Nationals 5,000 champ Will Lauer (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), Illinois 2A record-setting hurdler Lucas Ege (Hampshire, Ill.), Colorado 5A high jump champ Trevor Rex (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 1:51 half-miler Brian Smith (Amstelveen, Netherlands), and Washington 2A 400 champ Isaac Westlund (Snohomish, Wash.).
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Track and Field Notes
ST. DENIS, France -- Stanford’s Claudia Saunders, who broke the school women’s 800 record at the NCAA Championships, races at the IAAF Diamond League meet at the Stade de France on Saturday (11:42 a.m. PT).
Saunders, whose mother is from France, is a dual citizen and has family there. She completed her junior collegiate season by finishing second at the NCAA’s for the second consecutive year. Her 2:00.63 broke the school mark of 2:00.97 set in 2013 by Justine Fedronic at the same French meet.
Fedronic was born in Germany and spent her early childhood in France before moving to Belmont, California. Though injured this year, she was active with the French national team in 2014.
Saunders is part of an 11-runner field that includes nine with lifetime bests under 2:00. Saunders is one of three Americans, alongside Molly Ludlow and Chanelle Price, the fourth- and fifth-place finishers at the U.S. Championships in Eugene last week. Saunders competed in her first U.S. senior championships, but did not advance out of the first round.
Fedronic set her school record by allowing the field to pull her to a fast time. Saunders will likely follow the same strategy. The field includes Kenya’s Eunice Kepchoech Sum, who has run the fastest time in the world this year (1:57.82) and Russia’s Yekaterina Poistogova, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, in 1:57.53.
Click herefor meet entries and results.
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EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Canadian championships begin Thursday and include two current Stanford athletes – javelin thrower Victoria Smith and 400 hurdler Daniel Brady -- and incoming freshman distance runner Claire Smith.
Meet Information
What: Canadian Championships (junior and senior)
When: July 2-5
Where: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Web site: Click here
Webcast: Click here
Canadian Senior Championships
Women
Victoria Smith (javelin)
Canadian Junior Championships
Men
Daniel Brady (400 hurdles)
Women
Claire Smith (1,500, 3,000)
Stanford Schedule (All times Pacific):
Friday (July 3)
10:45 a.m.: Junior women’s 1,500 semifinal (Claire Smith)
5;15 p.m.: Women’s javelin final (Victoria Smith)
Saturday (July 4)
10:25 a.m.: Junior men’s 400 hurdles semifinals (Daniel Brady)
1:20 p.m.: Junior women’s 1,500 final (Claire Smith)
Sunday (July 5)
10:40 a.m.: Junior men’s 400 hurdles final (Daniel Brady)
11:05 a.m.: Junior women’s 3,000 final (Claire Smith)
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GWANGJU, South Korea – Stanford’s Valarie Allman, who capped her sophomore collegiate season by finishing fifth at the NCAA Championships, throws the discus at the World University Games. Here is her schedule:
World University Games
Web site: Click here
Stanford Schedule (All times Pacific):
Wednesday (July 8):
1:30 a.m.: Women’s discus qualifying (Valarie Allman)
Thursday (July 9)
3:35 a.m.: Women’s discus final (Valarie Allman)