NEW ORLEANS – Stanford’s men are ranked No. 12 and the Cardinal women are No. 13, according to the preseason outdoor track and field polls released Wednesday by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
If Stanford lives up to its top-20 rankings at the NCAA Championships June 8-11 in Eugene, Oregon, it will mark the first time since the 2011-12 academic year that the program achieved top-20 finishes across the board – in men’s and women’s cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field.
Stanford seems on its way to that achievement, judging by the talent at hand. Here’s the breakdown of Stanford’s returnees:
- 25 All-Americans
- 63 All-America honors
- 15 first-team All-Americans
- 28 first-team All-America honors
- 8 first-team outdoor All-Americans
- 9 first-team outdoor All-America honors
- 5 conference champions
The Stanford men are coming off an eighth place finish at the NCAA Indoors and feature Sean McGorty, the NCAA indoor 3,000 runner-up, and the cast from the NCAA third-place cross country team. Among them are seven who have run the 1,500 meters in under 3:45.5 and eight at 14:00 or faster in the 5,000.
Pole vaulter Dylan Duvio and decathlete Harrison Williams finished third and fourth, respectively, at NCAA Outdoors last year, and 2014 first-team All-America distance runners Jim and Joe Rosa hope to return to top shape after injury issues.
Darian Brooks is the two-time defending Pac-12 champ in the triple jump and has broken both the indoor and outdoor school records.
The Cardinal women were 16th last year, and return all but one NCAA outdoor qualifier from that team, plus they welcome the return of fifth-year senior Aisling Cuffe, the 2014 NCAA indoor and outdoor 5,000 runner-up who redshirted last year.
School-record holder Claudia Saunders has finished second the past two years in the 800 and gets one more shot as a senior. Valarie Allman is the defending Pac-12 champ in the discus, and sophomore Olivia Baker is coming off a third-place at NCAA Indoors in the 800 and seeks her first NCAA outdoor final.
Also, watch out for the 4x400 relay team. The quartet of Gaby Gayles, Olivia Baker, Michaela Crunkleton Wilson, and Kristyn Williams broke the school indoor record in February and ran well in its NCAA outdoor semifinal last spring.
Stanford opens is home schedule on April 1-2 with the Stanford Invitational. Action begins at 9 a.m. each day and continues into the evening.