LAWRENCE, Kan. – Stanford’s fifth-year senior Molly McNamara qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the first time and is in line for her first All-America honor.
Also among the Stanford highlights from the NCAA West Preliminary meet Saturday was the performance of the women’s 4x400-meter relay team that ran 3:31.15 – the second-fastest time in school history – to advance.
McNamara (4:17.20) and sophomore teammate Elise Cranny (4:21.93) each qualified in the women’s 1,500 meters by finishing second in their heats. Aisling Cuffe (16:08.45) and Vanessa Fraser (16:10.57) qualified in the women’s 5,000. Sean McGorty (14:12.52) and Grant Fisher advanced in the men’s 5,000 (14:14.42). And Valarie Allman advanced in the discus, after qualifying in the hammer on Friday.
However, Stanford senior Justin Brinkley missed his first NCAA Outdoor berth by 0.007 in a photo finish in the men’s 1,500. The Cardinal’s Pac-12 men’s champion 4x400 relay team also missed by one spot, and three-time Pac-12 men’s triple jump champion Darian Brooks also failed to qualify.
Stanford advanced 12 individual qualifiers and a relay team to the NCAA’s – 15 individuals in all. Stanford athletes who had already qualified were Olivia Baker and Claudia Saunders in the women’s 800, Mackenzie Little in the women’s javelin, Dylan Duvio in the men’s pole vault, and Harrison Williams in the decathlon.
The NCAA West Prelims is a qualifying meet that winnows 48 in each event to 12 for the NCAA Championships June 8-11 in Eugene, Oregon. Because Thursday’s competition was wiped out by thunderstorms, three days of action were condensed into two, meaning two rounds of every event 1,500 and shorter were instead run in one.
Combined with those advancing from the East Prelims in Jacksonville, Florida, the 24 individuals were determined for the NCAA Championships, and would earn All-America honors by completing their events in Eugene.
The Stanford women’s 4x400 placed third in Heat 3 (the top three qualified automatically), but challenged for the lead for much of the race against Texas A&M and Oregon. The Stanford team was Gaby Gayles, Olivia Baker, Michaela Crunkleton Wilson, and Kristyn Williams, who closed with a 52.22 split.
The 2005 team of Christine Moschella, Janice Davis, Ashley Freeman, Nashonme Johnson holds the school record of 3:29.39.
McNamara used a strong finishing kick to finish second in her heat in a three-runner blanket finish to earn the automatic spot. She had been having a career year, with massive lifetime bests in the 1,500 and 800, but was disappointed with her 13th place finish at the Pac-12 Championships.
In two previous tries at the West Prelims, McNamara had finished 21st and 48th. This time, she remained in control and in contact going into the final 100 of Heat 1. Her kick was enough to pass Oregon’s Annie Leblanc (4:17.36) and was just short of Colorado’s Dani Jones (4:17.16). The top four all qualified.
McNamara’s first trip to NCAA’s was a great reward for a career that’s been impactful on and off the track. McNamara is not only a trusted team leader, but she founded Cardinal RHED, a mental health advocacy group for Stanford student-athletes, and in 2015 won the Stanford Athletic Board’s Donald Kennedy Award for her performance and service.
Cranny and teammate Rebecca Mehra, the top two finishers at the Pac-12 Championships, were in Heat 2 and vying for spots as the race evolved. Cranny found room on the inside to push ahead in a two-runner race with Fresno State’s Annemarie Schwanz to the finish. Mehra also made a move, but was unable to match the top two. She finished third, but her time of 4:22.33 was out of the running to qualify on time. She was 15th overall and would have needed a 4:18.66 to advance.
Malika Waschmann was third in Heat 4, but her 4:24.97 also left her outside qualifying position, in 21st overall.
In Heat 2 of the men’s 1,500, Brinkley tried to avoid getting boxed in a tight pack, which happened to teammate Tom Coyle, by going wide over the final 600. He stayed out of trouble and then pushed hard off the final turn. Oregon’s Blake Haney took what seemed a comfortable lead down the stretch while Brinkley and Boise State’s David Elliott fought for second and final qualifying spot. Brinkley had a lead and then Elliott moved slightly ahead. As they approached the finish, Haney eased up just a bit allowing Brinkley and Elliott to nearly catch him in a photo finish. Haney won in 3:46.41, Elliott was second in 3:46.452 and Brinkley was out of luck at 3:46.459.
In the women’s 5,000, Cuffe and Fraser moved into a four-runner lead pack by midway in Heat 1 and held their maintained their spots. Cuffe moved to the front 700 left and was content to finish second in 16:08.45 and Fraser settled into fourth in 16:10.57, well among the five automatic qualifying positions.
In the men’s 5,000, Stanford teammates Sean McGorty, freshman Grant Fisher, and Jack Keelan worked together while staying near the front of a crowded field with much contact. Fisher stumbled at one point, McGorty reached his arm out to stabilize himself at another.
With 700 left, McGorty bolted to the front to push the pace and string out the pack. Oregon’s Edward Cheserek countered with one of his usual kicks to burst from the field, but it also created a pack of four behind. With five qualifying automatically, they just needed to hang on. McGorty was second to Cheserek, but Fisher had to hang on to withstand a late charge by Oregon’s Jack Leingang. Keelan was seventh in the heat, but his time was swallowed by those in Heat 2 who surpassed his 14:19.24 for the two next-best times that qualified.
Allman, a junior, advanced to her third NCAA Championships, after finishing fifth last year. Her 182-9 came on her second of three throws. Her first was 158-2, which would not have been enough, and her third was a foul.
Brooks got off only a 47-0 ¾ on his first jump, got off a 50-8 ¾ on his second, but fouled on his third. He was 21st overall and teammate Jaak Uudmae was 19th at 50-10.
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NCAA West Prelims
Top 12 advance to NCAA Championships
Saturday’s results
Winners and Stanford competitors
Men
1,500 – 1, Izaic Yorks (Washington) 3:43.14; 24, Justin Brinkley (Stanford) 3:46.46; 35, Tom Coyle (Stanford) 3:49.42; 40, Patrick Perrier (Stanford) 3:52.42.
5,000 – 1, William Kincaid (Portland) 14:09.13; 5, Sean McGorty (Stanford) 14:12.52; 10, Grant Fisher 14:14.42; 14, Jack Keelan (Stanford) 14:19.24; 19, Collin Leibold (Stanford) 14:24.73.
4x400 relay – 1, Stephen F. Austin 3:03.56; 13, Stanford (Harrison Williams, Frank Kurtz, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Jackson Shumway) 3:06.18.
Triple jump – 1, Tim White (Arizona State) 53-11 (16.43m); 19, Jaak Uudmae (Stanford) 50-10 (15.49m); 21, Darian Brooks (Stanford) 50-8 ¾ (15.46m).
Shot put -- Tristen Newman (Stanford) fouled.
Women
1,500 – 1, Dani Jones (Colorado) 4:17.16; 2, Molly McNamara (Stanford) 4:17.20; 14, Elise Cranny (Stanford) 4:21.93 (qualified by finishing second in her heat); 15, Rebecca Mehra (Stanford) 4:22.33; 21, Malika Waschmann (Stanford) 4:24.97; 27, Maddy Berkson (Stanford) 4:28.49.
5,000 – 1, Aurora Dybedokken (Oklahoma State) 16:08.16; 2, Aisling Cuffe (Stanford) 16:08.45; 4, Vanessa Fraser (Stanford) 16:10.57; 27, Emma Fisher 16:55.83.
4x400 relay – 1, Arkansas 3:25.48; 7, Stanford (Gaby Gayles, Olivia Baker, Michaela Crunkleton Wilson, Kristyn Williams) 3:31.13 (No. 2 in Stanford history).
Shot put – 1, Kelsey Card (Wisconsin) 57-0 (17.37m); 23, Lena Giger (Stanford) 51-9 ¼ (15.73m).
Discus – 1, Hannah Carson (Texas Tech) 191-6 (58.38m); 5, Valarie Allman (Stanford) 182-9 (55.71m).