SEATTLE – A season that will extend for some to July’s Olympic trials and perhaps beyond, begins Saturday for the Stanford track and field team.
The Cardinal opens at the UW Indoor Preview in Seattle. Of the 23 All-Americans on its roster, 13 will compete on the Dempsey Indoor track. The indoor and outdoor seasons could feature a variety of breakthrough performances on the track and in the field. But for now, the focus simply is getting the rust off and settling into a competitive mindset.
Stanford brings 35 athletes to Dempsey Indoor, including five freshmen. Making their collegiate debut will be heptathlete Brittany McGee, and pole vaulters Jackie McNulty and Kaitlyn Merritt. After a season of cross country, Hannah Long and Catherine Pagano race on the track for the first time as collegians.
Meet Information:
What: UW Indoor Preview
Where: Seattle, Wash.
Site: Dempsey Indoor
Surface: 307-meter flat Mondo track.
Events: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Follow the Action:
Live results: Click here
Webcast: FloPro (premium)
Stanford in USTFCCCA rankings:
Men: No. 13
Women: No. 13
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Men’s notes: For Harrison Williams, a decathlete who already has qualified for the Olympic trials, the crucial preparation begins Saturday. Williams, a sophomore who set the U.S. junior record last summer while winning gold at the Pan Am Junior Games, is scheduled to compete in the 60 hurdles, long jump, pole vault, and the 4x400 relay.
Darian Brooks (triple jump), Dylan Duvio (pole vault), and Dartis Willis (high jump), each are All-Americans who will be competing in their specialties. Meanwhile, Garrett Starkey (pole vault), Tristen Newman (shot put, weight throw), and Jaak Uudmae seem poised for breakthrough seasons, helping make this year’s Stanford team one of the deepest in the field events than it’s been in years.
Collin Leibold, an All-America graduate transfer from Georgetown, will run the mile and a leg of the 4x400. This meet may provide a good indication of his fitness after an injury curtailed his cross country season.
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Women’s notes: Olivia Baker is a world junior gold medalist in the 4x400 and an outdoor All-America in the 800. This meet offers the sophomore the best of both worlds, with a 600. She has the school and track record in the rarely-run event, a 1:29.42, run in her collegiate debut at this meet last year. Though Baker is training through this meet and may be fatigued from it, the ideal distance could lead to a fast time for this rare talent. She’ll be running against Oregon’s Raevyn Rogers, the 2015 NCAA outdoor 800 champion. The meet record is 1:27.38.
The pole vault will mark the debut for freshmen Kaitlyn Merritt, a two-time California high school champ, and Maryland prep star Jackie McNulty. Those two could immediately provide Stanford with conference points in that event.
Another anticipated debut is that of Brittany McGee, a freshman heptathlete who will compete in the 60, 200, and long jump.
Claudia Saunders, a five-time All-America and two-time NCAA outdoor 800 runner-up, will run the 1,000, perhaps with Justine Fedronic’s school record of 2:42.26 from 2014 in the back of her mind.
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Stanford Schedule:
9 a.m.: Women’s long jump (Flight 1: Brittany McGee; Flight 3: Carla Forbes, Daryth Gayles, Marisa Kwiatkowski)
9 a.m.: Men’s long jump (Flight 2: Harrison Williams)
9 a.m.: Women’s weight throw (Flight 2: Lena Giger)
9:30 a.m.: Women’s 60 hurdles qualifying (Ht. 3: Brittany McGee)
10:30 a.m.: Women’s 60 hurdles prelims (Brittany McGee)
10:40 a.m.: Men’s 60 hurdles prelims (Harrison Williams)
11:17 a.m.: Women’s 1,000 (Sec. 2: Rebecca Mehra, Claudia Saunders)
11:30 a.m.: Men’s 1,000 (Sec. 3: Justin Brinkley, Scott Buttinger, Tom Coyle, Patrick Perrier)
11:45 a.m.: Women’s mile (Sec. 3: Maddy Berkson, Catherine Pagano)
12:10 p.m.: Men’s mile (Sec. 4: Collin Leibold)
12:15 p.m.: Men’s weight throw (Flight 2: Tristen Newman)
12:55 p.m.: Women’s 60 hurdles final (Brittany McGee)
1 p.m.: Women’s pole vault (Flight 2: Kaitlyn Merritt, Jackie McNulty)
1:05 p.m.: Men’s 60 hurdles final (Harrison Williams)
1:30 p.m.: Men’s high jump (Flight 2: Dartis Willis)
2 p.m.: Men’s pole vault (Flight 2: Dalton Duvio, Dylan Duvio, Dan Emery, Garrett Starkey, Harrison Williams)
1:38 p.m.: Men’s 400 (Sec. 5: Daniel Brady; Sec. 8: Jackson Shumway)
1:56 p.m.: Women’s 600 (Sec. 5: Olivia Baker, Gaby Gayles)
2 p.m.: Women’s triple jump (Flight 2: Carla Forbes, Marisa Kwiatkowski)
2 p.m.: Men’s triple jump (Flight 2: Darian Brooks, Jaak Uudmae)
2:25 p.m.: Women’s 800 (Sec. 3: Malika Waschmann)
2:57 p.m.: Women’s 200 (Sec. 6: Daryth Gayles, Brittany McGee; Sec. 7: Kaitlyn Williams; Sec. 9: Kristyn Williams; Sec. 10: Michaela Crunkleton Wilson).
3 p.m.: Men’s shot put (Flight 2: Tristen Newman)
3 p.m.: Women’s shot put (Flight 2: Lena Giger)
3:42 p.m.: Women’s 4x800 (Maddy Berkson, Hannah Long, Rebecca Mehra, Catherine Pagano)
3:55 p.m.: Men’s 4x800 (Sec. 2: Justin Brinkley, Scott Buttinger, Tom Coyle, Patrick Perrier)
5:20 p.m.: Women’s 4x400 (Sec. 3: Maddy Berkson, Hannah Long, Claudia Saunders, Malika Waschmann; Sec. 4: Olivia Baker, Gaby Gayles, Kaitlyn Williams, Kristyn Williams).
5:40 p.m.: Men’s 4x400 (Sec. 3: Justin Brinkley, Tom Coyle, Collin Leibold, Patrick Perrier; Sec. 4: Daniel Brady, Scott Buttinger, Jackson Shumway, Harrison Williams)