Photo of Olivia Baker winning the 800 by Image of Sport.
SEATTLE – Olivia Baker repeated as the women's 800-meter winner at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Track and Field Championships and the Cardinal men set a school record in the 4x400 relay to highlight Stanford's performances Saturday at University of Washington.
With a time of 2:03.41, Baker sewed up a spot at the NCAA Championships March 10-11 in College Station, Texas, and helped Stanford to third as a team, with 57 points. It was the 16th top-three finish for the Cardinal women in the 25 years of the MPSF meet.
Stanford's men were 12th, with 27.5 points, but ended the two-day meet with their top finish, a second place in the 4x400. The team of Frank Kurtz, Harrison Williams, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, and Jackson Shumway ran 3:09.80, with Shumway anchoring with a blazing 45.5 split. The Cardinal broke the 3:10.40 run by Gerren Crochet, Nick Sebes, Milton Little, and T.J. Rushing in 2003.
Also, Tristen Newman set a personal record in the shot put at 60-7 1/4 (18.47 meters) for the longest toss by a Stanford thrower indoors or outdoors in 22 years. Newman's distance placed him in a tie for No. 3 on the all-time Stanford absolute performers' list.
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Baker found herself in the lead
The women's 800 featured the top two finishers at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Oregon's three-time NCAA champion Raevyn Rogers and Stanford junior Olivia Baker. And the race was the showdown people expected – until it wasn't.
Rogers took the pace out quickly, with Baker on her back. With a lap to go, Baker moved to Rogers' shoulder and was poised to attempt a move on the final turn, but Rogers stepped off the track. According to an Oregon team spokesman, Rogers was running as pacer for teammate Brooke Feldmeier, who would place fifth.
On her own, Baker clocked an indoor personal best of 2:03.41, only 0.16 off 2014 record of 2016 French Olympian Justine Fedronic.
The effort was enough to assure herself a berth at the NCAA's – Baker was third at the 2016 NCAA Indoors -- and provided Stanford with its only victory. The NCAA field, which consists of the top 16 in individual events and 12 in the relays based on marks recorded during the season, will be released Tuesday. Baker's only previous 800 this season of 2:05.00 would not have been enough to qualify, so this was much-needed.
"There was never any doubt we were doing all the right things and today's performance shows things are lining up at the right time," said Gabe Sanders, who coaches Baker and the Cardinal sprinters and hurdlers. "We never wavered in our belief in our plan and her abilities. She's riding a big wave of momentum and we're enjoying the ride."
Baker joins Stanford's other apparent NCAA qualifiers: its' men's and women's distance medley relay teams, Vanessa Fraser and Elise Cranny in the women's 3,000, Jack Keelan in the men's 3,000, and Harrison Williams in the men's heptathlon.
Barely 90 minutes after her 800 victory, Baker ran a fast 52.7 split to anchor Stanford to second in the 4x400 relay in a season-best 3:36.26 – the fourth-fastest indoor time in school history.
Sophomore Missy Mongiovi, who moved to No. 10 on the Card 400 indoor list with a 54.97, led off with a 54.7. Gaby Gayles followed in 53.8, Michaela Crunkleton Wilson in 54.7, and Baker in 52.7. USC won in 3:32.54, tying the meet and Dempsey Indoor records, and repeating the top-two finish of the 2016 Pac-12 outdoor 4x400.
"I couldn't be prouder of both relay efforts today," Sanders said. "We put together one of the best combined relay performances in program history. This tells us we're heading in the right direction and the process is working."
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Shumway holds school records in three relays
The Stanford 4x400 team of Frank Kurtz, Harrison Williams, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, and Jackson Shumway, is putting together a strong legacy. That foursome now holds the Stanford 4x400 records both indoors and outdoors and, in May at the Pac-12 Championships, became the first Stanford team to win a men's 4x400/mile relay conference title since 1954.
Running in the four-team fast section, Stanford spent most of the race watching Arizona State and Arizona duel in the front. Kurtz opened with a 48.9 split and handed off in third to Williams, who fired off a 47.6. Brandt-Sims ran 47.6 and closed to within seven meters on the final exchange.
Shumway, who ran a personal best 47.06 to win his section of the open 400 over Washington State's C.J. Allen in a matchup of the Pac-12's top 400 hurdlers last year, came back with a strong leg. Shumway passed Arizona's Michael Demby on the final lap and was gaining fast on ASU's Drelan Bramwell on the homestretch before falling 0.42 short.
Shumway is a one-time walk-on from Winnetka, Illinois (think Home Alone, Breakfast Club, National Lampoon's Vacation, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Risky Business), who is in his final season of eligibility after exhausting his outdoor eligibility last spring. Besides a pair of Pac-12 runner-up finishes in the 400 hurdles, he is a member of three school-record relay teams (two in the 4x400 and another in the distance medley). He will finish his collegiate career in the DMR at NCAA's.
"I'm especially proud of Jack Shumway," Sanders said. "He cemented his legacy as one of the greatest sprinters and leaders to ever don a Cardinal uniform."
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Newman in elite company
Stanford throws coach Zeb Sion has been saying that Tristen Newman was ready for a breakthrough. He had a series of personal bests in the 35-pound weight throw this season, and was at a high level in the shot put, but Saturday marked his best day yet in that event.
Newman came in with a best of 58-10 (17.93 meters), but fired 60-7 ¼ (18.47m) on his third throw to become just the fourth Stanford thrower in history to reach 60 feet. The others were former world-record holder Terry Albritton (Stanford best of 70-6 ½, 21.50m), and NFL players Garin Veris (64-10 ¾, 19.78m) and Pete Swanson (60-7 ¼, 18.46m).
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Giger on the NCAA bubble with last-ditch throw
Almost immediately after the MPSF meet concluded, a few competitors took part in the Seattle Pacific Last Chance Meet in an effort to chase NCAA qualifying marks.
Lena Giger took advantage by unleashing a personal best 54-8 ¾ in the shot put (16.68m), far ahead of her 53-0 ¼ previous PB. Giger's throw puts her on the bubble for NCAA qualifying, with a chance at the last spot. It would be her first NCAA appearance.
After going 53-9 (16.38m) on her second throw, she fired her best on her fifth try. It places her No. 4 on Stanford's all-time indoor performers' list and No. 5 on the school absolute list behind three Olympians -- Jillian Camarena, Carol Cady, and Pam Dukes – and Alyssa Wisdom.
Valarie Allman, who shattered her school record in the 20-weight throw on Friday with a toss of 68-5 ¾ (20.87m), found herself just outside the qualifying zone after the MPSF meet and gave it one more shot. Her best throw on Saturday of 67-10 ¾ (20.69m) was the second best of her life, but short. However, it was easily her most consistent performance, with all six throws of 19.99 meters or more.
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MPSF Championships
At Dempsey Indoor
(307-meter flat track)
Men
Team scores – 1, Oregon 89; 2, USC 83; 3, UCLA 70; 4, BYU 65; 5, Arizona State 53; 6, Colorado 47; 7, California 45.5; 8, Washington 44.5; 9, Arizona 42; 10, Washington State 41; 11, Long Beach State 30.5; 12, Stanford 27.5; 13 (tie), UC Riverside, Portland, 11; 15, CSUN 3.
400 – 1, Marcus Chambers (Oregon) 46.40; 7, Jackson Shumway (Stanford) 47.06, PB, No. 7 Stanford all-time indoors; 29, Julian Body (Stanford) 49.13; 30, Colin Dolese (Stanford) 49.17; 32, Isaac Westlund (Stanford) 49.44; 41, Daniel Brady (Stanford) 50.78.
800 – 1, Robert Ford (USC) 1:49.53; 7, Brian Smith (Stanford) 1:51.32.
Mile – 1, Ben Saarel (Colorado) 4:02.33; 13, Isaac Cortes (Stanford) 4:08.37, PB; 14, Scott Buttinger (Stanford) 4:09.47; 15, Patrick Perrier (Stanford) 4:10.50.
3,000 – 1, John Dressel (Colorado) 7:51.44; 17, Patrick Gibson (Stanford) 8:11.07, PB; 22, Blair Hurlock (Stanford) 8:13.14, PB.
4x400 relay – 1, Arizona State 3:09.38; 2, Stanford (Frank Kurtz, Harrison Williams, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Jackson Shumway) 3:09.80, school indoor record.
Triple jump – 1, Dominic Smallwood (USC) 51-0 ¾ (15.56m); 8, Jaak Uudmae (Stanford) 47-1 ¾ (14.37m).
High jump – 1, Randall Cunningham (USC) 7-5 ¼ (2.27m); 20, Trevor Rex (Stanford) 6-5 (1.96m).
Shot put – 1, Dotun Ogundeji (UCLA) 64-11 ½ (19.80m); 4, Tristen Newman (Stanford) 60-7 ¼ (18.47m), PB, tied No. 2 Stanford all-time indoors.
Women
Team scores – 1, USC 125; 2, Oregon 105; 3, Stanford 57; 4, UCLA 52.33; 5, Colorado 52; 6, Arizona State 45; 7, Washington 41; 8, Washington State 33.5; 9, Arizona 29; 10, BYU 27; 11, CSUN 19.33; 12, California 17.33; 13, Utah 15; 14, Long Beach State 12; 15 (tie), Oregon State, Portland, 11; 17, Hawaii 8.5; 18, UC Irvine 2; 19 (tie), Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside, 0.
400 – 1, Cameron Pettigrew (USC) 52.27; 10, Missy Mongiovi (Stanford) 54.97, No. 10 Stanford all-time indoors; 23, Hannah Labrie-Smith (Stanford) 56.70.
800 – 1, Olivia Baker (Stanford) 2:03.41, No. 2 Stanford all-time indoors; 3, Elise Cranny (Stanford) 2:06.90; 6, Malika Waschmann (Stanford) 2:08.31; 13, Sarah Walker (Stanford) 2:11.38; 26, Anna Laman (Stanford) 2:15.11.
Mile – 1, Katie Rainsberger (Oregon) 4:35.60; 17, Maddy Berkson (Stanford) 4:45.54, PB; 35, Claire Smith (Stanford) 5:01.34.
3,000 – 1, Alli Cash (Oregon) 9:09.18; 4, Danielle Katz (Stanford) 9:21.31, PB; 5, Sophie Chase (Stanford) 9:21.68; 8, Julia Maxwell (Stanford) 9:23.10, PB.
4x400 relay – 1, USC 3:32.54, ties meet and track record; 2, Stanford (Missy Mongiovi, Gaby Gayles, Michaela Crunkleton Wilson, Olivia Baker) 3:36.26, No. 4 Stanford all-time indoors.
Triple jump – 1, Keyasia Tibbs (Arizona State) 43-2 ¼ (13.16m); 14, Marisa Kwiatkowski (Stanford) 37-10 (11.53m).
High jump – 1, Lisanne Hagens (Arizona) 6-0 ¾ (1.85m); 6, Rachel Reichenbach (Stanford) 5-7 (1.70m).
Shot put – 1, Torie Owers (UCLA) 56-0 ½ (17.08m); 5, Lena Giger (Stanford) 51-9 ¾ (15.79m).
SFU Final Qualifier
At Dempsey Indoor
Women
Shot put – 1, Lena Giger (Stanford) 54-8 ¾ (16.68m), PB, No. 4 all-time Stanford indoors.
Weight throw – 1, DeOndra Young (Long Beach State) 68-11 ¾ (21.02m); 2, Valarie Allman (Stanford) 67-10 ¾ (20.69m).
PB = personal best
