Valarie Allman stands next to the scoreboard that signifies her stadium record discus throw of 64.69 meters (212 feet, 3 inches), a personal best and the fourth-longest throw in the world this year. Photo by David Kiefer/Stanford Athletics.
STANFORD, Calif. – Two Stanford roommates – Valarie Allman and Elise Cranny – established the best American marks of the year in their events at the Cardinal Classic at Cobb Track and Angell Field on Saturday.
Allman, a senior who is redshirting, broke a stadium record with the fourth-longest discus throw in the world this year, of 212 feet, 3 inches (64.69 meters).
Cranny, a junior, ran 4 minutes, 11.46 seconds for the fastest U.S. outdoor 1,500 and No. 2 time in the world this year. Close behind was teammate Christina Aragon, whose 4:13.43 is the seventh-fastest by an American this year and the second-fastest ever by a Stanford freshman.
"I'm trying to keep up with Val," Cranny said. "When I saw how she threw today, I was definitely inspired."
Allman knew she had to be on her game while facing Florida State's Kellion Knibb in a matchup of two of the top three discus placers at last year's NCAA Championships. Knibb was second in that meet and Allman third, separated by only an inch. Knibb went on to compete in the Olympics for her native Jamaica while Allman was sixth at the U.S. Trials, just 3'7" out of the third and final qualifying spot.
When Knibb broke her own Jamaican national record Saturday with a throw of 202-1 (61.59m) in the third round Saturday, she had no time to celebrate because Allman unleashed her winning toss on the next throw.
"She didn't give me a chance," Knibb said.
Allman broke a stadium record that had stood since 2002 -- the 211-5 (64.44m) by Kris Kuehl to win the U.S. Championships -- and took the No. 12 position on the all-time U.S. performers' list.
"Kellion threw big on her third one, and that rush made me think: Now's the time. Be disciplined. Put it together," Allman said.
Before this season, Allman exceeded 60 meters (196-10) in only one previous meet. This year, she has done it three times, breaking her personal records in three of four meets under first-year Stanford throws coach Zeb Sion, increasing her best by more than 10 feet altogether. Allman's consistency, as much of her distance, signals to Sion that she has taken her throwing into a new realm, that of world class.
"It's next-level stuff," Sion said. "It's getting up into best in the world."
The Stanford all-comers record of 212-6 (64.77m) survives because Arizona's Meg Ritchie set it at Stanford Stadium in 1981, not Angell Field. Also intact is Carol Cady's school record of 207-8 (63.30m) from 1983. It remains Stanford's oldest outdoor women's record because Allman is competing unattached during a redshirt year.
The decision to redshirt gives her another year under Sion, who clearly has made an impact.
"It made a lot of sense," Allman said. "I think it's a great decision. I love school, I'm super excited to spend another year here and pursue a masters. And I also get to continue training with Coach Sion and the team. It's going to be awesome."
Sion said the decision originally was Allman's idea. Though she will walk in June's graduation ceremony, Allman will earn her undergraduate degree in product design in the fall and continue in a master's program while fulfilling her fifth season, in 2018. With Allman's continued improvement, its not too far-fetched to consider that Ritchie's collegiate record of 221-4 (67.48m) could be in jeopardy.
Though acknowledging the difficulty in not wearing the Stanford singlet this spring, Allman is very much a part of the close-knit team. After the competition, nearly all the Stanford throwers – men and women – gathered around the scoreboard reflecting the distance of her throw, mugging for cameras, while Allman herself wasn't even there.
"It's electric," Allman said of the new team dynamic under Sion. "Everyone is making their own advancements, but it feels so collective."
Allman set her third personal record four discus competitions, shattering her week-old best of 205-6 (62.64m) and improving upon her 2016 personal best by more than 10 feet.
"Clearly, it's worked out very well so far," Sion said. "But next year could also be very scary in terms of what she could do."
Allman and Cranny, who come from neighboring towns in Colorado, celebrated by attending Stanford's senior prom in San Francisco.
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Elise Cranny leads Christina Aragon on the final lap of the invitational 1,500. Photo by David Kiefer/Stanford Athletics.
Cranny, the reigning Pac-12 1,500 champion, followed the pacing of teammate Malika Waschmann for 1,000 meters before Waschmann stepped off the track. Cranny ran alone the rest of the way, with Aragon moving up on the final lap to within shouting distance.
Aragon's time was the second-fastest ever for a Stanford freshman, just ahead of Cranny's 4:14.05 from 2015, and places her No. 7 on Stanford's all-time performers' list. Cranny holds the No. 1 spot by virtue of her school record of 4:09.54 set last year while finishing second at the NCAA Championships.
"I would say this is the first real racing we've had from the beginning, to go out fast," Cranny said.
The race strung out quickly, with Aragon holding back a bit and Cranny mixing it up just behind the pacesetting Washmann. However, they both ended up in similar positions, racing in the open toward the finish line.
"It wasn't so much about getting your spot and holding your place, it was about running as fast as we could," Aragon said.
Stanford coaches Chris Miltenberg, Stanford's Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, and women's coach Elizabeth DeBole preach the concept of building over each 100. Don't run fast and falter, keep increasing the pace as the race goes along. The Cardinal Classic was about racing. Short and simple.
"In years past, I got too focused on the time and was upset when it didn't come," Cranny said. "So, for both us, we weren't going to worry about times today, but just worry about racing."
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Tristen Newman became the fifth Stanford shot-putter to hit 60 feet outdoors. Newman's 60-0 ¼ (18.29m) placed him No. 5 on Stanford's all-time performers' list.
The biochemical engineering major has been a leader and ringleader for the Cardinal men's throwers.
"Tristen has become pretty consistent throwing over 18 meters in the shot," Sion said. "He also had a hammer PR yesterday. He's a guy who's on the verge of connecting on a big one. What that means, we'll see.
"It would be great to go over 19 meters, but he's really close. You see glimpses of it, and it's going to happen. We've just got to make it happen at the right time."
* * *
Missy Mongiovi came into the season contending for a spot in the Stanford's 4x400 relay, as perhaps the fourth or fifth possibility. No longer. Mongiovi, a sophomore, has become a solid member of that team and is emerging in the 400 as well.
On Saturday, Mongiovi ran 53.96 to place third in the 400. But, even better, she shattered her personal record by 0.74 seconds. Her 54.70 best had stood since her sophomore year at West Hills High in the San Diego suburb of Santee.
"I wanted to come out here and break 54," Mongiovi said. "I feel like I've been splitting pretty well in some relays. I just wanted to get a good open time."
Mongiovi made up the stagger on the backstretch and carried her momentum around the turn.
"I just want to hit the last curve and bring it home," she said. "I just tell myself to go faster. It's all mental, the last 100."
* * *
Next week, Stanford will bring at least two women's teams to the Penn Relays. The 4x800 is a given, and the Cardinal will field a team in either the distance medley or 4x1,500, with a chance of racing in all three.
* * *
Cardinal Classic
At Cobb Track and Angell Field
Saturday's results
Winners and Stanford competitors
Men
100 – 1, Jonathan Webb (Minnesota) 10.79; 2, Isaiah Brandt-Sims (Stanford) 10.84; 9, Terrence Alexander (Stanford) 11.12.
400 – 1, Jackson Shumway (unattached) 46.28, PB; 9, Frank Kurtz (Stanford) 47.94.
1,500 – Invitational: 1, Ben Saarel (Colorado) 3:40.24. Sec. 2: 2, Tai Dinger (Stanford) 3:45.35, PB; 9, Patrick Perrier (Stanford) 3:47.36. Sec. 3: 3, Ryan Silva (Stanford) 3:51.65; 5, Scott Buttinger (Stanford) 3:53.20.
10,000 – 1, Christian Martin (Colorado) 29:43.43.
100 hurdles – 1, Jon Tollefson (Minnesota) 14.20; 4, Harrison Williams (unattached) 14.32.
3,000 steeplechase – 1, Takeshi Okada (California) 8:53.35.
4x100 relay – 1, Minnesota 40.55.
4x400 relay – 1, Minnesota 3:08.51; 4, Stanford 'A' (Colin Dolese, Julian Body, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Frank Kurtz) 3:11.73; 8, Stanford 'B' (Daniel Brady, Lucas Ege, Daniel Book, Nathaniel Kucera) 3:20.27.
High jump – 1, Ryan Lockard (Minnesota) 7-0 ¼ (2.14m); 6, Trevor Rex (Stanford) 6-8 (2.03m).
Triple jump – 1, Armani Wallace (Florida State) 52-11 (16.13m); 10, Fisayo Omilana (Stanford) 43-7 ¾ (13.30m).
Shot put – 1, Austin Droogsma (Florida State) 62-10 ½ (19.16m); 2, Tristen Newman (Stanford) 60-0 ¼ (18.29m), PB, No. 5 Stanford AT; 8, Harrison Williams (unattached) 43-1 ½ (13.14m).
Discus – 1, Emmanuel Onyia (Florida State) 195-7 (59.62m); 8, Landon Ellingson (Stanford) 159-7 (48.64m).
Women
100 – 1, Gabrielle Thomas (Harvard) 11.39; 12, Daryth Gayles (Stanford) 12.76.
400 – 1, Shaquania Dorsett (Florida State) 53.07; 3, Missy Mongiovi (Stanford) 53.96, PB.
1,500 – Invitational: 1, Elise Cranny (Stanford) 4:11.46; 2, Christina Aragon (Stanford) 4:13.43, No. 7 Stanford AT, No. 2 Stanford frosh AT. Sec. 2: 1, Vanessa Fraser (unattached) 4:15.90, PB; 3, Rebecca Mehra (Stanford) 4:21.14. Sec. 3: 4, Catherine Pagano (Stanford) 4:26.63, PB. Sec. 4: Claire Smith (Stanford) 4:34.79.
10,000 – 1, Anne Marie Blaney (UCF) 33:18.81.
100 hurdles – 1, Cortney Jones (Florida State) 13.52.
3,000 steeplechase – 1, Belen Casetta (Argentina) 9:56.85; 4, Danielle Katz (Stanford) 10:15.60.
4x100 relay – 1, Harvard 44.87.
4x400 relay – 1, Stanford (Michaela Crunkleton Wilson, Missy Mongiovi, Hannah Labrie-Smith, Olivia Baker) 3:42.37.
Pole vault – 1, Alison Powers (Nevada) 13-3 ¾ (4.06m); 2, Erika Malaspina (Stanford) 12-8 (3.86m); 8, Taylore Jaques (unattached) 11-2 ¼ (3.41m).
Triple jump – 1, Marisa Kwiatkowski (Stanford) 40-2 ¼w (12.25m), 39-9 ¾ (12.13m).
Shot put – 1, Lena Giger (Stanford) 55-0 ¼ (16.77m).
Discus – 1, Valarie Allman (unattached) 212-3 (64.69m), PB, stadium record, No. 1 throw by an American this year; 2, Kellion Knibb (Florida State) 202-1 (61.59m), Jamaican record; 7, Jaimi Salone (Stanford) 157-3 (47.93m), PB.
PB = personal best
AT = All-time