ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Olivia Baker and Valarie Allman headline a Stanford squad that competes at the first Power Five Invitational indoor track and field meet at University of Michigan on Friday and Saturday.
Baker, a four-time NCAA 800 finalist, races in her specialty on the 200-meter banked track at the new U-M Indoor Track Building. Stanford is among 11 teams, all from 'power five' conferences.
Stanford will be represented well from 200 meters to the mile and performances should help decide championship-meet relay teams in the distance medley and 4x400. Also, the Cardinal will showcase its top field-event athletes, such as U.S. national-team discus thrower Allman, who competes indoors in the 20-pound weight throw in which she holds the school record.
Stanford (women, No. 16; men, No. 17) has the highest-ranked men's team by the USTFCCCA and the second-highest women's team in the meet. Other ranked teams competing in Ann Arbor are Minnesota (women, No. 11), Michigan (women, No. 17), Baylor (women, No. 19), Indiana (men, No. 22), and Virginia (men, No. 24).
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Meet Information:
Power Five Invitational
Where: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Site: U-M Indoor Track Building
Surface: 200-meter banked track.
Events:
Friday: 9 a.m.-5:15 p.m. PT
Saturday: 6:30 a.m.-12:40 p.m. PT
USTFCCCA Rankings:
Men: No. 17
Women: No. 16
Follow the Action:
Live results: Click here.
Meet information: Click here.
Meet schedule: Click here.
Heat sheets: Click here.
Stanford Twitter: @stanfordXCTF
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Four-minute assault: Last week, Steven Fahy narrowly missed joining the exclusive sub-4 club by running a mile in 4:00.60 at the UW Invitational. This week, Alex Ostberg and four teammates may challenge the four-minute barrier. Stanford's current team has four who have gone sub-4 – Tom Coyle, Grant Fisher, Jack Keelan, and Sean McGorty. Including freshman D.J. Principe (4:00.73) and sophomore Thomas Ratcliffe (4:01.50), Stanford has seven who have run 4:01 or faster. Of those, only Coyle will race the mile in Michigan.
Featured events: Stanford will go heavy on events that fit into the distance medley relay, which is traditionally a Cardinal strength, by going heavy on the 400, 800, and mile … Olivia Baker, a four-time NCAA 800 finalist and 2016 outdoor runner-up, races for the first time this season in her specialty … Freshman Ashlan Best races the 200 for the first time since winning the Pan Am Junior title in Peru, in a personal record 23.27 … Stanford will race the men's and women's DMRs and 4x400 relays … Tristen Newman, the second-farthest shot putter in Stanford indoor history, will make an attempt to reach an NCAA mark. His season and lifetime best are 61-4 ¼ (18.70m) … At No. 6 in the national season list in the shot put (56-9 ¼, 17.30m), Lena Giger is the top-ranking athlete on the team this season … Valarie Allman, the U.S. national teamer in the discus, is unbeaten in two meets in the 20-pound weight throw. Her school record of 68-5 ¾ (20.87m) could be in jeopardy … In the triple jump, Marisa Kwiatkowski has opened the season with some of the best jumping of her life. Her lifetime best is 41-7 ¼ (12.68m) outdoors and she has come within four inches this indoor season … Jack Herkert, a freshman, will make his collegiate combined-events debut, in the seven-event heptathlon.
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Stanford in the top 25: Only those who achieve the top-16 marks earn invitations to the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 9-10 in College Station, Texas. After two meets, Stanford has four individuals in qualifying position and one relay. Here are Cardinal ranked among the top 25:
Men
Mile: 14, Steven Fahy (4:00.60); 17, Jack Keelan (4:02.03).
DMR: 14, Stanford (Hari Sathyamurthy, Christian White, Brian Smith, Patrick Perrier; 9:51.26).
Shot put: 24, Tristen Newman (61-4 ½; 18.70m).
Women
5,000: 7, Vanessa Fraser (15:46.02); 12, Fiona O'Keeffe (15:53.40).
Shot put: 6, Lena Giger (56-9 ¼, 17.30m).
Weight throw: 18, Valarie Allman (67-2, 20.47m).