SEATTLE -- The Stanford track and field team begins its postseason run Friday at the two-day Mountain Pacific Sports Federation indoor championships at University of Washington's Dempsey Indoor facility. The meet also doubles as the final opportunity to earn qualifying marks to the NCAA Championships on March 9-10 in College Station, Texas.
The MPSF consists of 20 women's teams and 15 men's – schools traditionally from the Pac-12, Big West, and West Coast conferences. Stanford, which is bringing 54 athletes (27 men, 27 women) is seeking its first MPSF titles since the women won in 2012 and the men in 2011.
Meet Information:
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships
Where: Seattle, Wash.
Site: Dempsey Indoor
Surface: 307-meter flat track.
Events begin:
Friday: Noon
Saturday: 10:30 a.m.
Meet schedule: Click here (PDF).
Follow the Action:
Heat sheets: Click here (PDF).
Live results: Click here.
Flotrack premium webcast: Click here.
Twitter: @StanfordXCTF
Instagram: StanfordXCTF
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Stanford in USTFCCCA rankings:
Men: No. 9
Women: No. 16
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Meet notes: Competitors in Saturday's women's shot put, Stanford's Lena Giger (No. 2) and Arizona State's Maggie Ewen (No. 1), are the top two in the NCAA this year … Top qualifier Elise Cranny is running her first mile since 2016, when she won the Iowa State Classic in 4:38.44 … Fresh off a school record of 3:09.38 last week at the Don Kirby Invitational in New Mexico, the men's 4x400-meter relay team seeks another fast race in an attempt to make the national top 12 and earn a berth in the NCAA Championships … Olivia Baker, the top qualifier in the women's 800, owns three MPSF titles – the past two in the 800 and as part of the distance medley relay in 2015 … Graduate student Vanessa Fraser, the top qualifier in the 3,000 and No. 4 in the mile, is seeking her first conference title, indoors or outdoors. She was second in the DMR last year and in the 3,000 in 2015 … Stanford is seeking its first individual MPSF men's victory since Darian Brooks won the triple jump in 2015 ... Alex Ostberg will make his indoor season debut, in the 3,000. His most recent race was the NCAA Cross Country Championships last fall, placing 16th to earn his first All-America honor.
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Stanford athletes seeded in top five (event, seed, name, seed mark):
Men
200: No. 2, Frank Kurtz, 21.44.
4x400 relay: No. 3, Stanford (Julian Body, Frank Kurtz, Louis Stenmark, Gabriel Navarro), 3:09.82.
Weight throw: No. 3, Michael Painter, 62-8 (19.10m).
Heptathlon: No. 2, Jack Herkert, 4,860.
Women:
400: No. 4, Gaby Gayles, 54.04.
800: No. 1, Olivia Baker, 2:04.00; No. 5, Julia Heymach, 2:07.86.
Mile: No. 1, Elise Cranny, 4:31.58; 2, Christina Aragon, 4:34.78; No. 4, Vanessa Fraser, 4:36.37.
3,000: No. 1, Vanessa Fraser, 8:59.23; No. 2, Christina Aragon, 9:01.86; No. 4, Fiona O'Keeffe, 9:05.22.
4x400 relay: No. 2, Stanford (Carolyn Wilson, Gaby Gayles, Missy Mongiovi, Olivia Baker), 3:35.17.
Pole vault: No. 3, Kaitlyn Merritt 13-5 1/4 (4.10m).
Shot put: No. 2, Lena Giger, 58-4 (17.78m).
Weight throw: No. 2, Valarie Allman, 70-3 ½ (21.42m).
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Stanford Schedule:
Friday
Noon: Women's weight throw (Valarie Allman).
2 p.m.: Women's pole vault (Kaitlyn Merritt, Erika Malaspina, Jackie McNulty, Nicole Summersett).
2 p.m.: Men's heptathlon 60 (Jack Herkert).
2:45 p.m.: Men's heptathlon long jump (Jack Herkert).
3:45 p.m.: Men's heptathlon shot put (Jack Herkert).
4:30 p.m.: Women's 60 hurdles prelims (Hannah Labrie-Smith).
4:45 p.m.: Men's heptathlon high jump (Jack Herkert).
5 p.m.: Women's 60 prelims (Ashlan Best, Michaela Crunkleton Wilson).
5:15 p.m.: Men's 60 prelims (Isaiah Brandt-Sims).
5:15 p.m.: Women's long jump (Daryth Gayles).
5:15 p.m.: Men's long jump (Jaak Uudmae).
5:15 p.m.: Men's weight throw (Michael Painter).
5:40 p.m.: Women's 5,000 (Abbie McNulty).
6 p.m.: Men's 5,000 (Sam Wharton).
6:20 p.m.: Women's 200 (Ashlan Best, Hannah Labrie-Smith, Michaela Crunkleton Wilson).
7:05 p.m.: Men's 200 (Frank Kurtz, Gabriel Navarro).
7:30 p.m.: Women's distance medley relay (Stanford TBA).
7:45 p.m.: Men's distance medley relay (Stanford TBA).
Saturday
10:30 a.m.: Men's heptathlon 60 hurdles (Jack Herkert).
10:30 a.m.: Women's shot put (Lena Giger).
10:30 a.m.: Women's high jump (Valerie Przekop, Rachel Reichenbach).
11 a.m.: Women's triple jump (Marisa Kwiatkowski, Aria Small).
11 a.m.: Women's mile (Christina Aragon, Maddy Berkson, Elise Cranny, Vanessa Fraser).
11:25 a.m.: Men's mile (Tom Coyle, Isaac Cortes, Tai Dinger, Patrick Perrier).
11:30 a.m.: Men's heptathlon pole vault (Jack Herkert).
11:40 a.m.: Women's 60 hurdles final.
11:50 a.m.: Women's 400 (Gaby Gayles, Missy Mongiovi).
12:20 p.m.: Men's 400 (Julian Body, Daniel Brady, Lucas Ege, Louis Stenmark, Isaac Westlund).
12:40 p.m.: Women's 60 final.
12:45 p.m.: Men's 60 final.
12:45 p.m.: Men's shot put (Tristen Newman).
12:45 p.m.: Men's high jump (Trevor Rex).
12:50 p.m.: Women's 800 (Olivia Baker, Julia Heymach, Anna Laman, Carolyn Wilson).
1 p.m.: Men's triple jump (Fisayo Omilana, Jaak Uudmae).
1:10 p.m.: Men's 800 (Scott Buttinger, Sean McGorty, Hari Sathyamurthy, Brian Smith, Christian White).
1:25 p.m.: Women's 3,000 (Christina Aragon, Elise Cranny, Hannah DeBalsi, Vanessa Fraser, Abbie McNulty, Fiona O'Keeffe).
2 p.m.: Men's 3,000 (Tom Coyle, Tai Dinger, Steven Fahy, Jack Keelan, Alex Ostberg, Patrick Perrier, Sam Wharton).
2:25 p.m.: Women's 4x400 relay (Stanford TBA).
2:50 p.m.: Men's 4x400 relay (Stanford TBA).
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Stanford athletes ranked in NCAA Division I top 30:
Men
3,000: 3 Grant Fisher, 7:48.56.
5,000: 14, Steven Fahy, 13:44.82.
Distance medley relay: 1, Stanford (Sean McGorty, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Hari Sathyamurthy, Grant Fisher), 9:26.91; 18, Stanford 'B' (Tom Coyle, Julian Body, Brandon McGorty, Grant Fisher), 9:32.98.
Shot put: 30, Tristen Newman, 61-4 ¼ (18.70m).
Women
400: 25, Olivia Baker, 53.46*.
800: 6, Olivia Baker, 2:04.00.
3,000: 7, Vanessa Fraser, 8:59.23; 11, Christina Aragon, 9:01.86; 17, Fiona O'Keeffe, 9:05.22; 21, Elise Cranny, 9:06.24.
5,000: 15, Vanessa Fraser, 15:46.02; 24, Fiona O'Keeffe, 15:53.40.
4x400 relay: 20, Stanford (Carolyn Wilson, Gaby Gayles, Ashlan Best, Olivia Baker), 3:35.17*.
Distance medley relay: 1, Stanford (Christina Aragon, Gaby Gayles, Olivia Baker, Elise Cranny), 10:58.93.
Shot put: 2, Lena Giger, 58-4 (17.78m).
Weight throw: 11, Valarie Allman, 70-3 ½ (21.42m).
*mark adjusted for altitude
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How to qualify for nationals: There are no specific qualifying standards for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held in College Station, Texas, on March 9-10. Rather, the individuals who register the top 16 marks in each event will advance. Because not all tracks are the same size, all marks will be converted to a formula that is based on making it equal to a standard 200-meter banked track. After those conversions are determined, the final 16 will advance.