EUGENE, Ore. – Stanford brings 15 individuals and three relay teams to the four-day NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which begin Wednesday at Hayward Field.
Stanford comes in with an opportunity to score big points in both the men's and women's competitions, with a variety of individuals who should be considered contenders and even favorites. The Cardinal has a defending champion in Grant Fisher (men's 5,000 meters), three past NCAA outdoor runners-up – Olivia Baker (women's 800), Elise Cranny (women's 1,500), Sean McGorty (men's 5,000). In addition, there is a past third-placer Valarie Allman (women's discus), and three fourth-placers in Mackenzie Little (women's javelin), Harrison Williams (decathlon), and Vanessa Fraser (indoor 3,000).
Over the past five years, the average women's team scores were 66 for first, 57 for second, 47 for third, 43 for fourth, and 37 for fifth. With those scores as a guide, Stanford seems on the verge of a top-five finish. A top-five finish would be Stanford's first among men or women since the Card women were fifth in 2005. The Stanford women, led by hurdler Kori Carter, were sixth in 2013.
Including the relays, 22 different Stanford athletes are expected to compete this weekend – 13 women and nine men. That is the most since 25 Cardinal men and women competed in 2005.
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Meet Information:
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Where: Eugene, Ore.
Site: Hayward Field
Live Results: Click here.
Women's Start Lists: Click here.
Men's Start Lists: Click here.
Meet Schedule: Click here.
Broadcast Schedule:
Wednesday
12:20 p.m.: ESPN3
4:30 p.m.: ESPN2
Thursday
9:50 a.m.: ESPN3
4 p.m.: ESPN2
Friday
12:20 p.m.: ESPN3
5:30 p.m.: ESPN
Saturday
1:20 p.m.: ESPN3
3:30 p.m.: ESPN
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Stanford Competitors (with ranking among the field according to NCAA prelims mark):
Men
Trevor Danielson, jr.: Javelin (No. 11, 224-6, 68.42m).
Steven Fahy, jr.: 3,000 steeplechase (No. 4, 8:37.50).
Grant Fisher, jr.: 5,000 (No. 1, 13:47.22).
Sean McGorty, sr.: 5,000 (No. 3, 13:48.09).
Harrison Williams, jr.: Decathlon (No. 6, 7,925).
Stanford (Frank Kurtz, Gabriel Navarro, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Julian Body): 4x100 relay (No. 19, 39.79).
Stanford (Frank Kurtz, Julian Body, Gabriel Navarro, Isaiah Brandt-Sims): 4x400 relay (No. 9, 3:04.84).
Women
Valarie Allman, sr.: Discus (No. 2, 195-9, 59.68m); Hammer (No. 21, 201-6, 61.42m).
Christina Aragon, so.: 1,500 (No. 5, 4:12.73).
Olivia Baker, sr.: 800 (No. 9, 2:03.46).
Elise Cranny, sr.: 1,500 (No. 4, 4:12.49).
Vanessa Fraser, sr.: 5,000 (No. 4, 15:27.36).
Lena Giger, sr.: Shot put (No. 8, 55-10 ½, 17.03m).
Jenna Gray, so.: Javelin (No. 15, 165-8, 50.50m).
Mackenzie Little, jr.: Javelin (No. 1, 187-7, 57.19m).
Erika Malaspina, so.: Pole vault (No. 12, 13-8 ½, 4.18m).
Kaitlyn Merritt, so.: Pole vault (No. 8, 13-8 ½, 4.18m).
Stanford (Missy Mongiovi, Ashlan Best, Gaby Gayles, Olivia Baker): 4x400 relay (No. 5, 3:31.39).
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Stanford Schedule:
Wednesday
12:30 p.m.: Decathlon 100 (Section 2: Harrison Williams).
1:10 p.m.: Decathlon long jump (Flight 2: Harrison Williams).
2:25 p.m.: Decathlon shot put (Flight 2: Harrison Williams).
3:40 p.m.: Decathlon high jump (Flight 2: Harrison Williams).
4:32 p.m.: Men's 4x100 relay semifinals (Heat 1: Stanford; top 2 plus 2).
5:02 p.m.: Men's 3,000 steeplechase semifinals (Heat 2: Steven Fahy; top 5 plus 2).
5:45 p.m.: Men's javelin final (Flight 1: Trevor Danielson).
6:56 p.m.: Decathlon 400 (Section 2: Harrison Williams).
7:48 p.m.: Men's 4x400 relay semifinals (Heat 3: Stanford; top 2 plus 2).
Thursday
10 a.m.: Decathlon 110 hurdles (Section 2: Harrison Williams).
10:50 a.m.: Decathlon discus (Flight 1: Harrison Williams).
Noon: Decathlon pole vault (Flight 1: Harrison Williams).
1:30 p.m.: Women's hammer final (Flight 1: Valarie Allman).
2:30 p.m.: Decathlon javelin (Flight 1: Harrison Williams).
4:16 p.m.: Women's 1,500 semifinals (Heat 2: Christina Aragon, Elise Cranny; top 5 plus 2).
4:30 p.m.: Women's pole vault final (Erika Malaspina, Kaitlyn Merritt).
5:15 p.m.: Women's javelin final (Flight 2: Mackenzie Little).
5:44 p.m.: Women's 800 semifinals (Heat 2: Olivia Baker; top 2 plus 2).
6:10 p.m.: Women's shot put final (Flight 1: Lena Giger).
6:26 p.m.: Decathlon 1,500 (Harrison Williams).
7:18 p.m.: Women's 4x400 relay semifinals (Heat 2: Stanford; top 2 plus 2).
Friday:
5:32 p.m.: Men's 4x100 relay final.
5:54 p.m.: Men's 3,000 steeplechase final.
7:25 p.m.: Men's 5,000 final (Grant Fisher, Sean McGorty).
7:51 p.m.: Men's 4x400 relay final.
Saturday:
3:05 p.m.: Women's discus final (Flight 2: Valarie Allman).
3:41 p.m.: Women's 1,500 final.
4:44 p.m.: Women's 800 final.
5:25 p.m.: Women's 5,000 final (Vanessa Fraser).
5:51 p.m.: Women's 4x400 relay final.
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Event Notes
Men
3,000 steeplechase: Steven Fahy is Stanford's first conference steeple champion since Ian Dobson in 2003 and went on set a nine-second lifetime best at the NCAA West Prelims. Fahy is having a breakthrough year that began with his first All-America honor, in cross country (17th place), and a ninth-place finish in the NCAA indoor 5,000.
5,000: Grant Fisher, a junior, is the defending champion. His victory was the first by an American in the event since 2009 and the first by an underclassman in 28 years. Fisher outdueled Justyn Knight of Syracuse on the final lap and will be tested again by the reigning NCAA cross country champion, who also got the better of Fisher in the NCAA indoor 3,000, with both behind Northern Arizona's Andy Trouard, who also is in the field. This will be the final collegiate race for Stanford's Sean McGorty, a nine-time All-American. McGorty made a bid to win the 2016 NCAA final on the same track before ultimately finishing second to Oregon's Edward Cheserek. Look for both Stanford runners to contend for the title.
Relays: Stanford should field the same foursome in both the 4x100 and 4x400, with (in alphabetical order): Julian Body, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Frank Kurtz, and freshman Gabriel Navarro. This is the first time in at least 25 years since Stanford has qualified both men's relay teams. The 4x100 is making its first appearance since 2004 and the 4x400 hasn't been here since 2012. None of the four has qualified in an individual event, which means they seem to run better when they're together. With the order of Kurtz, Body, Navarro, and Brandt-Sims, the quartet broke the school record in the NCAA West Prelims with a time of 3:04.84. Brandt-Sims, Stanford's highest conference placer (third) in the 200 since 1997, now owns shares of school records in the outdoor 4x400 and indoor distance medley relay. Brandt-Sims and Navarro ranked Nos. 2 and 3 on Stanford's all-time 100 list, at 10.41 and 10.43, respectively. Body is a 400 hurdles specialist and the 4x100 anchor, and Kurtz opens both relays and is a quartermiler by trade with a best of 47.03.
Javelin: Trevor Danielson becomes Stanford's first male to advance to the NCAA Championships in the javelin since Chad Wassink was 11th in 2001. After a strong high school career in Newberg, Oregon, Danielson was not part of the track program his first two years at Stanford. But upon returning to the sport in 2017, Danielson, a computer science major, quickly moved up to No. 3 on the school's all-time list in his first season.
Decathlon: Harrison Williams placed fourth as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore. His school-record score of 8,032 points in 2016 was the highest fifth-place score in meet history. Williams has set Stanford multi-event records six times, including four times in the decathlon. He is the Pac-12 champion, Stanford's first in 24 years, and won that competition by an astounding 1,641 points. Williams' best events are the pole vault, 110 hurdles, and 400. His personal bests this year have come in the shot put and discus. His long jump also is catching up. However, Williams' bid may come down to how he performs in the high jump.
Women
800: Olivia Baker has reached the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in this event and is a two-time finalist, finishing second to Oregon's Raevyn Rogers in 2016 and placing eighth last year. Baker is a 10-time All-American with a best of 2:01.02. Stanford has had a top-four finisher four of the past five years in this event, including three runner-up finishes (including Claudia Saunders in 2014-15). Baker will attempt to extend an annual streak of Stanford finalists in this event to six.
1,500: Elise Cranny and Christina Aragon each are contenders. Cranny, a 10-time All-American and the Pac-12 5,000 champion, was the 2016 NCAA runner-up while setting a school record of 4:09.54. Each has come close to NCAA titles. In 2016, a Cranny rush to the finish in the NCAA 1,500 fell short by 0.004 and her anchor in the 2017 NCAA indoor distance medley relay was second by 0.02. Including three DMRs, Cranny has five NCAA runner-up finishes. At the NCAA indoors this year, Aragon ran the fastest 1,600 anchor leg (4:33.35) in the DMR, helping Stanford to second by 0.03 in school record time. Aragon was seventh in the last year as a freshman, but looked very much in control in winning her heat at the NCAA West Prelims.
5,000: Vanessa Fraser, a graduate student in management science and engineering, redshirted last year to add another year of improvement and aid Stanford's quest for a high national finish. In 2016, she was 13th in the 5,000, but has continued to improve. In 2017, she was seventh at the U.S. Championships during her redshirt year, and the second collegian in the field, to Missouri's Karissa Schweizer. Now, Fraser and Schweizer have something else in common – the best range of any collegiate runners in the country. On the NCAA qualifying lists, Fraser was No. 4 in the 1,500 (4:10.63), No. 2 in the 5,000 (15:20.10), and No. 11 in the 10,000 (33:10.84). The one-time walk-on won the Pac-12 10,000 title in meet record time and has a best NCAA individual finish of fourth in the indoor 3,000 in March. She is the only Stanford runner to be on the school's all-time performers' list in the 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000 and she is among the top four in each. She was a heat winner at the NCAA West Prelims.
4x400 relay: Stanford has qualified in this event three of the past four years with Gayles and Baker the mainstays on each. The two have been a part of three of the four fastest 4x400 performances in Stanford history. The quartet ran 3:31.39, the No. 3 time in school history, to finish a close second in their heat at the NCAA West Prelims and seem on the verge of running even faster. Their splits in that race: Mongiovi 53.7, Best 52.7, Gayles 53.4, Baker 51.4. Baker is the 2016 Pac-12 400 champ.
Pole vault: For the first time since future Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi won the 2012 NCAA title, Stanford has representation in this event. Kaitlyn Merritt and Erika Malaspina, both sophomores in eligibility, placed second and third at the Pac-12 Championships and cleared 13-8 ½ (4.18m) at the NCAA West Prelims to advance. They also rank second and third on Stanford's all-time list, behind Stefanidi. Merritt became Stanford's second 14-foot vaulter when she cleared 14-0 ½ (4.28m) to win the Payton Jordan Invitational.
Shot put: Lena Giger was 17th in her first NCAA Championships last year, but improved to sixth at NCAA indoors while emerging as one of the top throwers in the nation. Giger has closed to within 2 ½ inches of Olympian Jillian Camarena's school outdoor record. Giger's best of 59-4 ¼ (18.09m) makes her the No. 3 collegian this season, behind Mississippi's Raven Saunders and Arizona State's Maggie Ewen. Giger was coached by her father, David, while growing in up Highland, Illinois.
Discus and hammer: Valarie Allman is now a graduate student in product design who redshirted last year to have an extra year under Stanford throws coach Zeb Sion. Allman enters the NCAA Championships as the U.S. leader in the discus with a throw of 206-1 (62.83) at a throwers meet at the Chula Vista Elite Training Center in April, ahead of Arizona State's Maggie Ewen, who has the top collegiate throw in the country this year. In three discus meetings this year, Allman has a 2-1 edge on Ewen, the Pac-12 champion. Allman was third in her most recent NCAA meet, in 2016, but placed third in the U.S. Championships last year and advanced to the IAAF World Championships in London, becoming the first returning Stanford athlete to compete for the U.S. in Worlds or the Olympics since triple jumper Erica McLain in 2005. In the hammer, Allman was a second-team All-American in 2016, placing 11th.
Javelin: Mackenzie Little, a junior, and sophomore Jenna Gray give Stanford NCAA entrants for the ninth consecutive year. Little is a three-time Pac-12 champion and reached the podium the past two years with finishes of fourth in 2017 and seventh in 2016. Little, an Australian who dual U.S./Aussie citizenship is familiar with top competition. She was the 2013 World Youth champion and competed at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Gray is a two-sport athlete who trains in the javelin once a week while spending most of her time with the volleyball team. An All-America in both sports, Gray was the starting setter on Stanford's 2016 NCAA champion volleyball team in the fall and helped the Cardinal to the semifinals in 2017. Stanford never has won this event, but has finished second five times, most recently by Brianna Bain in 2012. Little has the top collegiate mark this season, of 192-4 (58.63m) and was the top thrower at the NCAA prelims. Gray has a best of 178-11 (54.53m).
