Photos, like this of Trevor Danielson, by Spencer Allen/SportsImageWire.com.
EUGENE, Ore. – For Stanford teams that seem poised to make a huge impact at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, Trevor Danielson showed them how it's done.
Danielson set a school record – one of two for the Cardinal on Wednesday and with another apparently on the way in the decathlon – to place a surprising fourth in the men's javelin at Hayward Field with a throw of 235-7 (71.80 meters).
For the second consecutive meet, the men's 4x400-meter relay school record went down. The team of Frank Kurtz, Julian Body, Gabriel Navarro, and Isaiah Brandt-Sims ran 3:04.82 to break their own two-week mark, set at the NCAA West Prelims, by 0.02 and become the first from Stanford to advance to an NCAA final in that event since at least 1963.
And in the decathlon, Pac-12 champion Harrison Williams is third with 4,311 points and within striking distance of first after the first day of the two-day 10-event competition.
Trevor Danielson set a school record in the javelin.
Danielson, a redshirt junior who wasn't even on the team his first two years at Stanford, was No. 37 on the NCAA season qualifying list and the No. 11 seed coming into this meet.
But Danielson, competing about 90 miles from his home in Newberg, got off to a strong start with a lifetime best of 227-2 (69.24m) on his opening throw, and then broke the school record on his second. In one day, Danielson improved upon his lifetime best by more than 11 feet, and broke Chad Wassink's 2001 school record of 234-0 (71.32m).
Now, Danielson is a first-team All-American and Stanford's highest NCAA placer since Tom Colby was third in 1968. He also earns family bragging rights, eclipsing his brother Cody's seventh-place javelin finish in 2016 while at Oregon.
"It's been clear for to me for several weeks that he was getting very close to putting together a monster performance," said Stanford throws coach Zeb Sion.
The coach pointed out that Danielson was in sixth going into his final throw at the Pac-12 Championships and moved up to second on his final toss. He also set a lifetime best two weeks ago at the NCAA West Prelims in Sacramento.
"He's been excellent this season and has gotten better when the stakes are higher," Sion said. "I'm incredibly proud of Trevor."
Steven Fahy overcame a misstep to advance in the steeplechase.
In the 3,000 steeplechase, Stanford's Steven Fahy brushed off a misstep on the final water jump to place second in his semifinal and advance to Friday's final. Fahy ran 8:40.53 to place second in his semifinal and secure one of the top-five spots and automatic advancement to Sunday's final.
While leading on the final lap, Fahy's approached the final water jump. Unlike the other four barriers per lap, runners typically don't hurdle the water jump, they push off in an effort to clear most of the water and land on shallower ground. However, Fahy's right foot slid off the top of the barrier and Fahy landed awkwardly on both feet in the deep water. However, he collected himself and the slip did not cost him.
Harrison Williams opened with a 10.63 100.
In the decathlon, Williams set lifetime bests in the first three events on his way to a personal-best first-day score, only 184 points behind leader Tim Duckworth of Kentucky. This is even better than Williams' last NCAA decathlon, in 2016, when he set a school record and lifetime best of 8,032 to place fifth, but was 11th after four events and had a first-day 4,097.
Williams is far ahead of that pace and has been no lower than sixth after any of the events so far. Williams opened with a 10.63 in the 100 (aided by a 2.2 meters per second wind, which is legal by decathlon standards) and faster than his previous best of 10.67.
He had a massive improvement in the long jump, going 25-1 ¾ (7.66m). Though he had scratched a 24-footer at the Pac-12 Multis and had all indications in training of being capable of long jumps, Williams finally put it all together Wednesday with all three over 24. His series went: 24-7 (7.49m), 24-1 ¾ (7.36), and then his 25-1 ¾, and all were wind legal.
Williams had his finest long-jumping day ever.
Williams hit his third consecutive personal record, this time in the shot put. On his second attempt, he went 45-8 ½ (13.93m), a lifetime best by seven inches. After a 6-4 ¾ (1.95m) in the high jump, Williams closed with the second-fastest 400 of the competition, running a season best 48.01.
Looking toward the second-day matchup, Williams appears to have an edge on Duckworth in the 110 hurdles and pole vault. The discus looks even and Duckworth is better at the javelin. However, Williams has a huge edge in the final event, the 1,500. The title could come down to the wire.
The women begin competition Thursday and Stanford has a contender in the javelin, with collegiate leader Mackenzie Little. Other finals are in the pole vault (Erika Malaspina, Kaitlyn Merritt), hammer (Valarie Allman), and shot put, where Lena Giger hopes to improve upon her sixth-place at NCAA indoors.
Harrison Williams was second in the decathlon 400.
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Wednesday's Results
First day of four
NCAA Championships
At Hayward Field
Finals winners and all Stanford competitors
Men
Team scores (after 6 of 21 events) – 1, Georgia 20; 19, Stanford 5.
3,000 steeplechase semifinals – 8, Steven Fahy (Stanford) 8:40.53. Fahy advances to final.
4x100 relay semifinals – 19, Stanford (Frank Kurtz, Gabriel Navarro, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Julian Body) 39.86, No. 5 Stanford AT.
4x400 relay semifinals – 6, Stanford (Frank Kurtz, Julian Body, Gabriel Navarro, Isaiah Brandt-Sims) 3:04.82, school record. Stanford advances to final.
Javelin final – 1, Anderson Peters (Mississippi State) 271-9 (82.82m); 4, Trevor Danielson (Stanford) 235-7 (71.80m), PB, school record.
Decathlon (after first day) – 3, Harrison Williams (Stanford) 4,311.
Harrison Williams, by event (event, place in event, mark, points):
First day: 100 – 3, 10.63, 945; Long jump – 6, 25-1 ¾ (7.66m), 975; Shot put – 6, 45-8 ½ (13.93m), 724; High jump – 10, 6-4 ¾ (1.95m), 758; 400 – 2, 48.01, 909. First day total: 4,311.
* * *
Gabriel Navarro to Isaiah Brandt-Sims in the 4x100.
Stanford's remaining schedule:
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:
5:54 p.m.: Men's 3,000 steeplechase final (Steven Fahy).
7:25 p.m.: Men's 5,000 final (Grant Fisher, Sean McGorty).
7:51 p.m.: Men's 4x400 relay final (Frank Kurtz, Julian Body, Gabriel Navarro, Isaiah Brandt-Sims).
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.
In fourth, Trevor Danielson was Stanford's highest men's javelin placer since 1968.