STANFORD, Calif. – For the first time since 2019, the Big Meet returned to Stanford and the energy and buzz around the 127th track and field dual meet against Cal was greater than it had been in years.
A collegiate record, four meet records, and battles for every point at Cobb Track and Angell Field also had something to do with the energy. And though the team results were in doubt until late in the meet, the Cardinal was swept by Cal for the first time since 2014 and for the first time at Stanford since 1995 when the track was at Stanford Stadium.
The men's score Saturday was 86-77 and the women's was 81.5-71.5.
The collegiate record in the men's discus was broken by Cal's Mykolas Alekna. The freshman from Lithuania threw 222-0 (67.68 meters), breaking the mark of 222-0 (67.66m) by SMU's Hannas Hopley in 2004, the metric measurements taking precedence. UCLA's Julian Wruck had two longer throws on June 1, 2013, but the event was an exhibition.
Alekna's throw was the second-longest in the world this year. All six of his throws exceeded the previous meet record of 198-7 (60.52m) held by Cal's Dave Maggard Jr. since 1985.
Udodi Onwuzurike takes the lead in the 4x100. Photo by John P. Lozano/ISIphotos.com.
Stanford's two meet records came courtesy of a freshman of its own, sprinter Udodi Onwuzurike. First, he took the handoff several steps behind Cal's anchor, but ran him down – much like Onwuzurike did in the Stanford Invitational, with the same two teams in the same position on the final exchange.
This time, Stanford's team of Dorien Simon, Olufemi Cole, Karson Lippert, and Onwuzurike ran 39.75 to break the meet record of 39.7 (equivalent of 39.84 automatic timing) by a 1970 Cal team anchored by 1972 Olympian Eddie Hart and including NFL star receiver Isaac Curtis. The time was the third-fastest in Stanford history and the fastest by a Cardinal quartet in 18 years.
Because of wind, the direction of the 100 and 200 were switched to take advantage of a tailwind. The concern with Onwuzurike's speed was that a standout performance could be wind-aided and disallowed for record purposes. But the wind for the 100 was 1.9 meters per second, just under the allowable 2.0, and Onwuzurike's 10.20 shattered the meet record of 10.41 set by Stanford's Isaiah Brandt-Sims in 2018.
Onwuzurike became a triple winner by winning the 200 in 20.97.
Allie Jones competed in five events, winning the high jump and 100 hurdles. Photo by John P. Lozano/ISIphotos.com.
Canadian Olympian Camryn Rogers, who broke the Cobb Track and Angell Field record in the women's hammer earlier this season, broke her own year-old meet record, throwing 237-8 (72.46m). In the same event, Stanford's Jordan Fong set lifetime bests on each of her first three throws, finishing at 203-9 (62.11m) for third. Fong leapfrogged Jaynie Goodbody (200-5, 61.08m in 2010) into No. 3 on Stanford's all-time list.
The throws also were notable in that Virginia Miller's repeat victory extending Stanford's winning streak in the women's javelin to 19. Miller threw 179-10 (54.83m) in an event that closed out the meet.
Though women's final margin was only 10 points, Stanford last had a chance to win when Laurel Wong won the pole vault and Kelly Kern tied for second, closing the deficit to 69.5-60.5 with three events left. But a Bears' sweep of the triple jump clinched the victory with two events left, extending the lead to 78.5-60.5. It was Cal's second consecutive in the women's series, the first back-to-back victories for the Bears since winning three in a row from 1994-96.
The Stanford women fell behind after three events, 22-1, and never recovered. The men's team was in it throughout, leading 71-69 with three events left, after sweeping the 3,000, thanks to Evan Burke, Joshua Schumacher, and Nolan Topper.
It was Topper's effort that characterized the fight for every point. In a dual over the final laps with Cal's Colin FitzGerald for third, Topper outleaned FitzGerald by 0.001 to capture the point.
Lucy Jenks won the 1,500 (pictured here) and 3,000. Photo by John P. Lozano/ISIphotos.com.
However, Cal won the 4x400 relay and swept the javelin to take an 83-71 lead and clinch the team victory with only the triple jump – with Stanford's Keyshawn King winning (51-10 ½, 15.81m) – to go.
Several Stanford athletes came back less than 24 hours after competing at the Payton Jordan Invitational on the same track. Among them was Ky Robinson, who engineered a Stanford sweep of the 3,000 steeplechase. Max Manson won the pole vault in both meets, and Max McKhann set lifetime bests in the men's hammer on consecutive days, topping out at 209-4 (63.81m). John Lester also earned consecutive victories, in the men's 800.
Allie Jones, holder of the school heptathlon record, competed in five events for Stanford, winning the high jump and 100 hurdles. She also led off the 4x100 relay and competed in the javelin and long jump, though didn't score in either.
Perhaps no one characterized the competitiveness and grit of the meet better than Stanford freshman Maya Valmon. In the 400, she was on the shoulder of Cal's Aly Conyers despite being on the outside lane to Conyers on the curve. Both fought for every step down the homestretch, with Valmon earning a narrow victory. Valmon's time of 53.65 was lifetime best by more than 1.3 seconds.
Stanford now heads into the postseason, with the Pac-12 Championships (May 13-15) next, in Eugene, Oregon.
John Lester won the 800 in different meets on consecutive days. Photo by John P. Lozano/ISIphotos.com.
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Big Meet
At Cobb Track and Angell Field
Men
Team score – California 86, Stanford 77.
100 – 1, Udodi Onwuzurike (Stanford) 10.20 (meet record); 2, Dorien Simon (Stanford) 10.42; 3, George Monroe (Cal) 10.56; 6, John Kroeger (Stanford) 10.76 (PB).
200 – 1, Udodi Onwuzurike (Stanford) 20.97; 2, Dorien Simon (Stanford) 21.51; 3, George Monroe (Cal) 21.61.
400 – 1, Henry Larkin (Cal) 47.30; 2, Karson Lippert (Stanford) 47.46; 3, Olufemi Cole (Stanford) 48.79.
800 – 1, John Lester (Stanford) 1:53.23; 2, Ben Micallef (Cal) 1:54.31; 3, Moises Medrano (Cal) 1:55.18; 4, DJ Principe (Stanford) 1:56.45; 5, Liam Conway (Stanford) 1:56.92; 6, Nick Feffer (Stanford) 1:58.66.
1,500 – 1, Garrett MacQuiddy (Cal) 3:49.30; 2, Cole Sprout (Stanford) 3:49.50; 3, Charles Hicks (Stanford) 3:52.88; 4, Thomas Boyden (Stanford) 3:55.82; 5, Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau (Stanford) 3:57.70; 8, Robert DiDonato (Stanford) 3:59.62.
3,000 – 1, Evan Burke (Stanford) 8:12.06; 2, Joshua Schumacher (Stanford) 8:14.81 (PB); 3, Nolan Topper (Stanford) 8:17.27; 5, Michael Vernau (Stanford) 8:23.65; 8, Galen Topper (Stanford) 8:42.29; 9, Liam Anderson (Stanford) 8:53.64.
100 hurdles – 1, Hakim McMorris (Cal) 14.76; 2, Bobby Wood (Stanford) 15.46 (PB); 3, Riley Knott (Cal) 16.02.
400 hurdles – 1, William Sornberger (Cal) 53.97; 2, Bobby Wood (Stanford) 55.70; 3, Jimmy Dessouki (Cal) 56.40.
3,000 steeplechase – 1, Ky Robinson (Stanford) 8:53.00; 2, Michael Vernau (Stanford) 9:11.07; 3, Devin Hart (Stanford) 9:22.96 (PB).
4x100 relay – 1, Stanford (Dorien Simon, Olufemi Cole, Karson Lippert, Udodi Onwuzurike) 39.75 (meet record; No. 3 Stanford AT); 2, California 39.91.
4x400 relay – 1, California 3:11.94; 2, Stanford (Karson Lippert, Nick Feffer, Liam Conway, John Lester) 3:20.62.
High jump – 1, Jai Williams (Cal) 6-8 ¾ (2.05m); 2, Riley Knott (Cal) 6-4 ¾ (1.95m); 3, James Stevens (Stanford) 6-4 ¾ (1.95m); 4, Garrett Brown (Stanford) 5-7 (1.70m).
Pole vault – 1, Max Manson (Stanford) 17-1 (5.21m); 2, Garrett Brown (Stanford) 16-7 ¼ (5.06m); 3, J.T. Herrscher (Stanford) 15-7 ¼ (4.76m).
Long jump – 1, Hakim McMorris (Cal) 24-2 ½ (7.38m); 2, Mason Mangum (Cal) 24-1 (7.34m); 3, Kamau Carlisle (Cal) 23-10 (7.26m); 4, Keyshawn King (Stanford) 23-10w (7.26m), 22-9 (6.93m); 5, John Kroeger (Stanford) 22-11 ¼ (6.99m); 6, Kevin Yang (Stanford) 21-10 ¼ (6.66m); Marcus Floyd (Stanford) F.
Triple jump – 1, Keyshawn King (Stanford) 51-10 ½ (15.81m); 2, Isaiah Shaw (Cal) 49-3 ¾ (15.03m); 3, Kevin Yang (Stanford) 48-8 ¾ (14.85m); 4, Marcus Floyd (Stanford) 46-7 ½ (14.21m) (PB).
Shot put – 1, Josh Johnson (Cal) 61-5 ¾ (18.74m); 2, Jeff Duensing (Cal) 60-1 ¾ (18.33m); 3, Iffy Joyner (Cal) 57-2 ¾ (17.44m); 5, Sam Liokumovich (Stanford) 54-3 ¼ (16.54m); 7, Garin Gross (Stanford) 40-10 ¼ (12.45m).
Discus – 1, Mykolas Alekna (Cal) 222-0 (67.68m) (collegiate record; meet record); 2, Iffy Joyner (Cal) 203-11 (62.17m); 3, Josh Johnson (Cal) 182-6 (55.64m); 5, Sam Liokumovich (Stanford) 158-11 (48.44m); 7, Max McKhann (Stanford) 152-5 (46.47m); 9, Garin Gross (Stanford) 140-4 (42.77m) (PB); 10, James Wright (Stanford) 125-4 (38.22m) (PB).
Javelin – 1, Riley Knott (Cal) 152-2 (46.38m); 2, Hakim McMorris (Cal) 147-4 (44.92m); 3, Ivar Moisander (Cal) 142-7 (43.46m); 4, Max McKhann (Stanford) 138-7 (42.24m); 5, Sam Liokumovich (Stanford) 136-3 (41.53m) (PB); 7, James Wright (Stanford) 99-8 (30.38m) (PB); 8, Garin Gross (Stanford) 77-10 (23.74m) (PB).
Hammer – 1, Ivar Moisander (Cal) 215-2 (65.59m); 2, Max McKhann (Stanford) 209-4 (63.81m) (PB); 3, Michael Gupta (Cal) 195-10 (59.69m); 4, James Wright (Stanford) 165-9 (50.53m); Anthony Argyropoulos (Stanford) F.
Women
Team score – California 81.5, Stanford 71.5.
100 – 1, Ezinne Abba (Cal) 11.10w; 2, Kennedy Gamble (Stanford) 11.42w; 3, Maisie Stevens (Cal) 11.42w; 7, Megan Olomu (Stanford) 12.10w; 8, Teagan Zwaanstra (Stanford) 12.32 (PB).
200 – 1, Ezinne Abba (Cal) 23.22w; 2, Maisie Stevens (Cal) 23.57w; 3, Kennedy Gamble (Stanford) 23.69w; 5, Megan Olomu (Stanford) 25.15; 7, Camille Peisner (Stanford) 26.65w.
400 – 1, Maya Valmon (Stanford) 53.65 (PB; No. 4 Stanford frosh); 2, Aly Conyers (Cal) 54.15; 3, Ryan Lacefield (Cal) 57.28; 4, Camille Peisner (Stanford) 59.99.
800 – 1, Christina Aragon (Stanford) 2:07.03; 2, Ellie Deligianni (Stanford) 2:07.31; 3, Morgan Foster (Stanford) 2:10.10; 4, Lily Flynn (Stanford) 2:11.54; 5, Hannah Wilson (Stanford) 2:13.44; 6, Melissa Tanaka (Stanford) 2:15.93.
1,500 – 1, Lucy Jenks (Stanford) 4:23.61; 2, Ellie Deligianni (Stanford) 4:23.76; 3, Melissa Tanaka (Stanford) 4:24.33; 7, Lily Flynn (Stanford) 4:29.88; 8, Jessica Lawson (Stanford) 4:30.20; 9, Alex Stout (Stanford) 4:31.71 (PB).
3,000 – 1, Lucy Jenks (Stanford) 9:37.64; 2, Audrey Suarez (Stanford) 9:37.65; 3, Julia Heymach (Stanford) 9:37.71; 5, Grace Connolly (Stanford) 9:47.47.
100 hurdles – 1, Allie Jones (Stanford) 13.80; 2, Jada Hicks (Cal) 14.00; 3, Jordyn Grady (Cal) 14.33.
400 hurdles – 1, Samantha Thomas (Stanford) 1:01.21; 2, Jordyn Grady (Cal) 1:09.17.
4x100 relay – 1, California 44.39; 2, Stanford (Allie Jones, Kennedy Gamble, Megan Olomu, Maya Valmon) 45.62.
4x400 relay – 1, Stanford (Samantha Thomas, Maya Valmon, Camille Peisner, Ellie Deligianni) 3:44.68; 2, California 3:45.27.
High jump – 1, Allie Jones (Stanford) 5-5 (1.65m); 2, Yan Hei Lai (Cal) 5-5 (1.65m); 3 (tie), Valerie Przekop (Stanford), Caitlin Bailey (Cal), each 5-1 (1.55m).
Pole vault – 1, Laurel Wong (Stanford) 13-3 ½ (4.05m); 2 (tie), Amari Turner (Cal), Kelly Kern (Stanford) each 12-9 ½ (3.90m); 4, Lianne Kistler (Stanford) 12-3 ½ (3.75m).
Long jump – 1, Asha Fletcher (Cal) 19-8 1/4w (6.00m); 2, Ijeoma Uche (Cal) 19-2 3/4w (5.86m); 3, Felicia Renelus (Cal) 18-10w (5.74m); 4, Teagan Zwaanstra (Stanford) 18-7 ¾ (5.68m); 5, Tess Stapleton (Stanford) 18-7 ¼ (5.67m); 7, Allie Jones (Stanford) 17-10 ¾ (5.45m).
Triple jump – 1, Asha Fletcher (Cal) 43-1w (13.13m); 2, Felicia Renelus (Cal) 41-8 ¾ (12.72m); 3, Busola Akinduro (Cal) 40-11 (12.47m); 4, Elise Miller (Stanford) 40-5 ½ (12.33m); 5, Allyson Weiss (Stanford) 40-0 (12.19m); 6, Ellie Talius (Stanford) 38-5 ½ (11.72m).
Shot put – 1, Amelia Flynt (Cal) 52-2 (15.90m); 2, Kristin Smoot (Cal) 50-2 ¾ (15.31m); 3, Sara Pettinger (Cal) 45-6 ¼ (13.87m); 4, Brandy Atuatasi (Stanford) 44-0 ¾ (13.43m); 5, Kaiah Fisher (Stanford) 43-11 ¼ (13.39m); 6, Jordan Fong (Stanford) 42-0 ½ (12.81m).
Discus – 1, Jasmine Blair (Cal) 183-1 (55.80m); 2, Amelia Flynt (Cal) 167-8 (51.12m); 3, Kaiah Fisher (Stanford) 156-2 (47.62m); 5, Brandy Atuatasi (Stanford) 151-11 (46.32m).
Javelin – 1, Virginia Miller (Stanford) 179-10 (54.83m); 2, Francesca Macias (Cal) 134-2 (40.91m); 3, Jordan Fong (Stanford) 130-7 (39.81m) (PB); 4, Allie Jones (Stanford) 108-10 (33.19m).
Hammer – 1, Camryn Rogers (Cal) 237-8 (72.46m) (meet record); 2, Anna Purchase (Cal) 220-3 (67.14m); 3, Jordan Fong (Stanford) 203-9 (62.11m) (PB; No. 3 Stanford AT).