BOSTON – Udodi Onwuzurike secured a berth in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships by breaking his own Stanford indoor record in the 200 meters on Sunday at the Last Chance Indoor Qualifier.
Onwuzurike won in 20.56, breaking his own record of 20.61 that he ran on the same 200-meter banked track at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center on February 4 at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational. This was the eighth time this weekend that a Stanford indoor school record was tied or broken.
Onwuzurike, a sophomore seeking his first NCAA Indoor qualification, was on the bubble. The nation's top 16 in each individual event in NCAA Division I advance to nationals, which is March 10-11 at the Albuquerque (N.M.) Convention Center. He was tied for 16th, but vaulted to 13th on Sunday.
The qualifying window ends Monday and the championships entry list will be posted Tuesday before 7 p.m. PT. He also is in a four-way tie for 16th in the 60, with qualification still to be determined in that event.
Onwuzurike now has broken school records 11 times in his Stanford career. He only has run the indoor 200 twice in his two seasons and broke the Card standard both times. He holds Stanford records in the 60 and 200 indoors and 100 and 200 outdoors.
Though it won't be official until Tuesday, here are the Stanford athletes who appear to be in qualifying position through Sunday:
For the men, Onwuzurike (13th, 200), John Lester (11th, 800), Ky Robinson (seventh, 3,000; second, 5,000), Cole Sprout (15th, 3,000), Charles Hicks (11th, 5,000), Max McKhann (10th, weight throw).
For the women, Roisin Willis (first, 800), Juliette Whittaker (third, 800), Zofia Dudek (16th, 5,000), and Alyssa Jones (14th, long jump) among indviduals. Two relays also appear to qualify -- the distance medley team of Melissa Tanaka, Maya Valmon, Willis, and Whittaker (sixth), and the 4x400 team of Alexa Rossum, Whittaker, Valmon, and Willis (11th).
