ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – As the fastest under-20 quartermiler in the Western Hemisphere, freshman Will Floyd was going to make an impact on the Stanford track and field program, and he has.
On Saturday, Floyd broke the Stanford freshmen indoor record in the 400 meters, running 46.46 to place fifth in the invitational section at the Don Kirby Invitational at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The previous record was 46.95, set by Andrew Dargie in 2008.
Floyd makes his first foray into Stanford's all-time top-10 indoor 400 list, at No. 3. Floyd was the 2023 Pan Am U20 400 champion, placed fourth in the World U20 Championships, and holds the Canadian U20 record at that distance.
There were two improvements in the top-10 lists: Tess Stapleton jumped from No. 9 to No. 5 in the 60 hurdles, clocking 8.60. And Cydney Wright ran 53.57 to place fifth in the invitational 400 to move up three spots to No. 7 on the Cardinal list.
Wright's time adds to an already impressive season. On Friday, she ran 23.44 in the 200 for No. 3 in Stanford history. Stapleton also has had a strong indoor season, having set personal records in the 60 hurdles and long jump.
At the Husky Classic at University of Washington's Dempsey Indoor facility, Thomas Boyden made a big step in his comeback, running the mile in 4:00.12. Boyden ran a 3:57.06 mile on the same 307-meter flat track at Dempsey at the UW Indoor Preview 13 months ago, but had been out of action for a year until the Terrier Classic on January 26.
In the three meets since his return, Boyden's mile time has dropped from 4:12.23 to 4:07.47 to 4:00.12.
In the women's 800, 2023 NCAA outdoor championships qualifier Taylor James ran an indoor personal best of 2:06.82 to place third in her section and ninth overall at the Husky Classic.
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Saturday's results
Don Kirby Invitational
At Albuquerque (N.M.) Convention Center
200-meter banked track
Winners and all Stanford results
Men
60 – Unseeded: 29, Gabriel Ajaegbu (Stanford) 7.21 (PB); 37, Joseph Bailey (Stanford) 7.41 (PB); Allan Hunter (Stanford) DNF; James Stevens (Stanford) DNF.
400 – Invitational: 1, Dylan Gibson (Southern Utah) 46.21; 5, Will Floyd (Stanford) 46.46 (No. 3 Stanford AT; No. 2 Stanford frosh).
60 hurdles – Prelims: Garrett Brown (Stanford) DNF.
Triple jump – 1, Gabriel Binion (UTSA) 52-0 ½ (15.86m); 7, Kevin Yang (Stanford) 50-6 ¾ (15.41m).
Shot put – 1, Jeff Duensing (Cal) 60-0 ½ (18.30m); 18, Garin Gross (Stanford) 50-3 ¼ (15.32m); Mason McKhann (Stanford) NM.
Women
60 – Invitational prelims: 17, Alaysia Oakes (Stanford) 7.58; 21, Alyssa Jones (Stanford) 7.61. Unseeded: 32, Megan Olomu (Stanford) 7.84.
400 – Invitational: 1, Ella Clayton (Oregon) 52.41; 5, Cydney Wright (Stanford) 53.59 (No. 7 Stanford AT); 15, Samantha Thomas (Stanford) 54.87.
800 – 1, MaLeigha Menegatti (unat.) 2:06.77; 5, Cate Peters (Stanford) 2:10.21.
60 hurdles – Invitational prelims: 19, Tess Stapleton (Stanford) 8.60 (PB; No. 5 Stanford AT). Open: 5, Sky Schuller (Stanford) 9.34.
4x400 relay – 1 Oregon 3:31.34; 5, Stanford (Maya Valmon, Samantha Thomas, Camille Peisner, Sage Hinton) 3:40.69.
Pole vault – 1, Ka'Leila Abrille (UCLA) 14-5 ¼ (4.40m); 6, Sky Schuller (Stanford) 13-0 ¾ (3.98m).
Triple jump – 1, Emilia Sjostrand (San Jose State) 45-9 ¾ (13.96m); 29, Alaysia Oakes (Stanford) 38-8 ¾ (11.80m).
Shot put – 1, Mya Lesnar (Colorado State) 62-6 ¾ (19.07m); 13, Kaiah Fisher (Stanford) 45-5 ¼ (13.85m); 18, Brandy Atuatasi (Stanford) 42-6 ¼ (12.96m).
Husky Classic
At Dempsey Indoor (Seattle, Wash.)
307-meter flat track
Winners and all Stanford results
Men
800 – 1, Colin Sahlman (Northern Arizona) 1:47.88; 54, Galen Topper (Stanford) 2:01.06; 55, Lorenzo Botter (Stanford) 2:01.74.
Mile – 1, Aaron Las Heras (Northern Arizona) 3:58.22; 5, Thomas Boyden (Stanford) 4:00.12; 49, Nolan Topper (Stanford) 4:08.85; 87, Caleb Boutelle (Stanford) 4:18.42.
Women
800 – 1, Meghan Hunter (BYU) 2:02.17; 9, Taylor James (Stanford) 2:06.82; 29, Madison Shults (Stanford) 2:12.26; 32, Hillary Studdert (Stanford) 2:12.78.
Mile – 1, Chloe Foerster (Washington) 4:28.14; 34, Riley Stewart (Stanford) 4:47.00; 58, Nicola Hogg (Stanford) 4:52.16; 65, Amelia Everett (Stanford) 4:53.99.
