WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Sophomore Lex Young delivered Stanford’s first points of the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday as the three-day meet opened at Kentner Stadium.
Young earned the highest conference finish of his collegiate career by placing second in the men’s 10,000 meters in 28:55.29. Young kept pace with North Carolina’s Parker Wolfe until the bell, when the reigning NCAA outdoor 5,000 champion pulled away and won by four seconds.
This marked the fifth consecutive year that a Stanford runner placed in the top two of the men's 10,000 at the conference championships. In Stanford's former conference, the Pac-12, Charles Hicks won in 2021 and 2022 and was second in 2023, and Ky Robinson won in 2024.
As a freshman, Young was sixth in the 10,000 at the Pac-12 Championships and sixth in the 5,000 at the ACC Indoor Championships. His second-place finish seemed another step in his national emergence. He entered the weekend with the eighth-best time in NCAA Division I this season.
There were only three finals each in the men’s and women’s competitions, so Young was the only Cardinal scorer on Day One. Except for the 10,000, all Thursday’s running events were prelims. Of those, Stanford qualified four men and one woman to Saturday’s finals. Friday’s schedule will offer more running prelims.
The top two placers in each of the four men’s 1,500 heats advanced automatically, which is how Leo Young and Zane Bergren advanced. Plus, freshman James Dargan earned the third of four timed qualifying spots, placing fifth in the fast Heat 1 in a personal best 3:40.98.
Leo Young, Lex’s twin, cruised down the homestretch of Heat 3 with Notre Dame’s Daelen Ackley, actually winning the race by 0.01, but with both assured of advancing. Young ran 3:43.52.
Bergen came from fourth on the backstretch to whip around two other runners on the turn and took the second qualifying spot from Heat 4 in 3:45.52.
Caleb Boutelle did not advance, but ran a personal best of 3:46.42.
In the women’s 1,500, Stanford sophomore Sophia Kennedy was third in Heat 3, but with the third-fastest time overall, to qualify on time, in 4:15.30.
In the 400 hurdles, three Stanford competitors earned personal records, with freshman Ryce Reynolds advancing to the men’s final.
Reynolds was fifth in his Heat 2 on the final turn, but passed everyone down the stretch except for Clemson’s Jayden Brown, who held off the fast-closing Reynolds. Reynolds clocked 51.13, a personal record. Reynolds now is the second-fastest freshman in school history, trailing only NCAA champion Amaechi Morton.
In the next heat, Stanford’s Joseph Bailey shattered his personal record by nearly a full second, running 52.17, though he did not advance.
Reynolds now is No. 5 on Stanford’s all-time list. Bailey is No. 14.
Another Top-10 addition was Sevilla Duran in the women’s 400 hurdles. The graduate transfer from Columbia broke the 60-second barrier for the first time, running 59.60 for No. 9 at Stanford all-time, just behind Kala Stepter (59.42, 2013), the niece of Stanford’s sprints/hurdles coach Rahn Sheffield. Duran improved 2.84 seconds from her personal record coming into the season.
Friday’s action features four finals in events that include Stanford athletes: the men’s and women’s long jump, men’s pole vault, and men’s shot put. Stanford has a chance to score in all of them, with three-time conference long-jump champion Alyssa Jones headlining her main event.
Thursday’s results
ACC Outdoor Championships
At Kentner Stadium, Wake Forest Univ.
Winners and all Stanford
Men
Team scores (3 of 21 scored) – 1, California 27; Stanford 0.
200 – Prelims: 18, Gabriel Ajaegbu (Stanford) 21.76.
1,500 – Prelims: 5, James Dargan (Stanford) 3:40.98q (PB); 12, Leo Young (Stanford) 3:43.52Q; 21, Zane Bergen (Stanford) 3:45.52Q; 25, Caleb Boutelle (Stanford) 3:46.42 (PB).
10,000 – Final: 1, Parker Wolfe (North Carolina) 28:51.09; 2, Lex Young (Stanford) 28:55.29; 17, Nolan Topper (Stanford) 30:02.18; 23, Robert DiDonato (Stanford) 30:14.85.
400 hurdles – Prelims: 7, Ryce Reynolds (Stanford) 51.13q (PB; No. 5 Stanford AT; No. 2 Stanford frosh); 12, Joseph Bailey (Stanford) 52.17 (PB).
Hammer – 1, Christian Toro (Duke) 224-3 (68.35); 16, Mason McKhann (Stanford) 190-2 (57.96).
Women
Team scores (3 of 21 scored) – 1, Duke 30; 6, Stanford 8.
1,500 – Prelims: 3, Sophia Kennedy (Stanford) 4:15.30q; 30, Hillary Studdert (Stanford) 4:27.15; 32, Julia Flynn (Stanford) 4:27.55; 36, Imogen Gardiner (Stanford) 4:32.58.
400 hurdles – Prelims: 13, Sevilla Duran (Stanford) 59.60 (PB; No. 9 Stanford AT); 26, Madison Romain (Stanford) 1:24.83.
Pole vault – 1, Lyndsey Reed (Virginia Tech) 14-6 (4.42); 14, Sky Schuller (Stanford) 12-6 ¼ (3.82); 16, Lianne Kistler (Stanford) 12-6 ¼ (3.82).
PB = personal best
AT = all-time
Q = qualified on place
q = qualified on time
Stanford’s Schedule (all times Pacific)
Friday
Noon: Women’s long jump prelims and final (Ariana Guerrero, Alyssa Jones, Alaysia Oakes, Teagan Zwaanstra).
1 p.m.: Men’s shot put prelims and final (Sam Liokumovich).
2:30 p.m.: Men’s pole vault prelims and final (Garrett Brown).
3 p.m.: Men’s long jump prelims and final (John Kroeger).
3:40 p.m.: Women’s 400 prelims (top 1+5) (H3: Sage Hinton).
3:55 p.m.: Men’s 400 prelims (top 1+5) (H1: Zachary Ryan).
4 p.m.: Women’s shot put prelims and final (Kaiah Fisher).
4:15 p.m.: Women’s 100 prelims (top 1+5) (H1: Alyssa Jones, Teagan Zwaanstra).
4:45 p.m.: Women’s 800 prelims (top 2+2) (H2: Amelia Everett, Roisin Willis).
5 p.m.: Men’s 800 prelims (top 2+2) (H1: Zane Bergen).
Saturday
11 a.m.: Men’s discus prelims and final (F2: Sam Liokumovich).
11 a.m.: Women’s high jump prelims and final (Alyssa Jones).
11:30 a.m.: Women’s triple jump prelims and final (F1: Ariana Guerrero; F2: Alaysia Oakes).
2 p.m.: Women’s discus prelims and final (Kaiah Fisher).
2:30 p.m.: Men’s triple jump prelims and final (F2: Xavier Drumgoole).
2:30 p.m.: Women’s 4x100 relay final (S2: Stanford).
2:40 p.m.: Men’s 4x100 relay (S2: Stanford).
2:50 p.m.: Women’s 1,500 final (Sophia Kennedy).
6 p.m.: Men’s 1,500 final (Zane Bergen, James Dargan, Leo Young).
3:30 p.m.: Women’s 400 final.
3:40 p.m.: Men’s 400 final.
3:50 p.m.: Women’s 100 final.
4:10 p.m.: Women’s 800 final.
4:20 p.m.: Men’s 800 final.
4:40 p.m.: Men’s 400 hurdles final (Ryce Reynolds).
5:10 p.m.: Women’s 5,000 final (Audrey DaDamio, Sophia Kennedy).
5:30 p.m.: Men’s 5,000 final (Thomas Boyden, James Dargan, Robert DiDonato, Milo Skapinsky, Cole Sprout, Leo Young).
5:45 p.m.: Women’s 4x400 relay (S1: Stanford).
5:55 p.m.: Men’s 4x400 relay (S1: Stanford).