WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Stanford junior Roisin Willis ran under the women’s 800-meter meet record while finishing third at the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday.
Willis ran a season best 2:00.43 in a fast race that should feature each of the top three contending for an NCAA title. Clemson’s Gladys Chepngetich won in 1:59.94 and North Carolina’s Makayla Paige was second in 2:00.21 in the highly-anticipated race. All three were under the meet record of 2:00.70 by Clemson’s Laurie Barton in 2021.
Sophomore Sophia Kennedy was second in the women’s 5,000 meters for Stanford’s highest placing on the meet’s third and final day, at Wake Forest University’s Kentner Stadium.
In her second race of the day, Kennedy stayed on the tail of Grace Hartman for seven laps before the North Carolina State runner pulled away. Kennedy ran 15:24.61 to Hartman’s 15:12.03. Two hours and 15 minutes earlier, Kennedy was ninth in the 1,500, in 4:15.16.
The Stanford women, which got a victory from long-jumper Alyssa Jones on Friday, finished in a tie for ninth with 46 points. The Cardinal men were 11th with 38.5.
This was Stanford's first ACC Outdoor Championships after competing in the Pac-12 and its predecessors since 1919.
Jones had three events on Saturday and opened with ninth in the high jump at 5-7 ¾ (1.72 meters). Jones, the ACC indoor high jump champion, had trouble from the start, missing on her first tries at her first two heights before going out completely at 5-9 ¾ (1.77).
But Jones rebounded in stunning fashion, placing fourth in the 100, and in 11.25. Jones, a junior, was a two-time Florida 3A 100 high school champ, but did not compete in individual sprints at Stanford until her sophomore outdoor season. Though she ran 11.53 in 2024, she didn’t make it out of the Pac-12 prelims in that event.
However, Jones won her 100 heat Friday in a personal best 11.37 and ran even faster Saturday. Her 11.25 won’t count for record purposes because it was aided by a 2.8 meter-per-second wind, otherwise she would have moved up one spot to No. 4 on Stanford’s all-time list.
Jones’ fourth place was Stanford’s best finish in a conference women’s 100 final since 2012 when Shataya Hendricks was third in the Pac-12. With Jones and Teagan Zwaanstra, who was eighth in 11.42, Stanford had two women in a conference 100 final since 2011 in the Pac-10.
Jones closed her day by running the second leg in the 4x100 relay with Zwaanstra leading off, and concluded by Alaysia Oakes and Sage Hinton. They placed fifth in a season-best 44.44.
The final event, the men’s 4x400 relay, was also a Stanford highlight. The team of Zachary Ryan, Olufemi Cole, John Kroeger, Ryce Reynolds ran 3:08.27 to win Section 1 and place fifth overall. Reynolds provided a blistering 45.97 anchor leg to give Stanford its fastest outdoor 4x400 since 2018.
The Cardinal men got a pair of third-place finishes in the distance events from Leo Young in the 1,500, in 3:45.32, and Cole Sprout in the 5,000, in 13:39.46. Sprout, a graduate student, has six top-three conference finishes in his collegiate career. For Young, that was the best conference placing yet for the sophomore.
Next for Stanford is the NCAA West Prelims May 28-31 in College Station, Texas, followed by the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.
Saturday’s results
ACC Outdoor Championships
At Kentner Stadium, Wake Forest Univ.
Winners and all Stanford
Men
Final team scores – 1, Duke 86; 2, North Carolina 82; 3, California 79.83; 4, Virginia Tech 78.33; 5, Florida State 74; 6, Clemson 70; 7, Pittsburgh 61; 8, Louisville 50.33; 9, Miami 50; 10, North Carolina State 40; 11, Stanford 38.5; 12, Wake Forest 28; 13, Virginia 25; 13, Virginia 25; 14, Notre Dame 20; 15, Syracuse 19; 16, Georgia Tech 15; 17, Boston College 0.
1,500 – 1, Ethan Strand (North Carolina) 3:44.78; 3, Leo Young (Stanford) 3:45.32; 9, James Dargan (Stanford) 3:46.97; 11, Zane Bergen (Stanford) 3:49.22.
5,000 – 1, Parker Wolfe (North Carolina) 13:13.49; 3, Cole Sprout (Stanford) 13:39.46; 5, Thomas Boyden (Stanford) 13:40.57; 15, Robert DiDonato (Stanford) 14:04.42; 18, James Dargan (Stanford) 14:17.07; Leo Young (Stanford) DNF; Milo Skapinsky (Stanford) DNF.
400 hurdles – 1, Devin Nugent (Pitt) 49.52; 8, Ryce Reynolds (Stanford) 51.34.
4x100 relay – 1, Florida State 39.05; 7, Stanford (Dylan Davis, Zachary Ryan, John Kroeger, Olufemi Cole) 40.29.
4x400 relay – 1, Pittsburgh 3:03.96; 5, Stanford (Zachary Ryan, Olufemi Cole, John Kroeger, Ryce Reynolds) 3:08.27.
Triple jump – 1, Kyvon Tatham (Florida State) 52-9 ½ (16.09); 10, Xavier Drumgoole (Stanford) 49-11 ¾ (15.23).
Discus – 1, Mykolas Alekna (Cal) 229-2 (69.86); 12, Sam Liokumovich (Stanford) 164-11 (50.26).
Women
Final team scores – 1, Virginia 93; 2, Louisville 89; 3, Clemson 86; 4, Florida State 73; 5, Duke 72; 6, California 61; 7, Miami 51; 8, North Carolina 48; 9 (tie), Stanford, Virginia Tech, 46; 11, North Carolina State 45; 12, Notre Dame 38; 13, Pittsburgh 23; 14 (tie), SMU, Wake Forest, 13; 16, Georgia Tech 11; 17, Syracuse 8; 18, Boston College 3.
100 (w: 2.8 mps) – 1, Shenese Walker (Florida State) 10.99; 4, Alyssa Jones (Stanford) 11.25; 8, Teagan Zwaanstra (Stanford) 11.42.
800 – 1, Gladys Chepngetich (Clemson) 1:59.94; 3, Roisin Willis (Stanford) 2:00.43.
1,500 – 1, Margot Appleton (Virginia) 4:11.28; 9, Sophia Kennedy (Stanford) 4:15.16.
5,000 – 1, Grace Hartman (North Carolina State) 15:12.03; 2, Sophia Kennedy (Stanford) 15:24.61; 15, Audrey DaDamio (Stanford) 16:09.01.
4x100 relay – 1, Florida State 43.15; 5, Stanford (Teagan Zwaanstra, Alyssa Jones, Alaysia Oakes, Sage Hinton) 44.44.
4x400 relay – 1, Duke 3:28.81; 9, Stanford (Sage Hinton, Roisin Willis, Cate Peters, Camille Peisner) 3:38.92.
High jump – 1, Celia Rifaterra (Virginia) 6-1 ¼ (1.86); 9, Alyssa Jones (Stanford) 5-7 ¾ (1.72).
Triple jump – 1, Shantae Foreman (Clemson) 44-4 ¼ (13.52); Ariana Guerrero (Stanford) F; Alaysia Oakes (Stanford) F.
Discus – 1, Jayden Ulrich (Louisville) 206-4 (62.89); 5, Kaiah Fisher (Stanford) 170-1 (51.84).