May 24, 2011
Up Next
The Stanford track and field teams will travel to Eugene for the Preliminary Rounds of the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal athletes will look to advance through the opening rounds and qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, in two weeks. The Cardinal will send a total of 42 athletes to compete in 51 events and two relays.
Media
The University of Oregon will provide a free webcast of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds on its website, www.goducks.com. The webcast will commence at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday. Live results are availble at the link at the top of the page.
Stanford Men at the Preliminary Rounds
The No. 11 Stanford men had 23 athletes qualify for 28 events and a relay. The Cardinal are coming off a sixth-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships, but could be a threat at the NCAA Championships with several athletes capable of scoring points even at the NCAA finals. The Cardinal will be led in the distances with six runners in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and three in the steeplechase. The big three of Chris Derrick, Elliott Heath and Jake Riley are favorites to advance to the final and all are threats to score in both events. In the steeplechase, JT Sullivan is a returning All-American, while Benjamin Johnson has emerged to that level this season.
In addition to the distances, the Cardinal has one of the top 400-meter hurdlers in the nation in Amaechi Morton and the Pac-10 Champion in the discus. Several others will have the opportunity to advance to the final rounds of the NCAA Championships, as the fields will be reduced from 48 to 12.
Stanford Women at the Pac-10 Meet
The No. 20 women enter the preliminary rounds coming off a fifth-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships. The Cardinal moved back into the top-25 after improving on several marks at the conference meet. Traveling to Eugene will be 19 Stanford athletes, competing in 23 events and a relay. The Stanford women have been strong in a variety of events, starting on the field. Katerina Stefanidi was the indoor runner-up in the pole vault and will be looking to win the national title outdoors. Other top field atheltes are Whitney Liehr in the triple jump and Eda Karesin in the javelin.
On the track, freshman sensation Kori Carter is threat in both hurdle events, while Stephanie Marcy has been the top Cardinal runner in the distances. Carter broke the 24-year-old school record in the 400-meter hurdles at the Pac-10 meet, while Marcy took the conference title in the 10,000 meters.
Last Year at the Preliminary Rounds
Last year marked the first year of the new format as the Preliminary Rounds replaced the regional meets. Stanford had seven men, seven women and the women's 4x100-meter relay qualify through to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Cardinal men ended up eighth, while the women were 14th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.