Courtesy: Stanford Athletics

04/21/2016 STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford Twilight meet was created this year to give collegiate distance runners a spotlight and greater opportunities to earn NCAA and Olympic Trials qualifying times.

Runners from 13 schools are competing at Cobb Track and Angell Field, representing some of the top distance programs in the country, including Boise State, Colorado, Georgetown, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Villanova, and Wisconsin. The meet is centered around three distances – the 800, 1,500, and 5,000 meters, for men and women. A closer look of highlighted events is provided below.


Meet information:

Stanford Twilight
When: Friday
Where: Cobb Track and Angell Field
Events begin: Field, 2 p.m.; Running, 7 p.m.

Follow the action:

Entries/Live results: Click here
Event schedule: Click here

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Meet Twitter: @StanfordMeets
Stanford Twitter: @stanfordXCTF
Stanford Instagram: StanfordXCTF

Tickets: Admission is free.
Parking: Beginning at 1 p.m., the Varsity Lot next to Sunken Diamond is free. Parking is free anywhere on campus after 4 p.m.


Highlighted events, in order of schedule

7:10 p.m., Women's 800: Two-time NCAA outdoor 800 runner-up Claudia Saunders of Stanford is part of a loaded field that includes veteran U.S. national teamer Maggie Vessey and the unveiling of Georgetown's Sarah Schmidt … Georgetown's contingent features two members of its NCAA Indoor-winning distance medley relay: Emma Keenan and Heather Martin … Vessey owns the fastest PB in the field (1:57.84) and holds the Stanford Invitational meet record … Saunders is the Stanford school-record holder at 2:00.63 and is coming off a swift 2:03.63 to win the Big Meet dual against Cal … Oklahoma State's Savannah Camacho was the 2014 NCAA Indoor runner-up and a three-time NCAA finalist with a best of 2:02.84 … Schmidt is a freshman from Germany making her collegiate individual-event debut. She was second at the European Junior Championships last year and has a best of 2:01.44. The Georgetown record is 2:02.35 set by Treniere Clement in 2004.

7:20 p.m., Men's 800: This looks like a battle between Penn State freshman sensation Isaiah Harris and four-time Big East champion Joseph White of Georgetown … Harris ran 1:46.05 at the Florida Relays in his collegiate outdoor 800 debut on April 2 and is the fourth-fastest collegian this season. Earlier, the Maine native won the Big Ten indoor 800 title … Christian Soratos grew up in Salinas, 60 miles from Stanford, and has come a long way since he was a local high school runner. As a Salinas High senior, Soratos was 10th in the Central Coast Section 1,600 in 4:35.54. Five years later, he was an NCAA champion, winning the 2015 indoor meet while at Montana State … White is the reigning Big East 800 champion indoors and outdoors and has bests of 1:47.40 (800) and 47.07 (400).

8 p.m., Women's 1,500: Judging from its performances at the Stanford Invitational, Stanford has a growing collection of outstanding 1,500 runners. Six Cardinal have run under 4:18 and four – Elise Cranny, Rebecca Mehra, Claudia Saunders, and Malika Waschmann – are on the entry list for this race … Cranny, who has run 4:10.95, returned late in the indoor season after months off from injury and is working herself back to the form that made her the first true freshman in four years to reach the NCAA outdoor 1,500 final, last spring … Andrea Keklak led off Georgetown's NCAA-winning DMR team in March and came back a day later to place fourth in the mile … Annemarie Schwanz has set two Fresno State records this month, running a 16:05.58 5,000 at the Stanford Invitational and 4:17.03 in the 1,500 at the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa … Ellie Staker was an NAIA indoor 800 champ while at Embry-Riddle and now runs for New  Balance's Big Bear TC.

8:20 p.m., Men's 1,500: Five collegiate runners in the field have seed times of under 3:40 for 1,500 and that list does not include 3:53 miler Sean McGorty, or two other sub-4 Stanford milers – freshman Grant Fisher and Tom Coyle. This one promises to be fast … McGorty runs the 1,500 this week and then the 5,000 at the Payton Jordan Invitational next week. His indoor 3:53.95 was a Stanford absolute mile record and made him the second-fastest American collegian ever indoors on any-sized track … this will be Fisher's home collegiate track debut. He set a 1,500 best of 3:42.86 in his collegiate track debut two weeks ago at the Big Meet, placing behind McGorty and Coyle … McGorty is familiar with Penn State's Brannon Kidder. He is a 1:45.58 800 runner who was the NCAA outdoor runner-up in that event last year. Kidder outleaned McGorty to the finish of the Penn State National indoor DMR with both teams running among the top-10 times in collegiate history … look out for Boise State's David Elliott, fifth in the NCAA Indoor mile … Georgetown boasts three sub-4 milers – Amos Bartelsmeyer, Ahmed Bile, and Michael Lederhouse.

8:45 p.m., Women's 5,000: Two-time Pac-12 cross country champion Aisling Cuffe opens her outdoor season with the big picture in mind. She is a two-time NCAA 5,000 runner-up and will be working toward Olympic Trials qualifying and being in top fitness for the NCAA's. Because of injury, Cuffe raced once indoors this year, but hasn't run an outdoor track race since placing fourth at the 2014 U.S. Championships … Tansey Lystad makes her outdoor debut for Boise State as a graduate transfer from Portland, where she won the 2014 West Coast Conference cross country title. She set her personal record 15:42.22 on this track at last year's Payton Jordan.


Stanford sprinters, throwers compete at Baylor

WACO, Texas – While Stanford distance runners look toward the Twilight and Payton Jordan meets as the key portion of the regular season, the sprinters, jumpers, and throwers are looking to Baylor's Michael Johnson Invitational for the same reason.

This will be an opportunity – with fast competition and a fast track – to get into the NCAA Prelims and challenge lifetime bests.

Meet information:

Michael Johnson Invitational
When: Saturday
Where: Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium
Location: Waco, Texas
Events begin: 9 a.m. PT

Follow the action:

Entries/Live results: Click here.
Event schedule: Click here

Flotrack premium webcast: Click here

Stanford schedule (all times Pacific)

9 a.m.: Men's hammer (Tristen Newman)
Followed by women's hammer (Valarie Allman, Lena Giger)
9 a.m.: Women's javelin (Mackenzie Little, Victoria Smith)
Followed by men's javelin (Andrew Rondema)
11 a.m.: Women's long jump (Daryth Gayles, Marisa Kwiatkowski)
11 a.m.: Men's shot put (Tristen Newman)
11 a.m.: Men's pole vault (Dylan Duvio, Harrison Williams)
11 a.m.: Women's 100 hurdles (Hannah Labrie-Smith)
Followed by men's 110 hurdles (Harrison Williams)
Noon: Men's high jump (Dartis Willis II)
12:15 p.m.: Women's 400 (Gaby Gayles, Missy Mongiovi, Kaitlyn Williams)
12:50 p.m.: Women's 400 hurdles (Hannah Labrie-Smith)
Followed by men's 400 hurdles (Daniel Brady)
1:15 p.m.: Women's 200 (Michaela Crunkleton Wilson)
Followed by men's 200 (Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Harrison Williams)
1:30 p.m.: Men's discus (Nick Budincich)
Followed by women's discus (Valarie Allman)
1:30 p.m.: Women's shot put (Lena Giger)
2 p.m.: Women's triple jump (Carla Forbes, Marisa Kwiatkowski)
3 p.m.: Women's pole vault (Kaitlyn Merritt)
4:15 p.m.: Women's 400 (Olivia Baker, Kristyn Williams)
4:30 p.m.: Men's triple jump (Darian Brooks)
5:30 p.m.: Men's 400 hurdles (Jackson Shumway)
6:20 p.m.: Women's 4x400 relay (Stanford)
Followed by men's 4x400 relay (Stanford)