Of particular interest are the distance and multi-events. In the distances, the fields are set up so that fast times will get teams and individuals to nationals. The distance medley relays, especially for the men, area loaded. Stanford’s hope is that this weekend, the bulk of its top runners will run fast enough to get them through and not be forced into late qualifying attempts.
This should shape up to be a great opportunity for Olivia Baker, Vanessa Fraser, Claudia Saunders, Sean McGorty, Tom Coyle, and Collin Leibold to make bids.
In addition, Stanford’s top field-event athletes will perform as well. Except for Darian Brooks, whose school record 52-9 1/4 last week probably will be enough for qualification, the Cardinal may seek more from the likes of pole vaulters Dylan Duvio and Garrett Starkey, triple jumpers Jaak Uudmae and Marisa Kwiatkowski, and high jumper Dartis Willis II.
This also is a chance for Harrison Williams, the U.S. junior record holder in the decathlon, to compete in his first multi-sport competition in an extended season that could progress through the Olympic trials.
In all, Stanford brings 36 athletes, 18 men and 18 women.
Meet Information:
What: Penn State National
Where: University Park, Pa.
Site: Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track
Surface: 200-meter banked track.
Events: Friday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. PT; Saturday: 6:45 a.m.-3:05 p.m. PT
Heat sheets: Click here
Schedule of events: Click here
Follow the Action:
Live results: Click here
Webcast: FloPro (premium coverage begins Friday at 1 p.m. PT)
Stanford in USTFCCCA rankings:
Men: No. 14
Women: No. 14
Stanford competitors:
Men
Daniel Brady (500, 4x400)
Justin Brinkley (DMR, mile, 4x400)
Darian Brooks (triple jump)
Scott Buttinger (800, 4x400)
Tom Coyle (DMR, mile)
Dalton Duvio (pole vault)
Dylan Duvio (pole vault)
Dan Emery (pole vault)
Steven Fahy (3,000)
Collin Leibold (3,000)
Sean McGorty (DMR, mile)
Tristen Newman (weight throw, shot put)
Patrick Perrier (mile)
Jackson Shumway (DMR, 500, 4x400)
Garrett Starkey (pole vault)
Jaak Uudmae (triple jump)
Harrison Williams (heptathlon)
Dartis Willis II (high jump)
Men’s notes:
The distance medley relay team is three-fourths intact from the team that ran at the NCAA Championships, with Tom Coyle leading off (1,200 meters), Jackson Shumway in the 400 and Sean McGorty running anchor. Justin Brinkley is set for the 800 leg.
Coyle and McGorty are sub-4 milers, Shumway is an NCAA prelims qualifier in the 400 hurdles who matched his outdoor 400 best last week (47.71), and Brinkley was the 2013 U.S. junior national champion in the 1,500 with an 800 best of 1:50.29.
Coach Chris Miltenberg, Stanford’s Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, was attracted to the competitiveness of the DMR field, which includes 2015 NCAA runner-up Penn State and two others top-five finishers – Georgetown (fourth) and Villanova (fifth), the 2015 Penn Relays winner. Plus, Mississippi is a riser.
The meet sets aside the Saturday evening portion for invitational races and Stanford will return Brinkley, Coyle, and McGorty, and bring in Patrick Perrier for the mile. Miltenberg is unsure how the DMR’s might line up at nationals, but wants to qualify as many individuals in as many events as possible before deciding where they will run in Birmingham on March 11-12.
With a strong score this weekend, Williams can bypass the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation heptathlon and largely conserve his efforts for the NCAA’s. This will be his first multis competition since setting the American junior record. His impact was so great during his freshman season that Williams earned a No. 7 position in the annual U.S. rankings by Track & Field News. He should compete with South Carolina’s Markus Leemet, who placed 10th in the 2015 NCAA outdoor decathlon, behind Williams, who was fourth.
Collin Leibold, who surprised with a personal record mile of 4:02.65 on Jan. 16, a time that ranks No. 6 in the country, runs the 3,000. He will face former Stanford All-America Erik Olson.
At the season-opening UW Indoor Preview, three Stanford pole vaulters – Duvio, Starkey, and Williams -- cleared the winning height of 17-0. It was the first time in history that three Stanford vaulters cleared 17-0 in the same meet. Duvio and Starkey will be challenged by Virginia Tech’s trio that includes 2015 NCAA outdoor qualifier Brad Johnson, and national leaders Torben Laidig and freshman Deakin Volz (both 17-11), the son of 1992 Olympic vaulter Dave Volz.
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Stanford competitors:
Women
Valarie Allman (weight throw)
Olivia Baker (DMR, 800)
Maddy Berkson (DMR, 1,000)
Sophie Chase (3,000)
Michaela Crunkleton Wilson (60, 200 4x400)
Vanessa Fraser (1,000)
Gaby Gayles (200, 400, 4x400)
Lena Giger (weight throw, shot put)
Marisa Kwiatkowski (long jump, triple jump)
Hannah Long (DMR, 1,000)
Brittany McGee (pentathlon, high jump)
Jackie McNulty (pole vault)
Rebecca Mehra (DMR, 800)
Kaitlyn Merritt (pole vault)
Claudia Saunders (DMR, 800)
Malika Waschmann (DMR, 800)
Kaitlyn Williams (DMR, 400, 4x400)
Kristyn Williams (DMR, 400, 4x400)
Women’s notes:
Again, the distance medley relay is a focal point for the Cardinal. However, the Cardinal lineup is very fluid. Stanford has been the NCAA runner-up the past two years, with Claudia Saunders the only constant. Last year’s anchor, Elise Cranny, is being held back from competition until later in the season, and leadoff Jessica Tonn has graduated and is now running for Brooks.
The probable lineup is Saunders leading off at 1,200, Kristyn Williams at 400, Olivia Baker at 800, and Rebecca Mehra on the 1,600 anchor. The race should come down to a Stanford and Georgetown duel. The Hoyas finished just behind Stanford at the Penn Relays last spring and were seventh at the 2015 NCAA indoor meet. But can they push each other to NCAA qualifying times?
The 800 marks the first time that Baker, a sophomore, has run a collegiate indoor race at that distance. Baker and Saunders earned All-America honors last spring in the 800 – Saunders is a two-time NCAA outdoor runner-up – and could push each other to fast times. They raced together three times outdoors last spring, with Baker winning the matchup at the Big Meet and the Pac-12 Championships, and with Saunders ahead in their preliminary heat at NCAA Outdoors. They will be joined by Georgetown’s Andrea Keklak, the national leader in the 1,000.
Vanessa Fraser is among four 2015 cross-country All-Americans in what should be a fast 3,000. Also, an intriguing entry in the 20-pound weight throw is junior Valarie Allman, who will make her collegiate indoor debut. Allman was fifth at NCAA Outdoors in the discus and this is her first attempt at the weight throw, using it as a training tool for the discus.
Stanford also is due for an addition to its top 10 list in the five-event pentathlon. There hasn’t been one since 2012, but freshman Brittany McGee should change that in her collegiate multi-event debut.
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Stanford schedule (all times Pacific):
Friday:
9 a.m.: Women’s pentathlon (Brittany McGee)
9:15 a.m.: Men’s heptathlon, Day 1 (Harrison Williams)
1 p.m.: Women’s weight throw (Valarie Allman, Lena Giger)
1 p.m.: Women’s long jump (Marisa Kwiatkowski)
1 p.m.: Men’s invitational pole vault (Dalton Duvio, Dylan Duvio, Garrett Starkey)
1 p.m.: Men’s pole vault (Dan Emery)
3 p.m.: Men’s weight throw (Tristen Newman)
3:25 p.m.: Women’s 60 prelims (Michaela Crunkleton Wilson)
3:55 p.m.: Women’s invitational distance medley relay (‘A’: Claudia Saunders, Kristyn Williams, Olivia Baker, Rebecca Mehra; ‘B’: Malika Waschmann, Kaitlyn Williams, Maddy Berkson, Hannah Long)
4:10 p.m.: Men’s invitational distance medley relay (Tom Coyle, Jackson Shumway, Justin Brinkley, Sean McGorty)
4:45 p.m.: Women’s 60 semifinals (Michaela Crunkleton Wilson)
5:55 p.m.: Women’s 60 final (Michaela Crunkleton Wilson)
Saturday:
6:45 a.m.: Men’s heptathlon, Day 2 (Harrison Williams)
8 a.m.: Women’s 400 (Kaitlyn Williams)
8:45 a.m.: Men’s 500 (Daniel Brady)
9 a.m.: Women’s high jump (Brittany McGee)
9 a.m.: Men’s high jump (Dartis Willis)
9 a.m.: Women’s shot put (Lena Giger)
10 a.m.: Women’s 200 (Michaela Crunkleton Wilson)
Noon: Women’s invitational pole vault (Jackie McNulty, Kaitlyn Merritt)
Noon: Women’s triple jump (Marisa Kwiatkowski)
Noon: Men’s triple jump (Darian Brooks, Jaak Uudmae)
Noon: Men’s shot put (Tristen Newman)
12:10 p.m.: Men’s invitational mile (Justin Brinkley, Tom Coyle, Sean McGorty, Patrick Perrier)
12:25 p.m.: Women’s invitational 400 (Gaby Gayles, Kristyn Williams)
12:45 p.m.: Men’s invitational 500 (Daniel Brady, Jackson Shumway)
12:50 p.m.: Women’s invitational 1,000 (Maddy Berkson, Hannah Long)
1:05 p.m.: Women’s invitational 800 (Olivia Baker, Rebecca Mehra, Claudia Saunders, Malika Waschmann)
1:20 p.m.: Men’s invitational 800 (Scott Buttinger)
1:30 p.m.: Women’s invitational 200 (Gaby Gayles)
1:55 p.m.: Women’s invitational 3,000 (Sophie Chase, Vanessa Fraser)
2:50 p.m.: Men’s 4x400 relay (Jackson Shumway, Daniel Brady, Justin Brinkley, Scott Buttinger)
2:55 p.m.: Women’s invitational 4x400 relay (Michaela Crunkleton Wilson, Kaitlyn Williams, Kristyn Williams, Gaby Gayles).
