The men’s and women’s track and field team will head to Ann Arbor, Michigan, this weekend to compete at the Power Five Invitational hosted by the University of Michigan on a 200-meter banked track. According to USTFCCCA rankings, the men’s team is ranked 14th and the women 16th.
The men’s 800 meter event will feature freshman Brandon McGorty and sophomore Brian Smith. At last weekend’s University of Washington Invitational, McGorty placed second in the 800 meter event with a time of 1:50.99. Smith placed sixth with a time of 1:52.12, but has a personal best of 1:50.72.
In Seattle last weekend, senior Steven Fahy nearly broke 4 minutes in the mile, finishing with a time of 4:00.60. Several Cardinals will have their try at a sub-4 mile this weekend, including junior Alex Ostberg, fifth-year senior Thomas Coyle, and senior Patrick Perrier. Of those representing the Cardinal in the mile this weekend, only Coyle has broken the 4-minute barrier.
On the women’s side, four-time NCAA 800 meter finalist, senior Olivia Baker will be competing in the 800 meter event. Baker is coming off of a win in the 600 meter at the University of Washington Indoor Preview Meet on Jan 13. Seeded second in the event, Baker will look to challenge her indoor personal best of 2:03.41.
In the women’s 400-meter event, freshman Carolyn Wilson, senior Gabrielle Gayles, and junior Missy Mongiovi are seeded in the top eight of the field.
In the field events, US National Team discus thrower, fifth-year senior Valerie Allman will be competing in the weight throw this weekend. Allman won the weight throw at last weekend’s meet after throwing a distance of 20.47meters. Seeded third this weekend, Allman will face a more competitive field this weekend.
The two-day meet will begin on Friday at 9 a.m.
Contact Alejandro Salinas at asalinas ‘at’ stanford.edu.