Track seeks to defend Big Meet title

April 5, 2019, 12:16 a.m.

Pride and glory will be on the line Saturday as Stanford track and field hosts rival Cal in the 125th Big Meet. In a meet that traditionally comes down to the final events, recent history favors the Cardinal as the men will be looking for their third victory in four years, while the women seek their fourth consecutive win.

On the men’s side, the dual meet dates back to 1893, with Cal leading the all-time series 70-52-2. However, Stanford has claimed eight of the past 12. The women’s series began in 1980 and has sided towards the Cardinal 27 times since then, including seven of the past eight and 16 of the past 18.

In last year’s meet, both the Stanford men and women won en route to the second-highest combined scoring margin of victory (115 points) in Big Meet history. The men produced 100 points to Cal’s 63, while the Cardinal women decisively won, 115-47. Stanford’s largest combined margin of victory came in 2012, when the men and women combined for a victory margin of 120 points.

Stanford’s sweep last year came on the back of a collective team effort. Twenty-one Stanford athletes set lifetime bests, and three athletes — Vanessa Fraser, Mackenzie Little and Isaiah Brandt-Sims — set Big Meet records. Fraser broke a 34-year old record in the 3,000 meters, while Brandt-Sims swept the 100- and 200-meter dashes for the third time. He set the meet record in the 100 after running the second-fastest time in school history (10.41).

Little recorded the third Big Meet record of the day after launching the javelin 58.63 meters to win Stanford its 16th consecutive javelin title. She shattered the meet record by eight and a half feet and became the first Cardinal to throw for over 190 feet (57.91 meters). She has accomplished that feat three times now, most recently at the Stanford Invitational last weekend.

Of the three athletes that set meet records last year, Little is the only that returns to the oval this weekend. The senior from Australia and reigning NCAA Champion in the event will look add to her impressive resume.

Junior two-sport All-America Jenna Gray, who started as the volleyball setter for the NCAA Championship-winning team earlier this year, will likely be a top contender in the javelin as well. Little and Gray finished 1-2 at the NCAA Championships last year.

Little and Gray lead a strong Stanford contingent that seeks to tame the Golden Bears at Cobb Track and Angell Field. Festivities begin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Contact Alejandro Salinas at asalinas ‘at’ stanford.edu.

Alejandro Salinas '21 is a Senior Staff Writer after serving as the Managing Editor of Sports for two volumes. Hailing from Pasadena, CA, he studies computer science and biology as a junior. In his free time he enjoys running, playing with dogs and watching sports. Contact him at asalinas 'at' stanforddaily.com.

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