Stanford track and field begins its indoor postseason with the MPSF Championships on Friday and Saturday. Hosted by the University of Washington, the two-day meet doubles as the final opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will take place on March 13-14.
Stanford will be seeking its first MPSF title since the women won in 2011 and the men in 2010. While the women’s team has finished among the top-three in each of the past three years, including runner up at last year’s championships, the men’s team will be seeking its first top-five finish since 2013.
Stanford will also be searching for bids to the NCAA Championships. Only the top 16 individuals and top 12 relay teams in the country will advance to the national championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
As of Thursday, Stanford has four individuals — three women and one man — and one relay team in secure positions to qualify. The three women are juniors Julia Heymach and Jess Lawson and senior Ella Donaghu, all of whom are seeking their first appearance at the indoor national championships.
Heymach looks to be in position to qualify for two individual events. She is ninth in the 800 and fifth in the mile after running the second-fastest mile in program history at the Husky Classic on Feb. 14.
Donaghu also has a strong chance of qualifying in the mile. She holds the No. 6 time in the country and will have another opportunity to compete in that event this weekend. Additionally, the senior is No. 4 in the 3,000 meters, with a time of 8:54.72.
Lawson will likely join her teammate in the 3,000, as she holds the eighth-best time in the country. In the mile, Lawson has the No. 14 spot. She’ll compete in mile this weekend, looking to improve her time of 4:35.56.
The trio of women all combined efforts, along with junior Ashlan Best, to run the second-best distance medley relay (DMR) time in the country. Their 10:55.89 at the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 31 will earn them a berth to the national dance.
On the men’s side, Stanford has one athlete, senior Alex Ostberg, in a secure position to qualify for the championships. He ran 7:49.01 in the 3,000 meters on Feb. 14 and holds the No. 9 time.
Just under the cutoff for relays, the men’s DMR team has the No. 11 time in the country after clocking 9:32.42 at the Alex Wilson Invitational last Saturday.
The MPSF Championships will begin Friday at noon and continue through Saturday in Seattle. Live results can be found online. The final list of NCAA qualifiers will be officially determined following the various conference championships across the country.
Contact Alejandro Salinas at asalinas ‘at’ stanford.edu.