In its ACC Championship debut, Stanford women’s track and field claimed five individual titles across 17 events — the most out of any other team in the conference — but still finished 24 points behind Clemson in the team title race.
The Cardinal’s mid-distance and distance squad led the charge in Louisville, scoring 37 of the team’s 65 total points. Graduate student Zofia Dudek and sophomore Sophia Kennedy — the top seeds in the 5,000 meters and 3,000 meters, respectively — delivered dominant performances that rattled their competitors.
Both Dudek and Kennedy took the lead in their respective races at the 1600-meter mark. Dudek opened up a nearly 10-second gap and ran a strong solo effort for the remainder of the 5,000 meters, clocking a winning time of 15:43.83. In the 3,000 meters, Kennedy battled stride-for-stride with NC State’s Hannah Gapes before closing the last lap in 31.87 seconds to seal the victory. Kennedy’s time of 8:47.38 broke the meet record that was previously held by NC State graduate Katelyn Touhy.
As the favorite in the 800 meters, junior Roisin Willis outkicked Clemson’s Gladys Chepngetich to win Monday’s final in a season’s best time of 2:01.31. Willis, the 2023 NCAA Indoor Champion in the distance, remains a top contender for the national title alongside 2024 champion and teammate Juliette Whittaker, who was not present at the conference meet. The duo will likely face off on the national stage in less than two weeks.
From the field, junior Alyssa Jones single-handedly contributed 20 points with wins in both the long and high jump. Jones claimed the long jump title on her opening attempt before extending the winning mark to 21-6 (6.55), finishing nine inches ahead of the field. In the high jump, she cleared a personal best of 6-2 ¼ (1.89) on her first attempt at the height. Jones is the first athlete to sweep both events at the ACC championships since 2010 and remains undefeated in the long jump this season.
Stanford track and field will conclude its indoor season at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 14 and 15 in Virginia Beach, Va.