Of the 20 Cardinal that competed at last week’s NCAA Track and Field West Regional, just three from the women’s team advanced to the national stage. 

Senior Alyssa Jones, a ten-time All American, punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships with a mark of 7.09 meters (23-3¼) in her first long jump attempt — the farthest jump in the world so far this season. 

The performance on Thursday moved Jones to No. 2 on the NCAA all-time list, falling just short of the collegiate record of 7.14 meters (23-5¼) set by Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall in 2021. Jones also improved on her Stanford program record by 0.17 meters after breaking it just two weeks earlier at the ACC Championships.

She returned on Saturday to earn another NCAA bid in the high jump, clearing 1.87 meters (6-1½) to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. 

Despite her decorated college career, Jones has yet to win an NCAA title and has finished as runner-up in the long jump three separate times. With the new career best in the long jump, she is a favorite to claim the title in her final season with Stanford. 

Another veteran, senior Juliette Whittaker, qualified for her third outdoor nationals after placing second in the 800 meters in a season-best time of 2:00.65. She finished behind Arkansas’ Sanu Jallow, who ran 1:57.74 in a separate heat and narrowly missed the NCAA record by 0.01 seconds. 

Whittaker is a three-time NCAA champion in the 800 meters, most recently winning the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships in 2024.

Graduate transfer Mena Scatchard placed sixth in the 1,500 meters with a season-best time of 4:09.17, qualifying for her second outdoor nationals. Since arriving from Princeton, Scatchard has emerged as a key contributor for the Cardinal, serving as Stanford’s No. 3 runner in cross country and establishing herself as one of the team’s top mid-distance runners.

Her regional 1,500-meter performance ranks second in Stanford history, and she also holds the program’s fourth-fastest time in the 800 meters, which she ran in her outdoor debut for the Cardinal in early April. 

Jones, Whittaker and Scatchard will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 11-14 in Eugene, Ore.