The Stanford track and field teams hosted the highly competitive Payton Jordan Invitational yesterday at Cobb Track and Angell Field, and the Cardinal didn’t disappoint. If recent events are any indication, the Cardinal track and field teams are ones to watch.
Several athletes won their respective events and many more set their own personal bests — senior Eda Karesin (javelin throw), freshman Kori Carter (100-meter hurdles), junior Katerina Stefanidi (pole vault), junior Amaechi Morton (400 meters), sophomore Hannah Farley (400 meters), sophomore Carissa Levingston (200 meters), redshirt sophomore Geoffrey Tabor (shot put) and sophomore Stephanie Marcy (5000 meters) all paced their fields.
Karesin, who was competing in just the second event of the day, helped the Cardinal start off on a high note, winning the women’s javelin throw with a personal best of 51.32 meters. Karesin currently sits second all-time in the Stanford record books.
Carter broke her own school record in the 100-meter hurdles, taking the event in a time of 13.12. She got out of the gates quickly and easily outpaced the other 12 competitors. Carter’s freshman teammate, Katie Nelms, also had a strong performance in the competition, finishing in fourth with a time of 13.54, her personal best.
Carter reflected on having her good friend and fellow competitor Nelms as a training buddy, a luxury any school record holder would love to have.
“Her strengths are my weaknesses, so it really makes me work on them,” she said. “Having her there every day in practice really helps me out.”
Although happy with her performance, Nelms isn’t satisfied and is still looking to improve.
“It’s always nice to run a PR [personal record], but at the same time, I have a lot of things to fix,” she said. “There are a lot of things that have to come together and hopefully they do by Pac-10s.”
Stefanidi, a two-time All-American, won the pole vault shortly after Carter got her hurdles victory. Her best effort of the day was 4.35 meters. She is the current Stanford record holder in this event, having posted a 4.6-meter vault at the Stanford Invitational this past March.
Morton, Stefanidi’s classmate and another All-American, shined brightest in the 400 meters, setting a personal best with a time of 46.52, which moved him to fifth in the Stanford record books. Morton was strong out of lane three, having passed half of the staggered field by the second turn, before holding off challenger Drew Morano at the finish. Following Morton in the 400 meters with a strong performance was freshman Alfredo Corral, who finished third with a time of 48.16 — also a personal best.
Corral reflected on setting a career high and the motivational influence of being surrounded by great athletes.
“Being here with runners like Amaechi motivates me to run faster, because I’m surrounded by greatness and I want to be a part of this,” he said. “I want to show everyone that I can achieve much greater goals in the future.”
In the women’s 400 meters, Farley came out strong from the start, beating the small field of three other competitors with a time of 54.64, a personal best. Her teammate, freshman Taylor Newberry, closed well down the stretch to finish third with a time of 56.61, which was also a personal best.
In the women’s 200 meters, Levingston represented the Cardinal in an impressive showing, posting a time of 23.67 and winning the race with a fast finish down the back stretch. Senior Brittni Dixon-Smith finished third.
Tabor won the men’s shot put for the Cardinal, posting a distance of 17.75 meters. It was a season best for Tabor, who is currently ninth all-time at Stanford.
Marcy set a personal best in the 5000 meters in winning with a time of 16:05.35. She was followed by sophomore All-American Kathy Kroeger, who finished fifth.
In the men’s javelin throw, sophomore Robert Hintz set a personal best with a throw of 64.31 meters, putting him second among the competition.
Stanford, which had four competitors in the men’s long jump, was led by two-sport star Delano Howell (football), a junior who placed second with a jump of 7.23 meters, a personal best.
The Cardinal only had one competitor in the women’s 100-meter dash, but freshman Kellie Schueler made it count, placing second among the competition with a time of 11.91. In the men’s 100 meters, Tyrone McGraw (10.86), a redshirt senior, led the contingent of five Cardinal competitors who finished consecutively from third to seventh place. Freshman Ryan Brown set a personal best with a time of 11.06, finishing fifth.
The Stanford men’s long-distance runners also had strong showings. In the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, the Cardinal was led by junior Benjamin Johnson and senior All-American JT Sullivan. They placed fifth and sixth respectively, with Johnson setting a personal best of 8:48.46, and Sullivan was right behind at 8:48.82. In the men’s 1500 meters, freshman Michael Atchoo also set a personal best, finishing fifth with a time of 3:44.98, and in the men’s 5000 meters, four runners set their personal bests: senior Elliot Heath [13:26.74], junior Chris Derrick (13:29.74), senior Jake Riley [13:39.49] and junior Miles Unterreiner [13:46.71].
The Cardinal will be back in action Friday, May 6 for the Pac-10 Multi Championships in Tucson, Ariz.