Stanford Indoor Track And Field Set For MPSF Championships

Indoor Track And Field Set For MPSF Championships
The Cardinal will look for a pair of conference titles




Amaechi Morton



Feb. 26, 2009



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Indoor Track And Field Ready For MPSF Championships
The Stanford track and field teams will compete in the MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend from Dempsey Indoor Stadium on the campus of the University of Washington. Both the men's and women's teams are currently ranked No. 25 in the country and will be sending 27 athletes to compete in various events. The action begins Friday, Feb. 27 and continues until Saturday, Feb. 28.

Last season the women finished second at the MPSF Championships, while the men finished third. The women just missed the title finishing with 141 points, just short of the eventual NCAA Champion Arizona State who finished with 154.5. The men finished with 83 points, trailing Oregon with 90 and California with 84.5. Both the men and women also had four individual MPSF Champions last season.

More Top Marks For Stanford At The Husky Invitational
The Stanford women were led by Lauren Centrowitz who ran a personal best and NCAA automatic standard of 4:37.07 in winning the mile. Already an automatic NCAA qualifier in the 3,000 meters and the distance medley relay, Centrowitz added a third event. The time was also the second fastest indoors in Stanford history. In the same race, Alicia Follmar added a personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:40.23. In a previous heat, freshman Laurynne Chetelat ran a time of 4:42.25 to also achieve the provisional standard. Both times were top-10 all-time for Stanford.

On the men's side, the Cardinal were led by Elliott Heath in the 3,000 meters. Heath achieved the NCAA automatic standard with a time of 7:53.64. In the process he moved to fourth on the Stanford all-time list. In the 400 meters, Stanford freshman Amaechi Morton tied the school record with a time of 46.88. The time was also a NCAA provisional standard.

Stanford Impresses at UW Invitational
Stanford freshman Chris Derrick led Stanford to a number of impressive performances at the UW Invitational. The Cardinal newcomer won the 5,000 meters with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 13:44.02. The time was the third fastest in Stanford history and the fastest ever by a Stanford freshman. Also performing well was Ryan Fisicaro who broke the school record in the 60 meters. His time of 6.82 seconds was faster than the previous record held by Wopamo Osaisai.

The women were led by distance stars Lauren Centrowitz and Alicia Follmar. In the 3,000 meters, the pair of Stanford seniors finished second and third overall. Centrowitz placed second with a time of 9:10.99, while Follmar was third with a time of 9:14.98. Both were NCAA automatic Standards a night after the duo teamed with Maria Lattanzi and Idara Otu in the distance medley relay, which also achieved the automatic Standard with a time of 11:07.53

Myles Bradley Leads Stanford In New Mexico
Myles Bradley led Stanford with an outstanding performance in the 60-meter hurdles. At the Cherry and Silver Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bradley improved his own school record in the event with a time of 7.73. Bradley actually ran 7.71, but the time was adjusted due to the altitude in Albuquerque. The time was not only the Stanford record, but improved his NCAA provisional standard, which currently places him first in the MPSF and third in the nation in the event. Other standouts from the meet for the men came in the 4x400-meter relay. The team of Spencer Castro, Zach Chandy, Durell Coleman and Amaechi Morton finished first with a time of 3:14.04. The freshman Morton also doubled back in the open 400 meters to finish fourth with a time of 47.86 seconds.

On the women's side, they were led by a third place finish in the shot put by Michaela Wallerstedt. Wallerstedt finished with a toss of 47-10 ½. In the 60 meters, Shataya Hendricks returned after missing most of 2008 with an injury and finished fourth with a time of 7.56 seconds. Hendricks also competed in the 200 meters where she finished with a time of 26.42.

Stanford Opens At UW Indoor Preview
The Cardinal got their season underway at the UW Indoor Preview. A small group of athletes competed with the highlights coming from a pair of NCAA provisional times by the men's team. Myles Bradley won the 60-meter hurdles with a NCAA provisional time of 7.85. Also with a NCAA provisional mark was Casey Roche who won the pole vault with a height of 17-1. The other event winner was Ryan Fisicaro in the 60 meters with a time of 6.85. On the women's side Brittni Dixon-Smith led the way by finishing third in the long jump with a leap of 19-8 3/4 and fourth in the 60 meters with a time of 7.75.

Returning All-Americans
The women begin the season ranked No. 17 in the nation by the USTFCCCA. The Cardinal returns three All-Americans for the indoor season. Alicia Follmar leads the Cardinal after earning two All-America honors last season at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Follmar helped the distance medley relay team to a third-place finish as well as placing 10th in the mile. Also earning an All-America honor as a member of that DMR team was Idara Otu. Finally, Alexandra Gits picked up her first All-America honor outdoors in the 10,000 meters where she finished third. Gits also has significant experience indoors where she was the MPSF Champion at 5,000 meters.

The men's team enters the 2009 indoor season ranked No. 25 by the USTFCCCA. A total of seven men who have earned All-America honors at Stanford will be back for the outdoor season, but just four have eligibility remaining indoors. A pair of 400-meter runners who earned their All-America honors as members of the distance medley relay return. Andrew Dargie is coming off an impressive 2008 freshman season where he was a member of the DMR team that finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, in addition to qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the open 400 meters. Chandy earned his All-America honor as a member of the DMR in 2007. Senior Hari Mix, a distance specialist, looks to regain his 2007 form when he was an All-American outdoors at 5,000 meters. Finally, freshman Chris Derrick burst onto the college scene during the cross country season and should be extremely competitive at the long distances. Derrick finished seventh overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships to earn the first All-America honor of his young career.

Other Impact Returners
The Cardinal women have several other impact returners including 2008 Olympian Arantxa King. King competed for Bermuda in Beijing and was also a key contributor for Stanford last season as she qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the long jump. Also excelling in the long jump was Griffin Matthew, who returns after being one of two Stanford athletes to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in two events. She qualified in the 100 meters as well as the long jump. Lauren Stewart, the school record holder in the pentathlon, returns for her senior season where she will look to defend her MPSF title and advance to the NCAA's. A pair of throwers return after qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season. Jaynie Goodbody (hammer) should be a threat in the weight throw, while Michaela Wallerstedt (shot put) looks to match her outdoor success indoors.

Men's impact returners for Stanford include hurdler Myles Bradley and a trio of sophomore distance runners, Brendan Gregg, Elliott Heath and Jacob Riley. Bradley set school records in both the 60-meter hurdles (7.78) and the 110-meter hurdles (13.78) during the 2008 season and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships. He will look to earn his first All-America honor during the upcoming indoor season. The trio of sophomore distance runners showed promise during their freshmen track seasons, but made up a big portion of the 2008 cross country team that finished third in the nation. Gregg, Heath and Riley teamed with Derrick and seniors Hakon DeVries and Garrett Heath, who will be back for the outdoor season, to make up a cross country squad that looked a lot like some of the dominating teams of the Stanford past.

Top Newcomers
In addition to the deep group of returners, Stanford has several freshmen ready to contribute right away. Laurynne Chetelat proved she is ready for a successful collegiate career after an outstanding cross country season where she was Stanford's No. 1 runner in all but one race. She should be a threat immediately on the track in the distances. Former world youth record holder Katerina Stefanidi looks to make an immediate impact in the pole vault.

Joining Derrick as a potential freshmen that could contribute right away are Geoffrey Tabor and Amaechi Morton. Tabor is the 2008 junior national champion in the discus and Morton was the USATF national runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles.

Courtesy Stanford University