Justin Marpole-Bird and Dylan Ferris become the eighth and ninth sub-4 minute milers in Stanford indoor history.

Justin Marpole-Bird and Dylan Ferris become the eighth and ninth sub-4 minute milers in Stanford indoor history.
Feb. 13, 2010

Seattle, Wash. - The Stanford track and field teams took a large contingent of athletes to the Husky Classic with some outstanding results. A pair of Stanford men led the Cardinal, running under the famed four-minute barrier in the mile and earning NCAA automatic standards.

Justin Marpole-Bird and Dylan Ferris both ran under four minutes in the mile for the first time, while JT Sullivan missed the barrier by fractions of a second. Marpole-Bird ran a time of 3:58.76 in the fast heat to place sixth in the race and move into fifth place on the Stanford all-time list. Ferris won the second heat with a blazing final 400 meters to run 3:58.90, sixth all-time at Stanford. Both times were NCAA automatic standards meaning both Marpole-Bird and Ferris will run at nationals in track for the first time.

Sullivan blazed to a time of 4:00.02 to just miss the famed four minute barrier. His time was the 10th fastest all-time at Stanford and an NCAA provisional standard. Also earning the provisional standard was Miles Unterreiner who ran 4:03.21. Freshmen Tyler Stutzman (4:05.27), Andrew Berberick (4:06.27), Tyler Valdes (4:08.19), Ramsey Chapin (4:14.88) and sophomore Benjamin Johnson (4:11.04) also competed in the mile.

In the 3,000 meters, Elliott Heath and Jake Riley earned the provisional standard. Heath (8:01.74) and Riley (8:02.73) finished 21st and 22nd in a star-studded field.

The final provisional standard earned by the Stanford men was from Geoffrey Tabor in the shot put. Tabor finished second in the event with a mark of 58-5 ¼, which was third all-time at Stanford. Also doing well in the throws was Carter Wells who placed sixth in the weight throw with a mark of 59-11.

In the sprints, Stanford was led by Daniel Belch who placed seventh in the 60 meters with a time of 6.90 and third in the 200 with a time of 22.13. Belch's time in the 100 is tied for sixth all-time at Stanford. Other top finishers were Amaechi Morton (47.59) and Zach Chandy (48.29) who finished third and fourth in the 400 meters.

The Stanford women were led by Stephanie Marcy in the 5,000 meters on Friday night. Marcy ran an NCAA provisional time of 16:19.72

The other provisional standard came from Whitney Liehr in the triple jump. Liehr leaped 41-8 ½, a personal best indoors and fourth in Stanford history. Liehr also competed in the long jump, placing 12th with a mark of 18-7 ¼ and the 60-meter hurdles, placing 15th with a time of 8.80.

In the sprints, Stanford was led by Griffin Matthew and Carissa Levingston. Matthew won the 60 meters with a time of 7.46, while Levingston finished second with a time of 7.47. Mathew just missed her personal best, while Levingston achieved hers and moved to sixth on the all-time list at Stanford. Matthew and Levingston also finished 1-2 in the 200 meters with times of 24.14 and 24.24. The times were the sixth and seventh best all-time for Stanford.

The Cardinal will be back in action in two weeks at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. The meet will take place on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26-27, back in Seattle. The women will try to defend its conference title, while the men are also considered a contender for the title.

Courtesy Stanford