Men's Distance Crew Leads Stanford On Day 1 Of The NCAA Indoor Championships

Men's Distance Crew Leads Stanford On Day 1 Of The NCAA Indoor Championships
Elliott Heath and Jake Riley earn All-America honors for the Stanford men.

March 12, 2010

Fayetteville, Ark. - The NCAA Indoor Championships got underway on Friday from the Randall Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas. The Cardinal men's distance runners led the way, including Elliott Heath and Jake Riley earning All-America honors.

A pair of Cardinal men competed in the final of the 5,000 meters with Heath leading the duo with a seventh-place finish. Heath finished with a time of 13:51.00, which was just off his indoor personal best. Riley placed 10th with a time of 13:59.85. David McNeil of Northern Arizona took the title with a time of 13:36.41. Both Stanford men will earn All-America honors when they are officially announced on Sunday. Heath will earn the fourth of his career, while Riley will earn his second.

The other final of the day that Stanford competed in was the men's distance medley relay. After an extremely competitive race where teams traded positions, the Cardinal placed 10th. JT Sullivan led off for Stanford, running the 1,200-meter leg in 2:57.98. Sullivan handed the baton to Amaechi Morton who ran the fasted 400-meter leg of the race with a time of 46.50. Next, Dylan Ferris ran 800 meters with a split of 1:51.00 before handing the baton to Justin Marpole-Bird for the anchor leg. Marpole-Bird completed the final 1,600 meters in 4:06.44. The lead of the race changed hands several times, before Oregon closed hard behind a blistering anchor leg from Andrew Wheating for the national title.

Ferris also competed in the prelims of the mile earlier in the day. The Stanford sophomore advanced to Saturday's final after placing fourth in his heat with a time of 4:03.13. Ferris used his great closing speed to finish strong and claim the automatic spot in the final by placing in the top four in his heat.

The lone Stanford woman to compete was Carissa Levingston in the prelims of the 60 meters. Levingston placed fifth in her heat with a time of 7.40, but will not advance to the final.

Along with Ferris in the final of the mile, Stanford will have two other athletes compete on Saturday. Marpole-Bird will return to run the final of the 3,000 meters, while Katerina Stefanidi will compete in the women's pole vault.

Courtesy Stanford