Stanford will send dozens of athletes to Austin

NCAA Preliminary Rounds Announced
The Cardinal will send dozens of athletes to Austin to compete for the right to advance to the NCAA Finals in Des Moines.




Amaechi Morton looks to advance for his shot at his first NCAA title.



May 17, 2012


Full NCAA Preliminary Round Entries



NCAA Rounds Description

STANFORD, Calif. - The fields for the NCAA Preliminary Rounds was announced on Thursday with Stanford sending dozens to the West site in Austin, Texas. The athletes will look to qualify through the early rounds and make the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa in June.

Overall 96 athletes in each individual event and 48 relays advanced to Preliminary Rounds. The sites were broken up to East and West with the Cardinal participating in the Austin Region and the East Region being set in Jacksonville. From the 48 athletes in each event, 12 from each region and 24 overall will advance to the NCAA Finals in Des Moines.

The Stanford men have its most athletes in the distance events, led by Chris Derrick. Derrick will run only the 10,000 meters where he is seeded second in the event. Derrick ran an American Collegiate Record of 27:31.38 at the Payton Jordan Invitational, but finished just behind Cameron Levins of Southern Utah who is Canadian. Levins is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA and the two will meet at the Prelimary Round in a preview of what will likely be a showdown at the NCAA finals in Des Moines.

Miles Unterreiner and Brendan Gregg will also compete in the 10,000, each ranked in the top 10. It will be a busy weekend for the duo as both are also entered in the 5,000 meters. Gregg has run 13:46.49 for 5K and 28:54.41 for 10K and is a threat to advance in both events. Similarily, Unterreiner has run 13:50.90 and 28:49.41. Joe Rosa will also compete in the 5,000 and is ranked 31st with a season best of 14:04.37.

The final Cardinal athlete in the distances is Benjamin Johnson in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Johnson is a former All-American in the event and is ranked 12th with a season best of 8:50.33.

The middle distance runners are led by a pair of 1,500-meter athletes, Tyler Stutzman and Michael Atchoo. Stutzman is ranked No. 4 in the event with a personal-best time of 3:40.53 from the Payton Jordan Invitational. Atchoo is not far back with a time of 3:42.36 to rank ninth.

In the 800 meters, Luke Lefebure has advanced to the Preliminary Round in his freshman season, running 1:49.92 earlier this season. He is ranked 45th coming into the first round in Austin.

In the sprits and hurdles, Amaechi Morton is the favorite in the 400-meter intermediates, entering the Preliminary Round as the top seed. Morton has run 48.95 this season and is looking for his first NCAA title in Des Moines.

Also competing is Spencer Chase who will run the open 400 meters. Chase is ranked 38th in the event with a season best of 47.04

In the field events, Stanford's top hope is Geoffrey Tabor in the discus. After three fouls at the Pac-12 meet did not allow Tabor to defend his conference title, the redshirt junior will be motivated at the NCAA meet. He is ranked 14th in the discus with a season best of 187-1.

The Cardinal has a pair of athletes in the high jump with veteran Jules Sharpe and freshman Dartis Willis II. Both have leaped 7-1 this season, which is tied for 16th best in the preliminary round.

Finally, Darian Brooks and Aaron Konigsberg will make their NCAA debuts. Brooks, the freshman triple jumper is ranked 38th in the event with a season best of 50-2. Konigsberg is ranked 30th in the javelin with a personal best of 216-2.

The women's side is led by a trio of sprinters and hurdlers who are each entered in two events. Shataya Hendricks is the Cardinal's top sprinting hope as she is ranked 12th in the 100 meters with a time of 11.45 and 11th in the 200 meters with a time of 23.48.

In addition, the hurdling duo of Kori Carter and Katie Nelms are fresh off their 1-2 finish at the Pac-12 Championships in the 100-meter hurdles. Carter is the No. 3 seed in that event with her school-record time of 12.99, while Nelms is ranked fifth with her personal best of 13.01. Carter will also run the 400-meter hurdles where she is ranked 11th with a season best of 57.60, while Nelms other event will be the 100 where she is ranked 29th with a time of 11.60.

Stanford is also entered in both relays where Hendricks, Carter and Nelms will be factors. Carissa Levingston has been the fourth leg of the 4x100-meter relay, where the 4x400-meter team has varied.

The Cardinal distance runners will be led by Kathy Kroeger who will run the 5,000 meters, where she is the third seed. Kroeger has run 15:33.76 earlier this season and will be looking for All-America honors in the event for the third-straight season. She will be joined in the event by Jessica Tonn and freshman Aisling Cuffe. Tonn has a season best of 16:16.37, while Cuffe ran 16:42.00 at the Pac-12 meet.

The Cardinal will also have a trio in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with Mary Kate Anselmini and Emilie Amaro coming off scoring performances at the Pac-12 meet. Anselmini is ranked 12th with a time of 10:15.16, while Amaro is 14th with her season best of 10:18.18. Julia Foster is also in the event, having run 10:36.51 at the Pac-12 meet.

The Cardinal middle distance runners will be led by Justine Fedronic and Joy O'Hare in the 800 meters. Fedronic is seeded ninth with a career-best of 2:05.35, while O'Hare is 11th with a time of 2:06.03. Freshman Alli Billmeyer will also be a factor in the 1,500 meters as she is ranked 10th in the event with a time of 4:19.20.

In the field events, Stanford will be particulary strong in the jumps, led by Arantxa King who is entered in both the long jump and triple jump. King is ranked eighth in the long jump and 12th in the triple jump where she is a contender for All-America honors in both. Karynn Dunn will also compete in both and was an All-American in the long jump during the indoor season. She is ranked 10th in the long jump and 16th in the triple jump. Finally, Jordan Merback will compete in the triple jump where she is ranked 14th.

The pole vault, Katerina Stefanidi will have her last shot at an NCAA title, while she shoots for the Olympic `A' Standard. Stefanidi is ranked No. 3 in the event with a career best of 14-8 ¼, which in metric is 4.48m. The Olympic Standard in 4.50m, which Stefanidi needs to earn her spot on the Greek Olympic squad. Ellie McCardwell will also compete in the same event with a season best of 13-4 ½.

Finally on the field, Stanford has a trio in the throws, led by freshman and Pac-12 Champion Brianna Bain in the javelin. Bain tossed a new school record of 175-9 to earn the conference title and enters her first NCAA meet as the No. 3 seed in the preliminary round. Also in the throws will be Alyssa Wisdom in the shot put and Rebecaa Hammar in the discus. Wisdom is ranked 24th, while Hammar is ranked 27th.


Courtesy Stanford