Runners Flock to Stanford Invite

by Keith Conning, Pleasanton, CA
California State Meet Announcer

I will announce the Stanford Cross Country Invitational for the sixteenth straight year. I started announcing the meet in 1999. I took the place of Bob Womack of Fresno who died as a result of an automobile accident on Highway One in Northern California. We had covered a track meet at the University of Oregon in Eugene for California Track and Running News.

Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
Release: 09/24/2014

STANFORD, Calif. – The 41st annual Stanford Invitational cross country meet will be held Saturday at Stanford Golf Course, beginning at 9 a.m. The meet gives Stanford and other schools a preview of the NCAA West Regional course, and also serves as a showcase for some of the best high school runners in the state and beyond.
The college races begin at 9:50 a.m. and are sandwiched among 12 high school races – six each for boys and girls covering five enrollment divisions and seeded races. There will be 44 college or university teams and 224 high schools. Altogether, 3,288 runners are scheduled to compete.

Location: Stanford Golf Course

Distances: College Men, 8K (4.97 miles); College Women, 6K (3.73 miles); High School, 5K (3.11 miles).

Scoring: Though there is one men's race and one women's race, the scoring in each will be divided between NCAA Division I schools and non-Division I schools. In other words, all the schools will not be scored together.

Entrance: Near the Stanford Red Barn (and No. 2 fairway) at the end of Electioneer Road, at the intersection Fremont Road, just off Campus Drive.

Parking: Free public parking is available at the new lot off Searsville Road. Another option is the parking garage on Stock Farm Road, near the intersection of Campus Drive, and at Parking Structure 5, which is on Oak Road and intersects with Stock Farm Road.

Cost:$10 for adults; $5 for youths/seniors/faculty/alums.

Bring: Water, sunscreen, a hat, something to sit on, and find a good spot in the shade. Traditionally, there are high temperatures on meet weekend.

Meet Schedule:

Time Race Division Distance
9 a.m. HS boys Div. IV 5K
9:25 a.m. HS girls Div. IV 5K
9:50 a.m. College men Men 8K
10:30 a.m. College women Women 6K
11 a.m. HS boys Div. I 5K
11:30 a.m. HS girls Div. I 5K
Noon HS boys Seeded 5K
12:30 p.m. HS girls Seeded 5K
1 p.m. HS boys Div. II 5K
1:30 p.m. HS girls Div. II 5K
2 p.m. HS boys Div. III 5K
2:30 p.m. HS girls Div. III 5K
3 p.m. HS boys Div. V 5K
3:30 p.m. HS girls Div. V 5K

Men’s Preview: The meet will mark the Stanford debut of graduate transfer Maksim Korolev, an All-America who finished third at the NCAA Championships while a senior at Harvard. Korolev is using his fifth year of eligibility while taking graduate classes in management science and engineering. Also competing for Stanford cross country for the first time since he ran as the team's No. 1 for most of the 2012 season is Joe Rosa, a two-time track and field first-team All-America. Rosa redshirted because of injury last fall before returning with fifth- and seventh-place finishes at the NCAA 5,000 Indoors and Outdoors, respectively. Stanford will run as a split squad, with the other half competing at the Washington Invitational on Oct. 4. Stanford is ranked No. 5 in the USTFCCCA Division I coaches' poll and Chico State is ranked No. 4 in Division II.

Women’s Preview: Stanford is ranked No. 4 in the country, but will not race at full strength, splitting its squad between this meet and the Washington Invitational in Seattle on Oct. 4. Stanford individuals have won the 6K distance 10 of the past 12 years, including the past four. Look for Rebecca Mehra, a second-team outdoor track All-America in the 1,500 meters, to lead the Cardinal, along with sophomore Vanessa Fraser, who owns a 5,000 personal best of 16:22.64. Chico State is No. 5 in NCAA Division II.

Meet History: The Stanford men have won their past 19 races at the meet and the Cardinal women have a 10-year winning streak. The meet began in 1974 with a men’s race, and the women’s race began in 1977. Among the men’s winners over the years have been two-time U.S. cross country champion Chris Derrick and Olympians such as Ryan Hall, Gabe Jennings, Meb Keflezighi, and Ian Dobson. Past women’s winners have included Regina Jacobs, Ceci Hopp, Sara Bei, and Amy Yoder.
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