Runners Descend on Stanford

Jack Bordoni. Photo by Spencer Allen/SportsImageWire.com.

Runners Descend on Stanford

Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
Release: 09/22/2015

STANFORD, Calif. – The 42nd annual Stanford Invitational cross country meet will be held Saturday at Stanford Golf Course, beginning at 9 a.m. The meet provides a glimpse of the Stanford teams that are regarded as national contenders and 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 by 37 colleges competing. Overall, there will be 3,397 runners.
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 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. There are no advanced sales.
Bring: Water, sunscreen, a hat, something to sit on, and find a good spot in the shade. Though the high temperature is forecast to be in the 70s, it can feel very warm on the course, so take precautions.

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 women	Women	6K
10:30 a.m.	College men	Men	8K
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: Fifth-year senior Joe Rosa returns to defend his Stanford Invitational title. Last year, Rosa and teammate Maksim Korolev attempted to tie, but that is not officially allowed and Rosa was awarded the victory. Rosa and Korolev went to help Stanford to a second-place NCAA finish, though it finished third among Division I teams at the Stanford Invite. UC Santa Barbara was second in that race, edging Stanford by a point.
Sean McGorty, 20th at NCAA's last year, and Rosa are both cross country All-Americans and could be Stanford's top two this season. They are the only members of last year's NCAA lineup to compete on Saturday. Other Stanford runners entered are Jack Bordoni, 2013 USATF junior national 1,500-meter champion Justin Brinkley, sub-4 miler Thomas Coyle, Will Drinkwater, Steven Fahy, Cameron Miller, Patrick Perrier, and Ryan Silva.
Division I teams ranked regionally are Stanford (No. 1 West), Cal (No. 6 West), UCSB (No. 9 West), Cal Poly (No. 11 West), San Jose State (No. 14 West), Baylor (No. 14, South Central), and North Dakota State (No. 15 Midwest). Though they will be combined in the same race, the Division I and non-Division I teams will be scored separately. Chico State, the 2014 non-Division I team winner, is ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, Cal Poly Pomona is No. 10 and Simon Fraser is No. 21, and Southern Oregon is No. 1 in NAIA. These Division II teams are ranked in the West region: Chico State (No. 1), Cal Poly Pomona (No. 3), Simon Fraser (No. 6), and San Francisco State (No. 7). In Division III national rankings, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is No. 10 and Pomona-Pitzer No. 14.
Women’s Preview: Stanford is ranked No. 5 in the country, but will not race at full strength, splitting its squad between this meet and the Washington Invitational in Seattle on Oct. 2. Stanford individuals have won the 6K distance 11 of the past 13 years, including the past five. Stanford enters four who were part of the lineup team that placed 14th at the NCAA Championships: Sophie Chase, Claire Howlett, Abbie McNulty, and Molly McNamara. California also is nationally ranked, at No. 30, and Chico State, last year's Invite non-Division I runner-up, is No. 6 in Division II and Simon Fraser is No. 10.
Division I teams ranked in the West Region are: Stanford (No. 1), Cal (No. 5), UC Davis (No. 8), and Cal Poly (No. 11). Division II teams ranked in the West are: Chico State (No. 1), Simon Fraser (No. 3), Central Washington (No. 6), Azusa Pacific (No. 8). Other nationally-ranked teams are Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (No. 11 in Division III) and Southern Oregon (No. 17 in NAIA).
Meet History: The Stanford men had their 19-year winning streak snapped last year by Washington State, but the Cardinal women have an 11-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 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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