Missy Mongiovi takes the handoff from Olivia Baker. Photo by Spencer Allen/SportsImageWire.com.
STANFORD, Calif. – Missy Mongiovi was a prime example of why Stanford’s women’s 4x400-meter relay has a realistic shot at making the NCAA Championships final.
In her first home meet and second as a collegian, she stepped in and helped power the Cardinal to victory at the 41st Stanford Track and Field Invitational on Saturday in a time of 3:32.67, the fourth-fastest in school history.
Mongiovi ran the third leg in 53.3 – her personal record for an open 400 is 54.70 – and maintained a strong lead before giving way to senior Kristyn Williams and her 52.5 anchor leg. Gaby Gayles started things off at 53.8 and Baker gave the Cardinal the lead for the good with a split of 52.8.
The significance of Mongiovi’s race is twofold: It illustrates the depth and the variety of options sprints coach Gabe Sanders has at his disposal, and proves that Stanford has created a benchmark that it can expect to maintain each time out.
Last year, Stanford reached the NCAA outdoor semifinals with Williams and three freshmen. They all returned this year and set a school indoor record of 3:33.78, but barely missed advancing to the NCAA Indoor Championships – by three spots and 0.45 seconds. Now, they appear ready to take another step forward, especially with Mongiovi and others, like freshman hurdler Hannah Labrie-Smith, senior 400/800 runner Kaitlyn Williams, or senior half-miler Claudia Saunders in the fold.
“We have a team that can make the NCAA final,” Sanders said. “There’s not a doubt in my mind. Missing NCAA’s indoors was probably the best thing that could have happened to us. Just being on the outside looking in made us much hungrier. Now, the mentality is: We don’t want to squeak in, we want to be players. A fire’s been lit.”
Mongiovi replaced Michaela Crunkleton Wilson on the Stanford ‘A’ team because the sophomore already had a heavy load over the two-day meet. Crunkleton Wilson was third in the 100 on Friday (there were two rounds) and won her section and was fifth overall in the 200 earlier Saturday with a personal best 24.03, a big improvement over her previous best of 24.30.
“We saw this as a prime opportunity to give an up-and-coming freshman an opportunity to prove herself and show the rest of the team that it’s not just about four individuals, but it’s about a team,” Sanders said. “At any given time, your name could be called. That’s really what this group is all about – it’s a team mentality, it’s not just about a few individuals. Any person at any time needs to be prepared to jump in.”
That notion held true.
“Moving up is a big honor,” Mongiovi said. “I definitely did not want to let the team down.”
Kristyn Williams, the only senior and still the elder statesman of the group, said she sees the growth in her teammates and that’s allowed her to run more relaxed.
“My role is to be an example,” she said. “The girls who were freshmen last year really matured and they’re really carrying their weight on their own. I know I can count on everyone as much as they can count on me.”
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Back on trackStanford junior Carla Forbes was a national high school triple jump champion in her native Massachusetts, and now appears back in peak form after a series setbacks since her senior year in high school.
Forbes jumped 41-11 ¾ (12.88 meters) to finish second to California’s Ashley Anderson (42-3 ¼), and just ahead of Stanford teammate Marisa Kwiatkowski (41-3 ¾), who also was within inches of her personal best. Forbes climbed to No. 7 on Stanford’s all-time performers’ list.
Besides the distance -- Forbes longest jump in four years – the most encouraging aspect for Chris Miltenberg, Stanford’s Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, was her willingness to keep fighting for every inch. Forbes improved on all but one of her six jumps, achieving her best on her last try.
“Everybody just competed tough,” Miltenberg said. “We’ve had a lot of consistently solid days, that’s more important than the big days – Can we go out every day and put out a great effort and be tough all the time? Some days you’re going to hit it, but you’re always consistently putting out that effort.
“To me that’s the most important thing – how do you fight back in that last 150 meters. And, in the jumps, how do you put out the effort to the end like Carla Forbes?”
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An effort rewardedA day after pacing two races, fifth-year senior Molly McNamara was rewarded for her efforts with a victory in her section of the 800 and a personal best by nearly three seconds.
McNamara, a 1,500 specialist, ran 2:06.56 to eclipse the 2:09.21 that had stood since her senior year at New Jersey’s Red Bank Catholic High in 2011. McNamara lived up to Miltenberg’s creed of competing throughout the race by pushing hard over the final 250 to secure the victory.
Molly McNamara was the rabbit for teammate Malika Waschmann’s breakthrough 1,500 on Friday. McNamara paced the first 700 of that race. Later, she pulled four teammates to sub-16:40 times in the 5,000, while leading for the first 3,000.
“Today, I told myself, ‘You have to be tough today. You’re not going to feel good.,’” she said. “Ultimately, that mentality is going to help me long-term this season.”
In the next section of the 800, sophomore Elise Cranny made her outdoor season debut by placing ninth in 2:07.76. Cranny, a four-time All-American as a freshman last year, used the meet to work on her speed despite not yet incorporating speed work in her training.
Cranny got boxed in and remained on the rail thinking she could squeeze through on the inside during the final lap in a tight pack. Instead, she was passed by several runners on her outside and had nowhere to go. Still, Cranny, who penned a Bible verse on her wrist as inspiration, was pleased with the experience gained in the art of pack racing.
“Elise is four years younger than me and I feel I look up to her,” McNamara said. “Even in a race like this, she puts as much dedication into it as she does in a national championship race. That’s a hard thing to do. It helps me when I’m having a rough day and I see what Elise is doing. Even if It may not be a perfect day for her, she’s holding her head high and working through it. It holds everyone else to a different kind of standard. Elise is every bit the leader on this team as any senior. She really sets an amazing example.”
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A year ago at this meet, 400 hurdler Jackson Shumway ran 53.42 and eventually placed a surprising second at the Pac-12 Championships. This year, the one-time walk-on ran 52.25 – a sign to Miltenberg that the senior is bound for a special season. Shumway capped his weekend with a 46.2 relay split in the 4x400. Coming after the Cardinal women won their race, the meet concluded on a high note for Stanford heading into the 122nd renewal of the Big Meet against Cal next week in Berkeley.
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Saturday’s results
College/Open
Men
200 – Robert Ellis III (AUC Elite) 21.10; 8, Isaiah Brandt-Sims (Stanford) 21.61; 33, Miguel Shaw (Stanford) 23.25.
800 – 1, Chris Low (unattached) 1:48.76; 22, Brian Smith (Stanford) 1:51.68 (PB); 24, Tai Dinger (Stanford) 1:51.75 (PB); 43, Daniel Book (Stanford) 1:53.18; 45, Christian White (Stanford) 1:53.18.
110 hurdles – 1, Cam Viney (Illinois) 13.75.
4x100 relay – 1, George Mason 40.46; 6, Stanford (Colin Dolese, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Daniel Brady, Frank Kurtz) 41.63.
4x400 relay – 1, Minnesota 3:07.54; 4, Stanford (Colin Dolese, Frank Kurtz, Zac Espinosa, Jackson Shumway) 3:13.02.
Pole vault – Collegiate: Dan Emery (Stanford) 16-6 ¾ (5.05m) (PB).
Triple jump – 1, Karsten Wetherington (California) 50-8 ¾ (15.46m).
Shot put – 1, Alex Renner (North Dakota State) 61-3 ½ (18.68m); 5, Tristen Newman (Stanford) 58-1 ¾ (17.72m).
Hammer – 1, Sean Donnelly (Minnesota) 228-7 (69.68m).
Women
200 – 1, Dalilah Muhammad (Nike) 23.61; 5, Michaela Crunkleton Wilson (Stanford) 24.03 (PB).
800 – 1, Cecilia Barowski (Princeton) 2:02.62; 10, Molly McNamara (Stanford) 2:06.56 (PB); 21, Elise Cranny (Stanford) 2:07.76; 42, Kaitlyn Williams (Stanford) 2:11.44 (PB); 52, Karina Shepard (Stanford) 2:15.31.
100 hurdles – 1, Tiana Davis (unattached) 13.23; 8, Hannah Labrie-Smith (Stanford) 14.66.
Discus – 1, Summer Pierson (unattached) 187-6 (57.15m); 2, Valarie Allman (Stanford) 186-6 (56.85m).
4x100 relay – 1, Sequoias 46.05; DNF, Stanford.
4x400 relay – 1, Stanford (Gaby Gayles, Olivia Baker, Missy Mongiovi, Kristyn Williams) 3:32.67; 7, Stanford ‘B’ (Michaela Crunkleton Wilson, Amber Lewis, Claudia Saunders) 3:44.48; 10, Stanford ‘C’ (Hannah Labrie-Smith, Maddy Berkson, Malika Waschmann, Kaitlyn Williams) 3:47.41.
Pole vault – Collegiate: 4, Taylore Jaques (Stanford) 12-2 (3.71m); 7, Jackie McNulty (Stanford) 11-8 (3.56m); 9, Nicole Summersett (Stanford) 11-8 (3.56m).
Triple jump – 1, Ashley Anderson (California) 42-3 ¼ (12.88m); 2, Carla Forbes (Stanford) 41-11 ¼ (12.88m) (No. 7); 3, Marisa Kwiatkowski (Stanford) 41-3 ¾ (12.59m).
Hammer – Collegiate: 2, Lena Giger (Stanford) 183-6.
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