Record-setting DMR: Tom Coyle, Jackson Shumway, Justin Brinkley, Sean McGorty. Photo by Jess Riden.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Stanford’s men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams ran times among the fastest in collegiate history Friday at the Penn State National indoor track and field invitational and ensured qualifying spots for the NCAA Championships.
The Cardinal men’s quartet of Tom Coyle, Jackson Shumway, Justin Brinkley, and Sean McGorty set a school record of 9:27.27, the fifth-fastest in collegiate history, while finishing inches behind winner Penn State on the 200-meter banked Ashenfelter Track. It eclipsed 9:28.25 run on an oversized track by the 2013 quartet of Tyler Stutzman, Spencer Chase, Luke Lefebure, and Michael Atchoo.
The Cardinal women’s team of Claudia Saunders, Kristyn Williams, Olivia Baker, and Rebecca Mehra won its race in 10:54.58, the No. 8 collegiate time ever and the third-fastest by a Stanford team. Saunders, a senior, has been part of all three of those teams.
The DMR is contested in legs of 1,200, 400, 800, and 1,600 meters and is staple of collegiate indoor track and the signature event of the Stanford indoor tradition. Cardinal teams have combined for six NCAA titles – five by the men and one by the women – and 19 top-five finishes, with the Stanford women finishing second the past two years.
McGorty’s reaction to the record?
“I had no idea,” he said. “To run that fast and break a school record with the history we’ve had is definitely exciting. And to do it this early … It’s only the start.”
The meet was Stanford’s second of the season and the first with a DMR. For the men, a time of 9:32 is generally regarded as the cutoff for qualification into the 12-team NCAA field. For the women, 11:06 is the time to shoot for. Rest assured, both teams will be at nationals March 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama. This will be the seventh consecutive NCAA berth for the Cardinal men’s DMR and the fifth for the women’s.
While the men’s race came down to four high-quality teams, the women’s DMR was a straight-up duel between Stanford and Georgetown.
On the opening leg, Saunders stayed on the shoulder of Georgetown’s Andrea Keklak for most of their six laps before taking the lead, and losing it almost immediately. Saunders ran a 1,200 split of 3:22.7 before handing off to Williams, who made up nearly all of a 15-meter deficit while covering 400 in a scorching 52.6.
Baker remained patient on the shoulder of Georgetown’s Sabrina Southerland while running a controlled, but fast 2:02.6 split for 800, giving the baton to Mehra, a step behind.
Mehra, a senior and 2014 second-team outdoor All-America in the 1,500, had never anchored any relay at Stanford, much less a DMR, and faced off against Georgetown’s Katrina Coogan, a two-time indoor All-America and experienced DMR anchor.
“It was an absolute honor to be able to represent Stanford on that anchor leg, it’s been a dream of mine since I was in high school,” Mehra wrote in a postrace text message. “I knew it was going to come down to a battle between us and Georgetown, so when I got the baton, I knew I would have to be calm and collected and stick with Katrina.”
At the bell, Mehra knew it was her time to make a move and did so “with all I had,” with her teammates in mind.
“The whole time, I was thinking, ‘Do it for them,’” she wrote. “There really isn’t any greater motivation!”
She took the lead, created a gap, and then withstood a final surge by Coogan. Mehra clocked a 4:36.0 split to win, far superior to her mile best of 4:40.46.
Almost just as encouraging for coach Chris Miltenberg, Stanford’s Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, was the run of the women’s DMR ‘B’ team, which came in third in 11:18.50. The splits were 3:25.5 for Maddy Berkson, 54.9 for Kaitlyn Williams, 2:08.3 for Malika Waschmann, and 4:49.8 for freshman Hannah Long, making her Stanford track debut.
For the men, Coyle burst to a 2:54.5 opening split in a tight group that featured Mississippi and Georgetown, and Penn State. Coyle handed off in third to Shumway, who powered into second with a 46.9 (his 400 personal best is 47.71) and closed hard on leader Ole Miss at the exchange.
Brinkley maintained second during his 1:49.6 leg, but lost ground to Ole Miss while Penn State and Georgetown moved up to his shoulder. That was the situation McGorty found himself in as he took the baton on the anchor, about 12 meters back.
Afterward, McGorty looked back on his run and realized how much he has grown as a runner, even since last year. Here’s why:
First, he was faced with a choice: Push hard to close the gap from Ole Miss anchor Sean Tobin, but risk being caught in the dreaded ‘no man’s land,’ or be content in leading a chase pack and staying patient. McGorty chose the former.
“I had eyes on him the whole time,” McGorty said. “No second guessing.”
McGorty indeed pushed the pace and eventually caught Tobin with about 700 to go. Again he faced a choice: Relax for a moment and save for a kick, or continue to grind laps at a fast pace and see what happens. He chose the latter.
“I have a certain amount of confidence in knowing what I can and can’t do,” McGorty said. “I wanted to stay in rhythm. There was no point in slowing down and changing gears again for a kick. Once I caught up, I knew I had to be decisive.”
Penn State and Georgetown keyed off McGorty, with Nittany Lions’ anchor Brannon Kidder passing McGorty and grabbing the inside lane as they approached the final turn.
McGorty refused to lose and bent wide to create a side-by-side sprint to the finish, where Kidder outleaned the Stanford junior at the line, with Penn State running 9:27.20, the No. 4 time in collegiate history.
“Last year, I would have thought, ‘I can’t catch him,’ or settled for second,” McGorty said. “I don’t really think I can count myself out anymore.”
McGorty’s 1,600 split was 3:55.8, a time that converts to a 3:57.2 mile, or about a 3:57.4 with a standing start. That far exceeds McGorty’s personal best of 3:59.34 (on an oversized indoor track) and indicates a higher level of fitness for McGorty, who placed seventh at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last fall.
“This was another huge step for me,” McGorty said. “I had a 1,200 time trial last week at that pace, that made me feel ready. I knew I was in this shape and I can run that rhythm.”
After the race, Atchoo, the anchor on that 2013 record team and on the Cardinal DMR that won the 2014 NCAA title, sent a congratulatory text message. Atchoo has been the example to McGorty, as a fellow strength-based runner who knew how to anchor a championship DMR. In other words, McGorty has approached this season and this moment well prepared.
“We all wanted to run fast, we had that 9:32 gold standard in the back of our minds,” McGorty said. “But time wasn’t really talked about. It was really about competing.”
They did, and more.
Penn State National
200-meter banked track
PB = personal best
Winners and Stanford competitors:
Men
Distance medley relay – 1, Penn State 9:27.20 (fastest in country this year); 2, Stanford (Tom Coyle, Jackson Shumway, Justin Brinkley, Sean McGorty) 9:27.27 (school record; No. 5 all-time collegiate performance).
Pole vault – 1, Torben Laidig (Virginia Tech) 18-2 ¾ (5.56m); 2 (tie), Dylan Duvio (Stanford), Garrett Starkey (Stanford), each 17-1 ½ (5.22m); 6, Dalton Duvio (Stanford) 16-7 ½ (5.07m); 9, Dan Emery (Stanford) 16-1 ¾ (4.92m; PB).
35-pound weight throw – 1, Anthony Jones (Eastern Michigan) 69-10 ¾ (21.30m); 20, Tristen Newman (Stanford) 53-7 (16.33m; PB).
Heptathlon (first day of two) – 1, Austin Jamerson (Cornell) 3,229 points; 2, Harrison Williams (Stanford) 3,041.
Harrison Williams’ scores: 60 – 7.13, 837 pts.; LJ – 22-2 ¼ (6.76m), 757; SP – 42-4 ¼ (12.91m), 662; HJ – 6-6 (1.98m), 785.
Women
60 – 1, Flings Owusu-Agyapong (unattached) 7.27; 12, Michaela Crunkleton-Wilson (Stanford) 7.66.
Distance medley relay – 1, Stanford ‘A’ (Claudia Saunders, Kristyn Williams, Olivia Baker, Rebecca Mehra) 10:54.58 (No. 3 Stanford all-time; fastest in country this year; No. 8 all-time collegiate performance); 3, Stanford ‘B’ (Maddy Berkson, Kaitlyn Williams, Malika Waschmann, Hannah Long) 11:18.50.
Long jump – 1, Danielle Gibson (Penn State) 20-0 ½ (6.11m); 8, Marisa Kwiatkowski (Stanford) 18-5 ¾ (5.63m).
20-pound weight throw – 1, Alexis Cooks (Akron) 66-10 (20.37m); 6, Valarie Allman (Stanford) 60-1 ¼ (18.32m; No. 3 Stanford all-time; PB); 17, Lena Giger (Stanford) 51-9 ¾ (15.79m).
Pentathlon – 1, Chalaese Davis (South Carolina) 3,825 points; 4, Brittany McGee (Stanford) 3,611 (No. 4 Stanford all-time, PB).
Brittany McGee’s scores: 60 -- 8.89 (PB), 933 pts.; HJ -- 5-3 1/4 (1.61m), 747; SP – 33-7 ¼ (10.24m), 545; LJ – 18-7 (5.66m), 747; 800 – 2:34.34 (PB), 639.
The Cardinal men’s quartet of Tom Coyle, Jackson Shumway, Justin Brinkley, and Sean McGorty set a school record of 9:27.27, the fifth-fastest in collegiate history, while finishing inches behind winner Penn State on the 200-meter banked Ashenfelter Track. It eclipsed 9:28.25 run on an oversized track by the 2013 quartet of Tyler Stutzman, Spencer Chase, Luke Lefebure, and Michael Atchoo.
The Cardinal women’s team of Claudia Saunders, Kristyn Williams, Olivia Baker, and Rebecca Mehra won its race in 10:54.58, the No. 8 collegiate time ever and the third-fastest by a Stanford team. Saunders, a senior, has been part of all three of those teams.
The DMR is contested in legs of 1,200, 400, 800, and 1,600 meters and is staple of collegiate indoor track and the signature event of the Stanford indoor tradition. Cardinal teams have combined for six NCAA titles – five by the men and one by the women – and 19 top-five finishes, with the Stanford women finishing second the past two years.
McGorty’s reaction to the record?
“I had no idea,” he said. “To run that fast and break a school record with the history we’ve had is definitely exciting. And to do it this early … It’s only the start.”
The meet was Stanford’s second of the season and the first with a DMR. For the men, a time of 9:32 is generally regarded as the cutoff for qualification into the 12-team NCAA field. For the women, 11:06 is the time to shoot for. Rest assured, both teams will be at nationals March 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama. This will be the seventh consecutive NCAA berth for the Cardinal men’s DMR and the fifth for the women’s.
While the men’s race came down to four high-quality teams, the women’s DMR was a straight-up duel between Stanford and Georgetown.
On the opening leg, Saunders stayed on the shoulder of Georgetown’s Andrea Keklak for most of their six laps before taking the lead, and losing it almost immediately. Saunders ran a 1,200 split of 3:22.7 before handing off to Williams, who made up nearly all of a 15-meter deficit while covering 400 in a scorching 52.6.
Baker remained patient on the shoulder of Georgetown’s Sabrina Southerland while running a controlled, but fast 2:02.6 split for 800, giving the baton to Mehra, a step behind.
Mehra, a senior and 2014 second-team outdoor All-America in the 1,500, had never anchored any relay at Stanford, much less a DMR, and faced off against Georgetown’s Katrina Coogan, a two-time indoor All-America and experienced DMR anchor.
“It was an absolute honor to be able to represent Stanford on that anchor leg, it’s been a dream of mine since I was in high school,” Mehra wrote in a postrace text message. “I knew it was going to come down to a battle between us and Georgetown, so when I got the baton, I knew I would have to be calm and collected and stick with Katrina.”
At the bell, Mehra knew it was her time to make a move and did so “with all I had,” with her teammates in mind.
“The whole time, I was thinking, ‘Do it for them,’” she wrote. “There really isn’t any greater motivation!”
She took the lead, created a gap, and then withstood a final surge by Coogan. Mehra clocked a 4:36.0 split to win, far superior to her mile best of 4:40.46.
Almost just as encouraging for coach Chris Miltenberg, Stanford’s Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, was the run of the women’s DMR ‘B’ team, which came in third in 11:18.50. The splits were 3:25.5 for Maddy Berkson, 54.9 for Kaitlyn Williams, 2:08.3 for Malika Waschmann, and 4:49.8 for freshman Hannah Long, making her Stanford track debut.
For the men, Coyle burst to a 2:54.5 opening split in a tight group that featured Mississippi and Georgetown, and Penn State. Coyle handed off in third to Shumway, who powered into second with a 46.9 (his 400 personal best is 47.71) and closed hard on leader Ole Miss at the exchange.
Brinkley maintained second during his 1:49.6 leg, but lost ground to Ole Miss while Penn State and Georgetown moved up to his shoulder. That was the situation McGorty found himself in as he took the baton on the anchor, about 12 meters back.
Afterward, McGorty looked back on his run and realized how much he has grown as a runner, even since last year. Here’s why:
First, he was faced with a choice: Push hard to close the gap from Ole Miss anchor Sean Tobin, but risk being caught in the dreaded ‘no man’s land,’ or be content in leading a chase pack and staying patient. McGorty chose the former.
“I had eyes on him the whole time,” McGorty said. “No second guessing.”
McGorty indeed pushed the pace and eventually caught Tobin with about 700 to go. Again he faced a choice: Relax for a moment and save for a kick, or continue to grind laps at a fast pace and see what happens. He chose the latter.
“I have a certain amount of confidence in knowing what I can and can’t do,” McGorty said. “I wanted to stay in rhythm. There was no point in slowing down and changing gears again for a kick. Once I caught up, I knew I had to be decisive.”
Penn State and Georgetown keyed off McGorty, with Nittany Lions’ anchor Brannon Kidder passing McGorty and grabbing the inside lane as they approached the final turn.
McGorty refused to lose and bent wide to create a side-by-side sprint to the finish, where Kidder outleaned the Stanford junior at the line, with Penn State running 9:27.20, the No. 4 time in collegiate history.
“Last year, I would have thought, ‘I can’t catch him,’ or settled for second,” McGorty said. “I don’t really think I can count myself out anymore.”
McGorty’s 1,600 split was 3:55.8, a time that converts to a 3:57.2 mile, or about a 3:57.4 with a standing start. That far exceeds McGorty’s personal best of 3:59.34 (on an oversized indoor track) and indicates a higher level of fitness for McGorty, who placed seventh at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last fall.
“This was another huge step for me,” McGorty said. “I had a 1,200 time trial last week at that pace, that made me feel ready. I knew I was in this shape and I can run that rhythm.”
After the race, Atchoo, the anchor on that 2013 record team and on the Cardinal DMR that won the 2014 NCAA title, sent a congratulatory text message. Atchoo has been the example to McGorty, as a fellow strength-based runner who knew how to anchor a championship DMR. In other words, McGorty has approached this season and this moment well prepared.
“We all wanted to run fast, we had that 9:32 gold standard in the back of our minds,” McGorty said. “But time wasn’t really talked about. It was really about competing.”
They did, and more.
* * *
Penn State National
200-meter banked track
PB = personal best
Winners and Stanford competitors:
Men
Distance medley relay – 1, Penn State 9:27.20 (fastest in country this year); 2, Stanford (Tom Coyle, Jackson Shumway, Justin Brinkley, Sean McGorty) 9:27.27 (school record; No. 5 all-time collegiate performance).
Pole vault – 1, Torben Laidig (Virginia Tech) 18-2 ¾ (5.56m); 2 (tie), Dylan Duvio (Stanford), Garrett Starkey (Stanford), each 17-1 ½ (5.22m); 6, Dalton Duvio (Stanford) 16-7 ½ (5.07m); 9, Dan Emery (Stanford) 16-1 ¾ (4.92m; PB).
35-pound weight throw – 1, Anthony Jones (Eastern Michigan) 69-10 ¾ (21.30m); 20, Tristen Newman (Stanford) 53-7 (16.33m; PB).
Heptathlon (first day of two) – 1, Austin Jamerson (Cornell) 3,229 points; 2, Harrison Williams (Stanford) 3,041.
Harrison Williams’ scores: 60 – 7.13, 837 pts.; LJ – 22-2 ¼ (6.76m), 757; SP – 42-4 ¼ (12.91m), 662; HJ – 6-6 (1.98m), 785.
Women
60 – 1, Flings Owusu-Agyapong (unattached) 7.27; 12, Michaela Crunkleton-Wilson (Stanford) 7.66.
Distance medley relay – 1, Stanford ‘A’ (Claudia Saunders, Kristyn Williams, Olivia Baker, Rebecca Mehra) 10:54.58 (No. 3 Stanford all-time; fastest in country this year; No. 8 all-time collegiate performance); 3, Stanford ‘B’ (Maddy Berkson, Kaitlyn Williams, Malika Waschmann, Hannah Long) 11:18.50.
Long jump – 1, Danielle Gibson (Penn State) 20-0 ½ (6.11m); 8, Marisa Kwiatkowski (Stanford) 18-5 ¾ (5.63m).
20-pound weight throw – 1, Alexis Cooks (Akron) 66-10 (20.37m); 6, Valarie Allman (Stanford) 60-1 ¼ (18.32m; No. 3 Stanford all-time; PB); 17, Lena Giger (Stanford) 51-9 ¾ (15.79m).
Pentathlon – 1, Chalaese Davis (South Carolina) 3,825 points; 4, Brittany McGee (Stanford) 3,611 (No. 4 Stanford all-time, PB).
Brittany McGee’s scores: 60 -- 8.89 (PB), 933 pts.; HJ -- 5-3 1/4 (1.61m), 747; SP – 33-7 ¼ (10.24m), 545; LJ – 18-7 (5.66m), 747; 800 – 2:34.34 (PB), 639.
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