May 15, 2010
Berkeley, Calif. - The Pac-10 Track and Field Championships are underway at Edwards Field on the campus of California. Both Stanford teams scored 33 points on day one, but most of the finals will take place Sunday. The Cardinal men swept the top three places in the 10,000 meters, while the women excelled in the long jump.
In the final event of the evening, the Stanford men dominated the 10K, sweeping the top three places. Chris Derrick won his first Pac-10 Championship in track, taking the title in 29:10.80. Right behind Derrick were teammates Elliott Heath (29:10.86) and Jake Riley (29:10.93).
The Cardinal also scored points in the other distance final of the day as JT Sullivan placed third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Sullivan finished in a time of 8:43.69, while Benjamin Johnson also scored, placing seventh in 8:59.33.
The other Stanford point came from the throws where Carter Wells placed in eighth in the hammer. Wells tossed 188-0 to earn one point for Stanford.
In addition to today's point scorers, the Cardinal men had large contingent advancing through today's prelims for a chance to score points in Sunday in the finals.
Leading this group was Amaechi Morton who qualified for tomorrow's final in both the 110 and 400-meter hurdles. Morton is the seventh qualifier in the 110 highs after running a time of 14.47. He is the third qualifier in his specialty, the 400 intermediate hurdles, after running a time of 50.14. Durell Coleman will also run in the final of the 400 hurdles after earning the final qualifying spot with a time of 53.55.
The sprinters were led by Mark Mueller, who earned a spot in tomorrow's final in the 200 meters. Mueller ran a time of 21.47, which was career best. Spencer Chase also advanced in the sprints, earning the final spot in the final of the 400 meters with a time of 47.90.
In the 4x100-meter relay, Mueller teamed with Daniel Belch, Tyrone McGraw and Ryan Fisicaro to earn the third qualifying spot. The Stanford team ran a season-best time of 40.45.
The other qualifiers came from the 1,500 meters where Dylan Ferris and Andrew Berberick advanced to the final. Ferris ran a time of 3:52.47, while Berberick ran 3:47.44.
Arantxa<!> King |
The women were led by its long jumpers, who scored big points. Arantxa King finished as the Pac-10 runner-up after leaping 20-9 ¾. Griffin Matthew (20-5 ¾) and Whitney Liehr (20-2 ¼) finished right behind King in third and fourth. The trio of Cardinal jumpers scored 19 of the 33 points that Stanford scored on the day.
The other Stanford points on Saturday came from the distance runners. In the 10,000 meters, Stephanie Marcy ran a time of 33:41.57, which was the eighth fastest in Stanford history. Marcy finished third, while Kate Niehaus finished sixth after running 33:55.33. Her time was the ninth fastest in school history. In addition, Madeleine O'Meara placed fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to earn four points. O'Meara ran a time of 10:24.06, which was the sixth best in school history.
In the sprints, Carissa Levingston led Stanford by advancing to three finals on Sunday. Levingston, Griffin, King and Brittni Dixon-Smith placed third in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 45.03 to advance. Levingston also ran 11.54 in the 100 meters and 23.66 in the 200 to advance to individual finals. Her time in the 100 was the second fastest of the day and sixth best in Stanford history. Matthew advanced to the final in the 100 after running 11.56.
Sunday will mark the completion of the Pac-10 Championships. Most of the finals of the meet will be contested Sunday as the team look to claim Pac-10 team titles. In addition, several individuals will set their sights on individual Pac-10 titles for Stanford.