BOSTON – In its history, Stanford's men's and women's teams have combined to win six distance medley relay titles at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Along the way, the DMR has become Stanford's signature event during the indoor season.
That's why Friday night's performances at the Terrier DMR Challenge were so significant. The Cardinal men's and women's DMR teams ran the fastest in school history on a 200-meter track.
The women's team of Lucy Jenks, Taylor James, Roisin Willis, and Juliette Whittaker ran 10:47.03, a school record on any-sized track, including indoors and outdoors. The time breaks the year-old mark of 10:49.30 set by Melissa Tanaka, Maya Valmon, Willis, and Whittaker on an oversized track at Washington's Ken Shannon Invitational.
Taylor James, Lucy Jenks, Roisin Willis, Juliette Whittaker, J.J. Clark. Photo by David Hicks.
The men's team of Cole Sprout, Will Floyd, Leo Young, and Ky Robinson ran 9:27.06, a school record on a 200-meter track, but second to the 9:26.91 by Sean McGorty, Isaiah Brandt-Sims, Hari Sathyamurthy, and Grant Fisher from 2018 on the same 307-meter flat Dempsey Indoor track at University of Washington.
Both races at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center were fast. The women's race featured the four fastest collegiate times in the country through Friday, including the two fastest in collegiate history, by Washington and Providence. Stanford placed fourth.
Stanford's time is the fifth-fastest in collegiate history on a regulation 200-meter indoor track and the sixth-fastest among all-sized indoor tracks.
Jenks got Stanford off with a split of 3:19.97 for the first 1,200 and handed off to James in seventh. James ran her 400 leg in 54.84 and handed off in eighth.
Willis, the defending NCAA indoor 800 champion, took the baton and dashed off a 2:00.92 split at that distance to move into fourth. Whittaker maintained that spot with a 1,600 anchor of 4:32.30. Willis' split was the fastest in the field by more than two seconds.
Cole Sprout, Leo Young, Will Floyd, Ky Robinson. Photo by David Hicks.
The Cardinal, the defending NCAA DMR champs, rank No. 5 in Division I this season and are all but assured of advancing to the NCAA Championships as one of the top 16 in the country. This weekend was a big one for the DMR, with many meets geared toward fast DMR races.
The Stanford men's team, however, finds itself on the outside looking in. The Card placed fifth in Boston and is No. 17 on the NCAA Division I list after another fast race at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame on Saturday.
The Cardinal opened with a 2:54.13 on the 1,200 leg by Sprout, who handed off to Floyd in sixth. The freshman tore off a 45.96 split in the 400, moving the Cardinal into fourth.
Young followed with an 800 split of 1:51.52 and handed off to Robinson in seventh. The two-time NCAA outdoor long-distance champ finished with a 1,600 split of 3:55.45, moving up two places. Floyd's split was the second-fastest in the field, as was Robinson's.
Stanford's performance stands at No. 33 on the all-time men's collegiate indoor list for 200-meter tracks and is No. 68 on any-sized indoor tracks.
The previous men's school record for a 200-meter track was 9:27.27 by Tom Coyle, Jackson Shumway, Justin Brinkley, and Sean McGorty from the Penn State National meet in 2016.
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Boston University DMR Challenge
At Boston University Track and Tennis Center
200-meter banked track
Winners and all Stanford results
Men
5,000 – 1, Grant Fisher '19 (Nike) 12:51.84 (No. 2 U.S. indoor AT); 6, Charles Hicks '23 (Nike Bowerman TC) 13:09.38 (PB); 7, Thomas Ratcliffe '20 (Nike Bowerman TC) 13:14.64 (PB).
Distance medley relay – 1, Virginia Tech 9:22.71; 5, Stanford (Cole Sprout, Will Floyd, Leo Young, Ky Robinson) 9:27.06 (No. 2 Stanford AT).
Women
Distance medley relay – 1, Washington 10:43.39; 4, Stanford (Lucy Jenks, Taylor James, Roisin Willis, Juliette Whittaker) 10:47.03 (school record).
PB = personal best
AT = all-time