SEATTLE – By the time Sophia Kennedy crossed the finish line in the invitational 3,000 meters at the Husky Classic on Saturday, Stanford women had broken three high-level school indoor track and field records in one day.
Juliette Whittaker in the 800, Amy Bunnage in the mile, and Kennedy made for a memorable day for the Cardinal, a day after the Stanford women’s distance medley relay record went down. Whittaker and Bunnage were part of the DMR team.
With victory in a meet record 1:59.44, Whittaker moved into the NCAA Division I yearly lead, taking over from Sanu Jallow of Arkansas, who ran 1:59.77 earlier in the day at the Tyson Invitational.
Her time, on the 307-meter flat track at University of Washington’s Dempsey Indoor, was the third-fastest in collegiate indoor history for all conditions. The only faster indoor times are 1:58.40 by Tokyo Olympic champion Athing Mu, of Texas A&M in 2021, and the 1:59.25 by LSU’s Michaela Rose last year, both on regulation 200-meter tracks.
It was the 14th time that Whittaker, a junior, has broken a Stanford record, including relays. She broke her own all-conditions school record, of 1:59.53 from her winning effort at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships. That mark remains Stanford’s record on a 200-meter track.
Bunnage set her third individual school record of this indoor season. Following her records in the 5,000 and 3,000, Bunnage ran her first collegiate mile and ran 4:29.09. In placing third in the invitational section, Bunnage set a Stanford absolute record (including indoors and outdoors) and became the first Cardinal to break 4:30.
Bunnage broke Whittaker’s year-old school record of 4:30.92, though it remains the record for a 200-meter track. Bunnage, 19, also set the Australian under-20 absolute mile record and ranks No. 10 on Australia’s senior list.
Two weeks after Bunnage set the Stanford 3,000 record of 8:43.82, Kennedy broke it, running 8:42.53. Kennedy, also a sophomore, was fourth in the race and among five under the previous meet record of 8:48.73 by Emily Infeld in 2020.
This was the first school record for Kennedy, the daughter of multiple American distance record-holder Bob Kennedy. The time, including oversized tracks, was the ninth-fastest in collegiate indoor history.
Phew!
But that’s not all. Three Cardinal men ran sub-4-minute miles, including two for the first time.
Cole Sprout is a veteran, running sub-4 for the fourth time. He led Stanford with a 3:57.56 for fifth place. However, in 10th and 11th, sophomore Leo Young and junior Zane Bergen each ran their first sub-4s. Young ran 3:58.48 and Bergen 3:58.59. In all, six Cardinal ran personal bests in that event, including freshmen James Dargan (4:01.95), who jumped to No. 3 on Stanford’s all-time freshmen list.
Including indoors and outdoors, 22 different Stanford runners have run sub-4 miles. The first was Duncan MacDonald, an Olympian who ran 3:59.6 outdoors in 1970.
Husky Classic
At Dempsey Indoor
(307-meter flat track)
Men
Mile – 5, Cole Sprout (Stanford) 3:57.56; 10, Leo Young (Stanford) 3:58.48 (PB); 11, Zane Bergen (Stanford) 3:58.59 (PB); 25, Thomas Boyden (Stanford) 4:01.60; 27, James Dargan (Stanford) 4:01.95 (PB; No. 3 Stanford frosh); 43, Robert DiDonato (Stanford) 4:04.29 (PB); 46, Patrick Koon (Stanford) 4:05.14 (PB); 52, Nolan Topper (Stanford) 4:05.77 (PB); 65, Lex Young (Stanford) 4:07.37; 92, Caleb Boutelle (Stanford) 4:13.38.
Women
800 – 1, Juliette Whittaker (Stanford) 1:59.44 (school record; third-fastest under all conditions in collegiate indoor history); 25, Julia Flynn (Stanford) 2:11.00; 26, Cate Peters (Stanford) 2:11.01; 29, Hillary Studdert (Stanford) 2:11.44.
Mile – Invitational: 1, Maggi Congdon (Northern Arizona) 4:27.77; 3, Amy Bunnage (Stanford) 4:29.09 (PB; School record; Australian U20 absolute record). Main: 5, Zofia Dudek (Stanford) 4:37.29 (PB); 19, Riley Stewart (Stanford) 4:43.61; 29, Audrey Suarez (Stanford) 4:46.42; 42, Audrey DaDamio (Stanford) 4:48.96; 66, Amelia Everett (Stanford) 4:53.65.
3,000 – Invitational: 1, Lexy Halladay-Lowry (BYU) 8:40.60; 4, Sophia Kennedy (Stanford) 8:42.53 (PB; School record; Ninth-fastest under all conditions in collegiate indoor history).
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – At the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, shot putter Sam Liokumovich made his season debut and placed second at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Liokumovich, third in the Pac-12 in 2024, threw 58-11 ¼ (17.96 meters).
In the women’s 60 hurdles, Tess Stapleton ran 8.25 to place third in the invitational final.
Don Kirby Elite Invitational
At Albuquerque Convention Center
(200-meter banked track)
Men
60 – Unseeded: John Kroeger (Stanford) 7.03.
Triple jump – 1, Sir Jonathan Sims (Tarleton State) 51-10 ½ (15.81); 22, Kevin Yang (Stanford) 44-0 (13.41).
Shot put – 1, Cam Burkett (Wyoming) 59-4 ¼ (18.09); 2, Sam Liokumovich (Stanford) 58-11 ¼ (17.96); 14, Garin Gross (Stanford) 50-1 ¼ (15.27).
Women
60 – Invitational prelims: 9, Teagan Zwaanstra (Stanford) 7.40. Unseeded: 11, Alaysia Oakes (Stanford) 7.54.
60 hurdles – 1, Aaliyah McCormick (Oregon) 7.98; 3, Tess Stapleton (Stanford) 8.25. Prelims: 4, Stapleton 8.34; 32, Sara Rivas (Stanford) 8.97 (PB).
Triple jump – 1, Simone Johnson (San Jose State) 45-2 ½ (13.78); 15, Alaysia Oakes (Stanford) 39-11 ½ (12.18).
Shot put – 1, Mya Lesnar (Colorado State) 59-9 ¾ (18.23); 10, Kaiah Fisher (Stanford) 46-2 (14.07).
PB = personal best
AT = all-time