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NewsvineBy MOHAMMAD ALI
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It was a doubly strong performance for Stanford track and field team with both teams finishing well in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships this past weekend in Seattle, Wash. The women scored 96 points to place second and the men’s 79.5 was good for fourth.
Junior Erica McLain highlighted the women’s performance with a pair of NCAA-qualifying jumps. She took first place in the triple jump, recording a leap of 13.51 meters, which qualifies her automatically for the NCAA Championships, and finished second in the long jump with an NCAA provisional distance of 6.21 meters.
“[My performance] was good,” McLain said. “It was what I and my coach set out to do. I knew I had to go there and get the job done. I still have a lot of things to work on, and it’s a learning process for me, but I’ll keep working hard.”
Redshirt junior Arianna Lambie won the 5000-meter run with a meet record of 15:50.65, nearly 12 seconds faster than the old mark. The time was also good enough for an automatic NCAA bid.
Both senior Ashley Freeman and redshirt junior Teresa McWalters posted NCAA provisional times in their races. Freeman ran a time of 2:08.59 in the 800 meters to finish fourth, while McWalters placed second in the 3000 with a time of 9:22.97. Senior Amanda Trotter finished two places back at 9:44.49.
“I feel that my performance was definitely a step in the right direction,” Freeman said. “I had not been running that well previously and that 2:05 made me realize that I still have a little something in me.
“I hope to use the mental and physical momentum from this weekend to have a great outdoor season,” she continued. “I am really looking forward to it, especially since it is my last year.”
The women’s team earned a total of 96 points and placed second in the championship behind Arizona State. The Sun Devils won with 135 points, and Cal came in third with 79.
The best event on the men’s side was the 800, where redshirt juniors Russell Brown and Michael Garcia both finished in the top four. Brown ran an NCAA provisional time of 1:49.23, which put him in second place. Garcia placed fourth with a time of 1:50:39.
Junior pole vaulter Graeme Hoste also managed to reach an NCAA provisional mark by clearing 5.32 meters to finish second.
In the 400, freshman Zach Chandy’s stellar performance earned six points for Stanford — he finished in third place with a time of 47.97. Chandy also ran the anchor leg on the men’s 4x400 relay team which ended in third place with a total time of 3:13.87.
“I’m just really excited about [my performance],” Chandy said. “It’s not my best, but I’m nearing my best time. I feel like I’ll be pretty fast at the end.
“[I] just try to have fun, I’m on a relay team with some of the best kids in the nation, and I’m happy to be a part of the team,” he added.
The men’s distance relay placed fourth with an NCAA provisional time of 9:45.07.
Overall, the men’s team finished the championship in fourth with a total of 79.5 points. Washington won first place with 109 points, while Arizona was runner-up with 88 points and Oregon was in third place with 86 points.