The Stanford multi-event athletes definitely made their mark this weekend in Tempe, Ariz., as the Pac-10 Multi-Event Championship concluded with the Cardinal women in a tie for second place and the men in third. Indeed, the small contingent of six Stanford athletes put forth several strong performances and personal bests this past weekend, which should only help the team moving forward into this weekend’s Pac-10 Championships.

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Bernard Bluhm

Stanford senior Josh Hustedt led the Cardinal men in the Pac-10 Multi-Event Championship. Hustedt ran a season best time of 50.64 in the 400 meters and finished in first place in the high jump and second in the pole vault and long jump.

Not surprisingly, the men were led once again by the remarkable talent of senior Josh Hustedt. Hustedt ran a season best time of 50.64 in the 400 meters and followed that up with some spectacular finishes in other events. The Stanford senior also notched a second place finish in the long jump, first place in the high jump, second place in the pole vault and third place in the 1,500-meter run — leading to an overall third place finish in the men’s decathlon with 7,181 points.

Competing also for the men was freshman Corey Dysick, who, though he finished in 11th place, had collegiate bests in the 110 hurdles (15.21 seconds), the discus (115-10) and the 1,500 meters (4:50.45). The reason for Dysick’s poor finish despite his top marks was due to a “no height” mark in the pole vault.

“[The] ‘no height’ in the pole vault . . . killed my chances to score in the meet,” Dysick said. “While the meet did not go as well as I would have liked, I walked away with a few event [personal records] and great competition experience.”

Dysick’s experience gained in events like these could prove crucial down the line, as the freshman’s burgeoning talent should be formidable in the years to come. For now, though, Hustedt remains the top contributor of the Cardinal multi-event squad on the men’s side.

“Josh, of course, did extremely well,” Dysick said. “He is a senior, [so] this was his last Pac-10 Championships.” Dysick went on to laud his teammate for his achievements off the track, which included his plans to attend medical school at Yale next year.

The Stanford women were led by junior Lauren Stewart, who recorded a season best in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.24 seconds. Stewart also had a season best of 19-3.25 in the long jump and a career best in the javelin with a throw of 120-4. Her impressive results propelled her from sixth place on day one to a fourth place finish with a personal best score of 5,440 points.

Also faring incredibly well for Stanford was freshman Whitney Liehr, who finished directly behind teammate Stewart in fifth place, with a personal best score of 5,186 points. Liehr had a career best throw in the javelin with a toss of 118-8. The other Cardinal women in the competition — sophomore Kara Bennett and freshman Lexie Spiranac — finished in 11th and 16th with collegiate best scores of 4,799 points and 4,468 points, respectively. Spiranac, a freshman, spoke of Pac-10 Championships as an “amazing experience” and was happy to “have completed the grueling two-day event.”

With these successful finishes, the Cardinal is well prepared to return to Arizona next weekend for the final round of Pac-10 Championships.