Cobb Track House and Angell Field saw several amazing races and even the breaking of an American record this weekend at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Known as one of the top distance meets in the United States, the Invite drew top runners from across the nation.

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Bernard Bluhm

Senior Lauren Centrowitz led the Cardinal’s female distance runners with a personal best time of 4:15.13 in the 1500 meters, good for seventh in the event against a number of post-collegiate runners. Her finish secured her second place spot on the NCAA leaderboard for 2008.

The meet started in the early afternoon and ran until midnight after the men’s 10,000-meter race concluded. Stanford junior Oluwadare Kolawole and freshman Spencer Castro pounded on overturned garbage cans to a steady beat in support of their teammates for over three hours as the men and women ran the long event.

The Cardinal women were led by senior Lauren Centrowitz, who ran a personal best in the 1,500 with a time of 4:16.13; she finished seventh in the race but secured the second fastest time in the NCAA for 2008. Junior Alicia Follmar, who recovered after her fall last week during a race, had an impressive run, finishing 12th in the event with a time of 4:21.25.

One of the most spectacular events of the evening was the run by freshman Alexandra Gits, who finished third in the 10,000-meter run with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 33:19.42. While this achievement in itself would be impressive enough, Gits made an even greater impression on onlookers as she ran the entire last half of the race with just one shoe, after losing one at the 5,000-meter mark. Spectators were awed by her determination and steady pace despite her equipment difficulties, and the audience broke into applause as she crossed the finish line.

Senior Lindsay Allen finished in ninth place at the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a season-best time of 10:08.84. Her time moves her into first place in the Pac-10 list and third in the NCAAs. Clearly, several of the runners at this meet are prepared for competition beyond the collegiate level. Another impressive performance in the long-distance races was put forth by senior Arianna Lambie, who ran a personal best 15:22:51 in the 5,000-meter run — the third best time by an American this year.

There were also several successes in the sprints and field events. Sophomore Griffin Matthew earned a regional qualifying mark in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.70 seconds after barely missing out last weekend. Matthew had a great start, taking an incredible lead in the short race. Junior Idara Otu finished first in the 400 with a collegiate best time of 55.40 seconds; Otu doubled back to finish third in the 200 meters with a time of 24.97 seconds.

The hurdlers were led by junior Myles Bradley, who ran a personal best in the event with a time of 13.78 seconds to finish second. For the women, junior Deborah Akinniyi also notched a personal best and regional qualifying time of 13.79 seconds in the 100 meter hurdles.

“It was really amazing to finally break 14 seconds,” Akinniyi said. “After being injured and not being able to compete at all last year, hitting the regional standard in the hurdles seemed very far out of reach.”

The hammer-throwing duo of sophomore Jaynie Goodbody and senior Melissa Yunghans recorded personal bests with throws of 199-04 and 184-11, respectively. Matthew also had an impressive showing in the long jump, where she achieved her second regional mark for the day with a distance of 19-10.75. Freshman Arantxa King improved her regional mark with a leap of 20-1.75.

The women’s side of the meet also saw the impressive breaking of an American record by Shalane Flanagan of Nike, who ran a time of 30:34.49 in the 10,000-meter run. The former North Carolina star was competing in the event for the first time.

The Stanford men were led by an incredibly close race between distance standouts senior Russell Brown and junior Garrett Heath in the 1,500-meter run. Brown finished in fourth with a season-best time of 3:40.96, and Heath followed in fifth with a season-best time of 3:41.08. Both men moved into top 10 in the NCAA after this race. In the 5,000 meters, freshman Elliot Heath ran a regional qualifying time of 13:59.12.

In the field events, Stanford was led by junior Tunji Munabi, who won the long jump with a distance of 24-5.5, and senior Mike Macellari, who won the shot put with a season-best toss of 56-6.75.

Next up for the Cardinal are the Pac-10 Championships during the weekend of May 16 in Tempe, Ariz.