Stanford Invite looks more like Payton Jordan
Was it just me, or did the 2015 Stanford Invitational feel more like its older brother, Payton Jordan, rather than just the outdoor opener for the NCAA? Sitting back and watching all the distance races go down to the wire on Friday night, and seeing the incredible times and the big names made this year’s meet superior to any other in recent memory. Looking forward less than one month to the actual Payton Jordan Invite, that meet has Diamond League-esque potential if the stars align like they did in Palo Alto last weekend.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to acknowledge the performances that stood out from our trip to the Bay Area:

 

The return of German, or are we overreacting? What about Aitchison? 

Before you start screaming at us for not giving more attention to D2 champ Oliver Aitchison’s 3:40 out of section 2 that was the fastest time of the day, just know that we were just as impressed as you, and understand that the winning time in section 1 was nearly three seconds slower than Aitchison’s in the previous heat. 

 

Two things can be learned from this: 1. Never underestimate Adams State just because they come with the “D2” label, and 2. America wants, no they NEED to see German Fernandez running well again, something that hasn’t happened for nearly three years. 

It was a gunshow for German Fernandez on Friday night

Basically, we’re not saying that German’s win was more impressive than Aitchison’s, it wasn’t. But seeing German flex while crossing the line first, even in a 3:43 race, felt long overdue. Don’t feel bad that the sight of German celebrating put a smile on your face, we won’t judge. In fact, we were doing the the same thing. 

 

Is Sam Stabler the outdoor version of Cristian Soratos?

The men’s 5k turned into the hotly contested race that we had hoped for and anticipated. We just didn’t think that Lamar’s Sam Stabler would run 13:30 and take down the likes of Mo Ahmed, Anthony Rotich, Brian Shrader, Chris O’Hare, and plenty more guys that had much longer resumes than the Brit Stabler. 

 

Watching the race unfold, Stabler stayed away from the front for the majority of the 12.5 laps, and therefore his assertion to the front with two laps to go was the first time that we even noticed that Stabler was still in the mix. But the 9-time Southland Conference champ showed no fear over the last two laps, a stretch that he covered in 2:00. With his breakout race, Stabler lowered his PB from by 25 seconds, from 13:55 to 13:30, and simultaneously became a top five candidate for NCAAs in June. 

 

For a guy that finished 201st at the 2014 NCAA XC Championships, Stabler will have to run a few more solid races this spring to prove that he’s here to stay, but don’t forget that we said the same thing about Cristian Soratos during indoor when he ran a converted 3:56 in January. 

Will Sam Stabler be the outdoor version of Cristian Soratos?
 

All Soratos did was run 3:55 later in the season, and finished second in the NCAA mile in one of the most memorable races in collegiate history.

 

Your move, Sam. 

 

Flanagan v Burka, Dom Scott appears to be NCAA 10k favorite

Sometimes in life a person does all of the work, while another individual gets all of the reward. Never was that more true than in the women’s 10k at the Stanford Invitational, when Shalane Flanagan led Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka for 24.5 laps before the former World indoor champion blew the doors off the 10,000m American record holder over the final 200m. Sure, that tactic worked out perfectly for Burka, a 3:58 1500m runner, but c’mon! She couldn’t take a few of those laps off Flanagan’s shoulders?

 

While this race was essentially a workout for Shalane ahead of the Boston Marathon on April 20th, she still wanted to win, and it just felt like Burka was stealing her lunch money by floating behind Flanagan lap after lap. It’s not unreasonable to think that these two would’ve run faster than 31:08 and 31:09, respectively, if she would’ve taken at least 8-10 of those laps off Flanagan’s plate. 

 

Ok, enough ranting. 

 

Outside of the battle up front, two ladies ran very impressive races. Kaitlin Gregg-Goodman of Strava TC, and Dominique Scott of Arkansas finished 3rd and 5th, respectively, in 32:09 and 32:11. Gregg-Goodman had PB's of 16:12 and 33:01 entering Friday night, both of which were from 2012, and on Friday she essentially ran two 5k personal bests back-to-back. Not only did she finish third in the best race of her life, but she also dropped a nasty kick: 

 

 

41 NCAA men under 29:20 in the Stanford 10k

You read that right. Oh yeah, and 20 men broke 29:00, with 13 of those guys hailing from the NCAA D1 West regional. Martin Hehir of Syracuse shined the brightest with his 28:27 for 2nd place behind Juan Luis Barrios, good for a USATF standard. Also in that group of 20 under 29:00? D2 stud Johnnie Guy of Southern Indiana with his 28:47.

 

Florida Relays, Home of the Sprints

Check out this stat- NCAA-leading marks were set in every event from the 200m-800m on both the men’s and women’s side in Gainesville. Here’s a look at every performance:

Najee Glass (7204) hands off to Andres Arroyo in the sprint relay. Photo by Matt Stamey, Gainesville Sun

200m

MEN: Andre De Grasse (USC), 20.20; WOMEN: Deanna Hill (USC), 22.98

 

400m

MEN: Najee Glass (Florida), 45.19; WOMEN: Kyra Jefferson (Florida), 51.50

 

800m

MEN: Alex Amankwah (Alabama), 1:45.91; WOMEN: Natoya Goule (Clemson), 2:01.63

 

Also of note at the Florida Relays: Miss State’s Rhianwedd Price runs NCAA-leading 4:11.67 in the 1500m, and the Florida men's 4x400 relays ran an NCAA-leading 3:01.78.