Stanford, Calif. - A beautiful first day of the Stanford Invitational lived up to the hype as standout performances were run from every corner of Cobb Track and Angell Field. 

In one of the most memorable outdoor openers to date, UMKC’s Courtney Frerich’s ran a commanding win in the women’s steeplechase in 9:49, her fastest opener to date. The UMKC Roo ran a personal best of 9:43 at the USATF Outdoor Championships last summer. 

Now that's an opener! Courtney Frerichs just won the women's steeple 9:49.06! #StanfordInvite pic.twitter.com/NcapFSGojs

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) April 4, 2015

Three-time D2 NCAA Champion Tabor Stevens jumped to the lead early on in the fastest section of the men’s steeplechase to open his season with a win in 8:32.50, leading eight men under 8:50. 

#D2Takeover Tabor Stevens FTW! pic.twitter.com/R5tEnVJlkK

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) April 4, 2015

The 5000m races did not disappoint, as promised. In section 2 of the women's 5k, we saw our first sub-16:00 mark by Notre Dame's Molly Seidel and North Carolina's Annie LeHardy. The two ACC foes were stride-for-stride on the homestretch with Seidel taking the win in 15:52.41 over LeHardy's 15:52.65. And that wasn't even the fastest heat! 

Section 1 was just as close as section 2, with 2014 USATF Indoor 3k Champ Gabriele Grunewald winning in 15:19.01 over Canadian Olympian and Michigan alum Nicole Sifuentes' 15:19.15. Alisha Williams also dipped under the IAAF "A" standard with 15:19.42.

In section 1 of the men's 5k, Lamar's Sam Stabler put his name on the map, winning in 13:30.50 in a race full of talent. He held off Jose Juan Esparza's 13:30.81 and defending steeplechase champion Anthony Rotich, who finished in 13:31.59. Notably, in section 3, the slowest of the evening sections, Oklahoma State's Kirubel Erassa made his return to the track winning in 13:45.83, closing in 55-seconds. 

The 10,000m race victories went to Gelete Burka and Juan Luis Barrios. Burka ran behind Shalane Flanagan for the entire race, taking down one of America's best with 300m to go. Burka finished in 31:08.16, while Flanagan recorded a 31:09.02. Olympian Barrios ran away from the rest of the men's field from the gun, running 28:12.91. Syracuse's Martin Hehir finished second in 28:27.70, clinching the USATF "A" standard.

Texas A&M’s defending NCAA champion Shamier Little opened up her outdoor campaign with a commanding win in the women’s 400m hurdles in 56.42, taking down the rest of the field by three seconds. 

 

On the high school side, the Campolindo women’s DMR squad took over with a U.S. No. 1 time of 11:56.51, carried by a team that included Finnane Toni, Juliet Arnswald, Mary Orders and Brighid Leach. 

 

In the fastest heat of the women’s 400m, Margaret Bamgbose of Notre Dame clocked a blazing time of 52.38, taking down Arkansas’ Chrishuna Williams and Daina Harper. The mark catapults her to an NCAA-leading spot. On the men’s side, Notre Dame’s Christopher Giesting was inspired by his teammate’s performance, won section 1 and clocked an NCAA-leading mark of 45.93. 

 

Texas A&M All American Shavez Hart battled some wind on the homestretch to clock a 10.23 for the win in the men’s 100m final. The Aggie is returning from a stellar performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships where he helped Texas A&M earn an NCAA title in the 4x400m relay.