Stanford Nabs Nation's No. 1 Rated Women's Distance Recruit, Rebecca Story

Stanford Nabs Nation's No. 1 Rated Women's Distance Recruit, Rebecca Story

Rebecca Story, the top-ranked women's distance recruit in the Class of 2018, commits to Stanford.

Oct 20, 2017 by Cory Mull
Stanford Nabs Nation's No. 1 Rated Women's Distance Recruit, Rebecca Story
By Cory Mull for MileSplit

Rebecca Story, the No. 1 ranked women's distance recruit in the Class of 2018 and No. 5-ranked runner in the Flo50 national rankings, has committed to Stanford University. 

This is a huge coup for the Cardinal, which had one of the top recruiting classes this past spring with the additions of Corning (NY) High's Jessica Lawson, Leesville Road (NC) High's Nevada Mareno, and Lamar (TX) graduate Julia Heymach. 

Story is an eight-time individual state champion in Tennessee who earned her first cross country title a year ago while also competing for Team USA at the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country International Challenge. Story, who's qualified for the TSSAA XC championships in four straight seasons, owns a 5K PB of 16:57.44 and has opened conservatively this fall as she worked through official visits.


Story, who earned a runner-up finish in the 4K at the AAU National Championships as a 7th grader, is just as accomplished on the track, where she sports marks of 2:12.51/4:48.16/9:59.85 in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m. She's run a 1-mile PB of 4:45.63 and is a two-time finisher at the Brooks PR 2-mile run, capturing a fourth-place nod in 2016.

​Watch Rebecca Story set the Tennessee high school girls state record for the mile with a 4:45 at the 2017 Music City Distance Carnival:



​Rebecca Story reacts to her mile PB in Nashville: