NCAA Qualifiers Set
STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford will be represented by five individuals and one relay team at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships March 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Cardinal men's qualifiers are Cole Sprout (3,000 meters, 5,000), Charles Hicks (3,000), Max McKhann (weight throw), and Ky Robinson (5,000). Julia Heymach (mile) and the distance medley relay team will represent the Cardinal women.
The championships fields – 16 in each individual event and 12 in the relays -- were based on best marks. They are final except for medical scratches.
Heymach will be Stanford's highest-ranked entrant, at No. 2 in the mile, with a season best of 4:31.35. Ky Robinson is Stanford's highest-ranked men's athlete, at No. 4 in the 5,000 (13:21.85).
The Stanford women have a rich recent history in the DMR. From 2014-18, Stanford was second four times and third once, finishing behind the winners in all those races by a combined difference of a mere 6.00 seconds. Christina Aragon, a candidate for this year's relay, produced a blistering 4:33.35 anchor on the 2018 team that was edged by Oregon by 0.03.
J.J. Clark, Stanford's Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, submitted eight names for the DMR in Birmingham. Lucy Jenks, Samantha Thomas, Ellie Deligianni, and Heymach ran Stanford's season best time of 10:57.74 at the Pac-12 Invitational on Friday night. Other possibilities for the lineup are Aragon, sprinters Kennedy Gamble and Alexa Rossum, and freshman distance runner Audrey Suarez.
If Heymach runs the DMR, she will face a difficult double, with two races on the same Friday evening at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The women's mile semifinal is at 7 p.m. CT and the women's DMR is at 8:45 p.m.
Cole Sprout is scheduled to race the 5,000 on Friday at 5:05 p.m. CT and the 3,000 on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT.
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Stanford's NCAA qualifiers
Men
Charles Hicks: 3,000 (No. 6, 7:43.84).
Max McKhann: Weight throw (No. 15, 71-10 ¾, 21.91m)
Cole Sprout: 3,000 (No. 6, 7:43.10), 5,000 (No. 9, 13:24.38).
Ky Robinson: 5,000 (No. 4, 13:21.85).
Women
Julia Heymach: Mile (No. 2, 4:31.35).
Distance medley relay: (No. 8, 10:57.74).
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Stanford's schedule
Friday, March 11
2 p.m. PT (4 p.m. CT): Men's weight throw prelim/final (Max McKhann).
3:05 p.m. PT (5:05 p.m. CT): Men's 5,000 final (Ky Robinson, Cole Sprout).
5 p.m. PT (7 p.m. CT): Women's mile semifinals (Julia Heymach).
6:45 p.m. PT (8:45 p.m. CT): Women's distance medley relay final (Stanford).
Saturday, March 12
3 p.m. PT (5 p.m. CT): Men's 3,000 final (Charles Hicks, Cole Sprout).
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Championship Broadcast: ESPN3 will stream the championships live starting at 8 a.m. PT on Friday, March 11, at 8:30 a.m. PT on Saturday, March 12. A re-air of the championship will take place starting at 6:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 13, on ESPNU.