Relays Through to Nationals – Stanford University Athletics

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With qualifying concluding Saturday, Stanford’s representation at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships has been determined. 

Nine individuals – five men, four women — plus both women’s relay teams advance to Austin for the June 7-10 meet. All told, 13 different athletes are expected to compete for the Cardinal, including five freshmen and four sophomores in eligibility. 

The last of four days of qualifying at the NCAA West Prelims resulted in the second relay school record of the meet for Stanford and nearly a third. 

The day after the Cardinal men broke a 58-year-old Stanford record in the 4×100-meter relay, the Cardinal women shattered the school record in the same event. Stanford was the 16th seed, but shocked the field by placing third to grab the final automatic qualifying spot in the third and final quarterfinal heat and finish seventh overall. 

The team of Cydney Wright, Alyssa Jones, Maya Valmon, and Alexa Rossum ran 43.69, shattering the Stanford standard of 44.07 by Shataya Hendricks, Carissa Levingston, Katie Nelms, and Kori Carter in their preliminary heat at the 2012 NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. 

In the final event of the night at Sacramento State, the 4×400 relay team of Wright, Juliette Whittaker, Roisin Willis, and Valmon placed third in their heat to earn another automatic spot for Austin. The Cardinal ran 3:29.43 for seventh overall while clocking the No. 2 time in school history, only 0.04 off the 3:29.39 by Christine Moschella, Janice Davis, Ashley Freeman, and Nashonme Johnson on the same Hornet Stadium track in 2005. 

While the first two splits are difficult to decipher because of the three-turn stagger, Whittaker 52.19 on the third leg and Valmon closed in 51.97.

This is the first time both Stanford women’s relay teams advanced to the NCAA Championships in the same year since 2004. Stanford’s previous 4×400 qualifier was 2018 and its most recent 4×100 qualifying team was 2012. 

Stanford’s individual qualifiers Saturday were Willis and Taylor James in the 800 and Lucy Jenks in the 5,000. Jones already had qualified in the long jump.

Only the top three were guaranteed advancement in the 800 and Willis, a freshman, led the first heat from start to finish. She was the top overall qualifier in 2:02.51. 

James, a redshirt freshman, stayed on Willis’ heels as long as she could before dropping off on the backstretch of the final lap. James ran a personal best 2:04.90 to place fifth in the…