Stanford women run to fast times, set records at NCAAs Stanford women run to fast times, set records at NCAAs (March 19, 2003)

Camerana sets school indoor mark in shot put while Fleshman and Craig help Cardinal finish sixth at national championships

by Rick Eymer

Jillian Camarena set a school in the shot put and Lauren Fleshman turned in an outstanding 3,000-meter race to highlight Stanford women's action at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Arkansas over the weekend.

The Stanford women finished sixth, while the Stanford men finished 10th.

Camarena broke a long-standing school record and gained All-America honors in the women's shot put to highlight Stanford's participation during first-day action on Friday. Camarena threw the shot put 57-2 3/4 to finish second, bettering the previous indoor mark of 57-1 by Pam Dukes in 1987.

Fleshman earned her 14th All-American honor in the 3,000 meters, as she went a career-best 9:01.58. That ranks her second all-time in school history behind only Olympian PattiSue Plumer's 8:53.1 in 1983. Alicia Craig also gained All-America honors with an eighth-place finish at 9:19.51 that ranks her fifth all-time in school history.

The men's distance medley relay team of Seth Hejny, Nick Sebes, Evan Fox and Grant Robison earned All-America honors by finishing second in a time of 9:29.69, ranking second best all-time at Stanford.

Louis Luchini finished fifth in the 5,000 meters, earning All-America honors in a time of 13:48.78 to become the No. 3 all-time performer in school history. He finished fourth in the 3,000 meters in a time of 7:58.31 to rank fourth all-time gain All-America honors.

In the women's mile, Malindi Elmore earned All-America honors with an eighth- place finish at 4:45.72 to move into the No. 5 spot in school history.

Grant Robison also gained All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the 3,000 meters at 8:00.37.

Craig and Fleshman each added to their All-America laurels with third- and fourth-place finishes, respectively, in the 5,000 meters. Craig broke her own school record with a time of 15:43.04. She went 16:05.24 earlier in the year. Fleshman went 15:47.36 to rank No. 2 all-time at Stanford..

The women's distance medley relay team of Malindi Elmore, Christine Moschella, Katie Hotchkiss and Jeane Goff gained All-America honors by finish sixth in a time of 11:13.26.

In related news, Stanford track and field coach Vin Lananna was named to the Team USA track & field coaching staff for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

As the men's team middle distance coach, Lananna will serve under George Williams, the longtime coach at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, N.C.

Lananna has coached the Cardinal to a total of four national team titles during his 10 years at Stanford, winning a pair of men's cross country NCAA championships, as well as one women's cross country national title and one men's track and field NCAA title. Lananna is a two-time NCAA Cross Country Coach of the Year.

On the international scene, Lananna's served as an assistant coach for the 1999 World Outdoor Championships staff as well as head coach for the 1990 and 1996 World Cross Country Championships.
Women's diving

Gunn High grad Ashlee Rosenthal qualified for the NCAA championships after she finished third in the three-meter competition of the NCAA Zone E Diving meet at the Oklahoma City Community College pool on Thursday.

Rosenthal, a sophomore at Stanford, scored a career-high 519.65 points to finish behind winner Nicci Fusaro of USC, who had 529.30 points.

Rosenthal will compete at the NCAA meet, which begins Thursday in Auburn, Ala.

"It was a great accomplishment for Ashlee to qualify on the first day of the meet," said Stanford diving coach Dr. Rick Schavone. "There will be high expectations on Ashlee at a national meet for the first time, but I think she will handle it very well. McKenze is a seasoned competitor, and we will be looking for a good performance from her."

Rosenthal advanced to the NCAA Championships for the second straight season. She earned All-American honors by placing 14th in the three-meter competition last year.

Rosenthal finished second in the one-meter competition on the second day.

McKenze Murphy earned a spot in the NCAA championships on the final day of the meet, finishing fifth in the platform after placing fourth in the three-meter and eighth in the one-meter.
Men's diving

Stanford's Adam Peterson was the Cardinal's top finisher in the one-meter event at the NCAA Diving Championship Zone E with a sixth-place finish. The sophomore tallied 583.90 points in the event. Teammate Gavin Olmstead placed 13th (523.05).