Publication Date: Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Stanford's Dobson runs to NCAA indoor track title
Stanford's Dobson runs to NCAA indoor track title
(March 16, 2005) by Rick Eymer
Stanford freshman Erica McLain made a nice splash in her first NCAA national track and field meet, earning two All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor championships over the weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.
Senior Ian Dobson made sure his final indoor race was memorable, taking home the 5,000 meter title in a time of 13:43.36 on Friday.
McLain finished second in the triple jump at 44-8 1/4 on Saturday after finishing eighth in Friday's long jump (20-5 1/4).
The Stanford women finished eighth in the team standings with 24 points. Tennessee won the national title with 46 points.
The Stanford men were 13th with 15 points. Arkansas won the men's title with 56 points.
Stanford women's coach Edrick Floreal, the MPSF Coach of the Year, was an All-American jumper for Arkansas.
McLain entered the national meet with a national best 45-7, which she secured at the MPSF finals. Her mark in the triple jump is an American Junior indoor record and is the best by an American this season.
Clemson's Gisele Oliveira went 45-1 3/4 on Saturday to claim the triple jump title.
In the women's 3,000 meters, senior Sara Bei was leading with 300 meters remaining, but was tripped from behind by another runner. She recovered to finish 10th, but the mishap severely damaged Stanford's title hopes.
Dobson didn't have any problems in winning the men's 5,000. He did have to fight off the challenge of Arizona's Robert Cheseret, who finished second in 13:44.57.
Dobson became the first Cardinal champion in the event since Brad Hauser accomplished the feat in 1999.
In a result not official until Saturday, the men's distance medley relay team finished fourth on Friday.
The team of Russell Brown, Joaquin Chapa, Nick Sebes and Michael Garcia went 9:33.55.
Michigan was awarded the win after Arkansas (which had originally finished first at 9:30.79) was disqualified when Michigan filed a protest that an Arkansas runner had impeded the progress of a Michigan runner.
Junior Alicia Craig won her third All-America honor in the 5,000, completing the distance in 16:00.07 to finish fourth. Craig has won 10 All-American -- indoor and outdoor track, cross country -- honors in NCAA competition.
The women's distance medley relay team of Katy Trotter, Christine Moschella, Chinny Offor and Bei placed third in a time of 11:08.81.
Arianna Lambie ran the fourth-best time in the women's mile prelims at 4:45.15, advancing to Saturday's final, where she finished ninth in 4:45.77.
Football
The Pac-10 Athletic Directors approved the use of instant replay for the next football season.
The Pac-10 will implement a system similar to that utilized by the Big Ten Conference last season. The Pac-10 joins a number of conferences electing to experiment with instant replay in 2005.
The instant replay system in the Pac-10 differs from the NFL. Coaches will not be allowed to challenge calls on the field and a replay official located in the press box will make the replay decision as opposed to the referee on the field.
NCAA diving
Gunn grad Ashlee Rosenthal and Cassidy Krug each qualified for the NCAA championships after their performances at the NCAA Zone E Meet over the weekend at Oklahoma City Community College.
Krug qualified on Thursday with her third place in the 3-meter event while Rosenthal earned her way with a fourth-place finish in the 1-meter on Friday.
"We had a relatively good meet on the springboard and are pleased that both Cassidy Krug and Ashlee Rosenthal will be headed to the NCAA Championships," Stanford coach Rick Schavone said.
Krug and Rosenthal joined 13 swimmers who previously qualified for the championships, which start Thursday at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Rosenthal qualified for her fourth consecutive NCAA meet. She has earned at least one All-American honor in each of her first three seasons at Stanford.
Krug scored 522.20 points to finish behind winner Qiong Jie Huang of Hawaii (534.95) and second-place Blythe Hartley (527.50) from USC in the 3-meter.
"Cassidy stayed strong throughout the competition and really dove tough," Stanford coach Rick Schavone said. "She just got the job done."
Rosenthal and Krug placed fourth and fifth in the 1-meter competition on Friday, both scoring career highs. Rosenthal scored 567.25 points and Krug 550.55.
Men's soccer
Former Stanford standout Chad Marshall scored a goal in his debut for the United States national team during a 3-0 win over Colombia in Fullerton on Wednesday evening.
Marshall scored in the 33rd minute.
"I wasn't able to get a goal last year. I hit a lot of posts. But to get it today here, in my first game in front of my family in my hometown was nice," Marshall said. "It was a little intimidating getting my first game against Colombia because they are a powerhouse down there. I hope that I continue to play well in this camp and get in a couple of more games."
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