June 15, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Stanford's big final day produces two NCAA titles

by Keith Peters

Michael Robertson started it and Sara Bei finished it. In between, a lot of good things happened for the Stanford track and field program.

After three days of performances that produced no points, the Stanford men's and women's teams saved their best for the last day of the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships at Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State University.

The Cardinal women scored all 29 of their points on Saturday to finish fifth - their fifth straight top-10 finish. The men scored 28 points during the same time to finish seventh, a big improvement over their 17th-place finish in '04.

Robertson got it rolling by becoming the first NCAA discus champion from Stanford in 40 years

"It was very satisfying, especially the way it happened," said Robertson, whose winning throw of 202-5 tied his own school record.

The junior transfer could have been talking about the team performance, his effort or how he wound up at Stanford.

Robertson enrolled and immediately became eligible at Stanford this year after he left Southern Methodist University after the Mustangs dropped their men's track & field program.

"It was hard on everybody (when SMU dropped track & field)," said

Robertson. "But I was excited to go to Stanford. It was a new life."

Although he was ranked second in the nation behind North Carolina's Vikas Gowda (212-3) entering the NCAA meet, Robertson defied those odds and took the lead on his fifth throw of the day.

"I felt good throughout the competition, and I had a lot left on my fifth throw," Robertson said. "I was lucky to catch a good throw (the fifth effort). I tried to put it out there in the sixth round, and I got a good throw, but it wasn't farther. I just got lucky that Vikas didn't put it together in his final throw."

Gowda, a 2004 Olympian from India, had taken the lead in the competition on his second throw at 197-1. However, Gowda couldn't pass Robertson on his final two throws of the day.

Robertson becomes Stanford's first NCAA discus champion since 1965 when Bob Stoecker captured the national title. Robertson is one of eight Stanford athletes to have won NCAA discus titles.

Stanford redshirt senior Ryan Hall became only the third Cardinal runner to win the men's 5,000 after he pulled away from senior teammate Ian Dobson following a stirring duel that saw the friends swapping the lead. They stretched their lead over the other 14 runners with three laps to go and were alone with a lap remaining.

With 50 meters remaining, Hall overtook Dobson for the final time to win in a school-record 13:22.32. That lowered his previous best by nine seconds and broke Louis Luchini's mark of 13:25.19 set in 2004. Dobson also surpassed that time with a career-best 13:22.54.

"It went exactly the way we planned it," said Dobson. "We worked together and dropped those guys."

"We just really respect each other running hard all the time," Hall said. "We train really well together. So I don't see it as 'I won and he got second.' I see both of us as winning. That was our goal all season."

Hall's victory would have been even sweeter had Bei, his girlfriend of nearly four years, been able to duplicate his triumph.

Bei was among the favorites in the women's 5,000 and had the nation's fastest time of 15:41.57. She also ran the fastest time (16:12.57) in the prelims three nights earlier. In the finals on Saturday night, however, the pace was slow and tactical.

Redshirt freshman Teresa McWalters set the early pace and led the field into the bell lap. With 300 meters left, Megan Metcalfe of West Virginia began her kick, passing McWalters. Bei moved in front with 200 left, but Metcalfe overtook Bei in the 100 to win in a pedestrian 16:31.88. Bei was second in 16:32.42 and McWalters was third in 16:38.44.

"My strength is my final kick, but that is Megan's strength as well," said Bei. "I felt good in the stretch, but Megan just had a little more at the end."

Two other Stanford women had top-three finishes.

Erica McLain earned her second All-American honor in her freshman season with a third-place finish in the triple jump at 44-8 1/4, just six inches off her American junior record despite competing with a sore right ankle.

Sophomore Arianna Lambie earned her second All-American honor at Stanford with a third-place finish in the 1,500 meters. Lambie ran a season-best time of 4:13.64, just off her career-best of 4:13.14 set last year.

The women's 1,600 meter relay team of Christine Moschella, Janice Davis, Ashley Freeman and Nashonme Johnson broke the school record with a time of 3:29.39 while finishing seventh.

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