Stanford Invitational
Cobb Track
Palo Alto CA
Friday-Saturday, March 29-30

RESULTS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

Girls' DMR Dominates Stanford Field with Nation-Leading Time; Volkmer Splits 4:45

While a steady downpour kept an unusually sparse crowd of onlookers huddled under umbrellas or in the imperfect shelter of oaks along the backstretch, the Campolindo girls' distance medley relay squad toed the line at the Stanford Invitational on Friday afternoon with high expectations.

With a strong field of Northern California powerhouse programs assembled, the Cougars hoped to break the 12-minute barrier in the infrequently contested event for the 1st time in 9 years and only the 2nd time in school history.

Kate Kabenina (24) opened with a 1200m leg that put her squad solidly in contention prior to handing the baton to Claire Andrzejek (26), who managed to avoid a collision in the exchange zone before battling down the backstretch and closing the gap on the leader. The sophomore split 63 seconds for the single-lap effort to pull the team within a step of the lead. Daisy Penney (24) received the baton next and immediately moved to the front. The Cougar's margin over 2nd place grew to nearly 50 meters over the course of her 2 laps.

The final chapter in the race was written by Shea Volkmer (24). The Colorado State bound senior opened with a 68-second lap and continued to extend the lead through the finish. Her solo-effort split time of 4:45.7 is the fastest ever 1600m relay leg by a Campolindo athlete, and propelled the squad to a national-leading mark of 11:57.26, in spite of the wet conditions.

The relay time is also the 2nd-best in school history.

Volkmer returned to the farm on Saturday, streaking away from the open 1600m field to win in 4:47.95 after an awkwardly slow opening 200m where the top contenders refused to take the lead. Following the 76-second 1st lap, Volkmer covered the final 1200 meters in an astonishing 3 minutes and 41 seconds. Her margin of victory over 2nd place was 10 seconds.

Volkmer's performance moves her to 2nd on the all-time school record list.

Andrzejek completed the exciting weekend for the Cougars with another improvement in the 800m, overcoming a few tangles to cross the line in 2:21.15.

FRIDAY GIRLS' RESULTS

Distance Medley Relay Kate Kabenina 3:43.8-Claire Andrzejek 63.3-Daisy Penney 2:24.1-Shea Volkmer 4:45.7=11:57.26

SATURDAY GIRLS' RESULTS

1600 Shea Volkmer 4:47.95, 800 Claire Andrzejek 2:21.15