After 13 years at the University of Tennessee and five at the University of Connecticut (UConn), J.J. Clark has been tapped as Stanford’s next Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, Athletics Director Bernard Muir announced on Thursday.
In 2017 and 2018, coach Chris Miltenberg led the men’s cross country team to repeat Pac-12 titles, earning him the conference coach of the year award during both seasons.
In the team’s 25th consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships last fall, men’s cross country placed fifth as a team behind a second-place finish from senior All-American Grant Fisher, capping off a consistent season for the Cardinal.
In her final season of collegiate eligibility, fifth-year senior Elise Cranny led the women’s cross country team to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships last fall. The 2018 campaign was marked by growth, particularly within the underclassmen ranks, and displayed the strength and depth of a relative young team.
In his final collegiate cross country race, nine-time All-American senior Grant Fisher finished second at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, matching the highest placing by any Stanford runner in the history of the championships. The No. 5 men’s and No. 6 women’s teams each placed fifth in the freezing conditions in Verona, Wisconsin, on Saturday morning.
On Friday morning, the top cross country programs on the west coast showed down in Sacramento, Calif., for the NCAA Division I West Regionals. The west coast is notorious for being home to some of the top talent across the country and this year’s race did not disappoint.
Today marks one of the most important dates on the calendar for NCAA running. Teams from all stretches of the country will toe the line at their respective NCAA Regional Championship race, hoping to claim a trip to Madison Wisconsin for the NCAA Cross Country National Championships. Between the men’s and women’s divisions, 18 regional races will take place this morning in nine different cities across the country.
With a cross country Pac-12 title on the line, a pack of five men came storming into the final straightaway at the Stanford Golf Course Friday morning. The crowd roared as the men approached the finish line in full sprint, but it was the defending Pac-12 champion senior Grant Fisher who crossed the line first, claiming his second consecutive individual Pac-12 title and leading the men’s team to their second consecutive team title.
