STANFORD, Calif. — The last time there was a new school record in the women's 5k,
Emma Stolte's mom, Jamie, hadn't yet graduated high school.
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Debbie Myra – an 11-time NCAA Division II All-American – set the old 5k record at 16:22.90. That was in 1987, 39 years ago. Stolte is nearly half that age herself, and yet she broke Myra's record with a finish in 16:01.44 Friday to lead the Vikings at the Stanford Invitational.
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Stolte's record represented a 58-second improvement over her previous best in the 5k, which came over the same weekend last season. Additionally, it marked her third school record of 2026, following earlier records in the indoor 800 and outdoor 1,500 meters. Stolte bettered another All-American in Katie Camarena for the indoor 800-meter record, while she broke a 12-year-old mark in the 1,500 meters.
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Stolte was chasing an NCAA West First Round qualifying mark in addition to the 5k school record Friday. She would appear to have put herself on the qualifying bubble with Friday's time. The final qualifying time in the 5k last season was 16:08.54. In 2024, it was 16:10.41. So Stolte's new record of 16:01.44 figures to put her in good shape.
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Stolte's overall record capped a day that had begun with a pair of freshman records from
Jack Macdonald and
Isaiah Cadengo.
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Macdonald had already tied the freshman record in the men's 100 meters at the PNW Invite. But Friday, he claimed it for himself, shaving six-hundredths of a second off his previous best while finishing in 10.72 seconds. That moved him out of a tie with Jake Ovgard in 2012 atop the freshman record book, while also jumping him up to eighth overall in the 100 meters.
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Macdonald was unlucky not to earn himself a spot in Saturday's final, too. He finished one spot out of qualifying at 10th, missing out on the final by six-thousandths of a second.
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Cadengo, meanwhile, broke a 16-year-old freshman record in the men's 400 meters while finishing in 48.28 seconds. That moved him up to seventh all-time in the overall rankings where he figures to jump a few other names before the end of the season as he continues his recovery from an injury earlier in the year.
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Aidan Sweeney also set a personal best in the men's 110-meter hurdles. Sweeney finished in 15.10 seconds, shaving 12-hundredths of a second off his previous best and putting him just two spots out of qualifying for Saturday's final.
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Throwers
Henry Glad and
Natalie Fisher also competed for the Vikings Friday between the men's javelin and women's shot put, respectively. Glad shook off two fouls to open the day to improve on each of his last four attempts. He topped out at 168-11 (51.49m). Fisher, meanwhile, placed 12th in the collegiate section of the shot put with a best mark of 37-09.25 (11.51m).
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Some of the Vikings in action Friday at the Stanford Invitational will double back tomorrow at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational.
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Stanford Invitational
Cobb Track and Angell Field
Stanford, Calif.
April 3, 2026
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Women's Results:
5,000m (Section 2): 16.
Emma Stolte, 16:01.44.
Shot Put (Collegiate): 12.
Natalie Fisher, 37-09.25 (11.51m).
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Men's Results:
100m (Prelims): 10.
Jack Macdonald, 10.72.
400m: 16.
Isaiah Cadengo, 48.28.
110H (Prelims): 11.
Aidan Sweeney, 15.10.
Javelin (Collegiate): 3.
Henry Glad, 168-11 (51.49m).
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — If a San Francisco Giant went 5-for-8 at the plate over a doubleheader, they'd put him in the Hall of Fame (provided they're not Barry Bonds). Well, start engraving the plaque, Cooperstown, as the Vikings had five of eight athletes set personal bests Friday at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic.
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All five personal bests came from the women's and men's 1,500 meters as the Viking distance runners represented the program at San Francisco State University's Cox Stadium.
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Ari Smith led that group with a heat win. Smith beat UC Santa Barbara's Niall Monteleone to the line in his section while winning in a personal-best 3:53.84. Smith's time shaved 1.5 seconds off his previous best from the PNW Invite. It also put him within 1.65 seconds of the 1,500-meter freshman record that Ben Collins set in 2023.
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Irina López nearly added another heat win for the Vikings on the women's side of the 1,500 meters. López instead finished two-tenths of a second behind UC Santa Cruz's Jordan Robinson for second in her heat. That's a small blemish on an otherwise strong performance as López shaved nearly 10 seconds off her personal best while finishing in 4:41.59.
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Taylor Nichols had the better overall time in the women's 1,500 meters. She finished in 4:38.72, shaving two seconds off the best she set just two weeks ago at the PNW Invite. Nichols also opened her season with a 1,500-meter personal best at the Rich Allen Classic on March 14, meaning she's 3-for-3 this season after Friday.
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Abdinajib Abade set a new personal best on the men's side of the 1,500 meters for the first time in three years. Abade finished in 3:54.08 – a 12-second improvement over his debut time last week at the Willamette Invitational.
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Amir Ahmed set the final personal best of the day for the Vikings. Ahmed cracked four minutes for the first time while finishing in 3:59.68.
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The Vikings will continue at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic Saturday, when they'll all turn their attention to the 800 meters. The women take the track first at 12:20 p.m., while the men's sections of the 800 follow at 1:23 p.m.
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Mike Fanelli Track Classic
Cox Stadium
San Francisco, Calif.
April 3, 2026
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Women's Results:
1,500m: 52.
Taylor Nichols, 4:38.72; 63.
Irina López, 4:41.59; 145.
Hannah Butterfield, 5:05.81.
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Men's Results:
1,500m: 38.
Ari Smith, 3:53.84; 40.
Abdinajib Abade, 3:54.08; 89.
Amir Ahmed, 3:59.68; 111.
JD Arthur, 4:04.04.
5,000m: 192.
Luke Gillingham, 16:10.73.
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