STANFORD, Calif. – Marielle Hall continues to prove she is not only one of the top distance runners in University of Texas track and field history, but also in the nation.
After sweeping the mile and 3,000-meter titles at last month's Big 12 Indoor Championships, Hall smashed the school record in the 5,000 meters Friday night at the Stanford Invitational, clocking a time of 15 minutes, 19.26 seconds to outdistance the Section A field of 26 which included 14 professional athletes.
In addition to eclipsing the UT record of 15:46.00 set by Annie Schweitzer in 1987 by nearly 20 seconds, Hall also posted one of the best times in the nation over the last five years at one of the elite distance events. Only four women have clocked a better time during a regular-season collegiate meet since the start of the 2010 outdoor season than Hall.
But Hall, a Haddonfield, N.J., native who clocked a nation-leading 1,500-meter time of 4:17.10 during last weekend's Texas Relays, wasn't the only Longhorn senior to have an impressive performance at the two-day distance-heavy Stanford meet, which began Friday at the Cobb Track and Angell Field.