STANFORD, Calif. – After the 3,300 athletes, thousands more spectators, and the hundred s of volunteers left Cobb Track and Angell Field, it seemed only the coaches remained to cart the starting blocks away and get the last of the equipment  into the shed.

The planning and execution of the 39th Stanford Invitational had resulted in a track and field meet that braved downpours and uneven weather on Friday, welcomed the sun on Saturday, and was the site of exciting track and field throughout.

“One of the things we always talk about is this: Everybody’s tough when things are perfect, who’s tough when things aren’t,” said Chris Miltenberg, Stanford’s Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field.