by Larry Eder
CUFFE NAMED NATIONAL TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE OF WEEK
Stanford junior had race for the ages
STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford junior Aisling Cuffe was named USTFCCCA National Women’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week after her stunning 15:11.13 in the 5,000 meters Sunday night at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford’s Cobb Track and Angell Field.
Cuffe, who placed sixth in a loaded 26-runner field that included both collegians and professionals, became the third-fastest collegian of all-time and No. 2 ever among American collegians, trailing only Jennifer Barringer Simpson, who ran 15:01.70 indoors for Colorado in 2009.
Cuffe, a junior from Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y., shattered her personal record by more than 42 seconds and broke the Stanford record of 15:20.44 set in 2003 by three-time NCAA outdoor 5,000 champion Lauren Fleshman, who was in attendance Sunday.
Cuffe, the 2014 NCAA indoor 5,000 runner-up, is now the fastest active 5,000 runner in the country, moving past Dartmouth’s Abbey D’Agostino, the reigning NCAA indoor and outdoor champion, who ran a 15:11.35 last year.
Cuffe, the reigning Pac-12 cross country champion, next races at the Pac-12 Championships May 17-18 in Pullman, Wash.
Photo courtesy of Stanford Athletics
