EUGENE, Ore. -- The Oregon men’s and women’s cross country teams,
ranked third and fifth in the nation, respectively, return to action to
host the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Springfield
Country Club. The men’s race begins at 9:45 a.m., with the women’s race at
10:45 a.m. The top two men’s and women’s teams from each of nine regionals
being conducted around the country on Saturday will automatically advance
to the NCAA Championships Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. There are an
additional 13 at-large bids available. The race length is 6,000-meters for
the women and 10,000 meters for the men.
MEET DETAILS
MEN’S RACE
Time: 9:45
a.m.
Length: 10,000
Meters
Results: www.goducks.com and www.ncaa.org.
Scoring: Each
team is allowed seven runners. Of those, the top five account for the team
score and the next two may displace runners from opposing
teams.
Teams (28): Arizona, Arizona State, Boise
State, California , UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara,
Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Eastern Washington, Fresno State, Idaho,
Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Oregon, Pepperdine, Portland, Portland
State, Sacramento State, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa
Clara, Stanford, UCLA, Washington and Washington State. The NCAA West
Region covers teams from the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho,
Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The three exceptions are Idaho State,
Nevada and Northern Arizona, which are in the Mountain
Region.
Individuals: Juan Olea, Cal State Northridge;
Chris Boyle, Gonzaga; Brett Withers, Gonzaga; Alfredo Coronado, San Jose
State; David Haefele, San Jose State.
At a Glance: The
West Regional may closely resemble the Pac-10 championships from Oct. 30
with No. 7 Portland joining to the Pac-10’s ranked teams: No. 1 Stanford,
No. 3 Oregon, No. 13 Arizona State and No. 17 Washington. Cal Poly
and UCLA are also receiving votes. At the Pac-10 Championships, Stanford
finished first, followed by Oregon, Arizona State, Washington and
UCLA. Oregon has won the last three NCAA West Regional
races.
NCAA West Regional Experience
Oregon has a
combined nine NCAA West Regional races on its current roster. Senior Kenny
Klotz leads the way with three top-20 finishes (best of 12th in 2007).
Senior Diego Mercado (best of 11th in 2006) and junior Danny Mercado (best
of 15th in 2007) have two each, while sophomore Luke Puskedra (best of
sixth in 2008) and junior A.J. Acosta (best of 24th in 2007) both have
one.
WOMEN’S RACE
Time: 10:45
a.m.
Length: 6,000 Meters
Results:
www.goducks.com and www.ncaa.org.
Scoring: Each
team is allowed seven runners. Of those, the top five account for the team
score and the next two may displace runners from opposing
teams.
Teams (28): Arizona, Arizona State, California
, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, Fresno
State, Hawaii, Idaho, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Nevada-Las
Vegas, Oregon, Oregon State, Pepperdine, Portland, Portland State,
Sacramento State, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Stanford, UCLA,
USC, Washington and Washington State. The NCAA West Region covers teams
from the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and
Washington. The three exceptions are Nevada, Northern Arizona and Northern
Idaho, which are in the Mountain Region.
Individuals:
Shannon Porter, Boise State; Carolyn Ellis, Cal State Fullerton; Yomaira
Hernandez, Cal State Fullerton; Lilyana Morejon, Cal State Northridge;
Kristina Hammarstrom, Pacific; Jazmin Quiroz, Pacific; Rosie Smith, Saint
Mary’s.
At a Glance: If the men’s race bears a strong
resemblance to the Pac-meet, then the women’s competition might just
mirror it. The West’s top six teams in the latest USTFCCCA poll -- No. 1
Washington, No. 5 Oregon, No. 14 Stanford, No. 16 Arizona State, No. 24
Arizona and No. 27 California -- all come from the Pac-10. The Huskies won
a tight battle with Oregon on Oct. 30, with Stanford running third. The
Ducks’ Nicole Blood was the individual champion at the Pac-10 meet, while
Alex Kosinski is the defending NCAA West Regional champ. Washington is the
defending West Regional champion, while Oregon has placed second each of
the last two years.
NCAA West Regional
Experience
The women feature five different runners with a
combined 11 NCAA West Regional appearances. Senior Nicole Blood leads the
way with three (best of second in 2007), while junior Alex Kosinski (2008
champion), junior Zoe Buckman (best of 21st in 2007), senior Bria Wetsch
(best of 16th in 2007) and junior Betsy Bies all have two.
Spectator Parking
Spectator parking will be at the
Mohawk Elementary School on Sunderman Road. Shuttle buses will then
transport spectators to the course at the Springfield Country Club. Please
allow sufficient time to use the park-and-ride shuttle.
To reach the
Mohawk Elementary School:
• Take 105E/126E and stay on 126E for 7
miles.
• Take the 42nd Street/Marcola exit and make a left on
42nd street for 0.4 miles.
• Make a right on Marcola for 5.5
miles, going 1 mile past the Springfield Country Club.
• Turn
right on Sunderman Road.
• The Mohawk Elementary School will be on
your right after ¼ mile.
Signs will be posted on the roads directing
traffic to the park-and-ride lot at Mohawk Elementary School.
DUCKS AT THE NCAA WEST REGIONAL
Women: Oregon has
won this event 12 times, which is second only to Stanford’s 14 titles. The
Ducks’ team titles came in 1976-81, 1983, 1985, 1987-88, 1990-91 and 1995.
Oregon has also produced the individual champion on nine occasions,
including Alexandra Kosinski last year. Penny Graves won twice (1986,
1988), while Robin Baker (1978), Molly Morton (1979), Kathy Hayes (1983),
Annette Hand (1987), Lucy Nusrala (1991) and Milena Glusac (1994) each
claimed one crown.
Men: Oregon has won this event seven times,
including the last three. Stanford has won the most with 10 titles,
followed by Arizona with eight. In addition to 2006-07-08, Oregon’s other
titles came in 1982-83 and 1988-89. The Ducks have also produced eight
individual champions, including Galen Rupp in 2007 and ’09. Other
individual winners for Oregon include two-time champs Jim Hill (1982-83)
and Karl Keska (1995-96), as well as Brad Hudson (1989) and Steve Fein
(1999).
VIN LANANNA AT THE PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Fifth year
Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna has an unmatched track record at
the Pacific-10 cross country championships. His charges at Oregon, and
previously Stanford, have produced 18 team titles and 10 individual
winners. The 2008 championships saw Lananna’s legacy continue with another
team title for the Men of Oregon and an individual win by Galen Rupp,
while in 2009 Nicole Blood claimed an individual title for the women.
Lananna was named both the Pac-10 and National Men’s Coach of the Year
following Oregon’s 2008 NCAA Championship.
Lananna’s Pac-10 Title Runs (Oregon/Stanford)
Men’s Team
Titles - 9 (Stanford 1996, ‘97, ‘98, ‘00, ‘01, ‘02; Oregon 2006, ‘07,
‘08)
Women’s Team Titles - 9 (Stanford 1993, ‘94, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99,
‘00, ‘01, ‘02)
Men’s Individual Titles - 5 (Stanford 2000, ‘01, 03;
Oregon 2006, ‘07, ‘08)
Women’s Individual Titles - 4 (Stanford 1999,
‘01, ‘02; Oregon 2009)
PAC-10 DOMINANCE
In the last half century, no other
conference can match the league’s combined 19 NCAA men’s and women’s team
championships in cross country.
Combined NCAA Team Titles by
Conference, 1958-present
19 Pacific-10
Conference
13 Southeastern Conference
12 Big East
Conference
9 Conference USA
8 Big Ten
8 Big
XII
A LOOK AT THE TWO-TIME NCAA CHAMPIONS,
RUNNERS-UP
For the first time since 2004, the Oregon cross
country roster does not include Galen Rupp, the six-time NCAA Champion,
2008 Olympian and 14-time All-American. The men are also looking to absorb
the losses of All-Americans Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott and Scott Wall, and
fellow NCAA veterans Chris Winter and Curtis Suver to graduation.
The Ducks will rely on a core of veterans to fill that void, including
sophomore Luke Puskedra, seniors Kenny Klotz and Diego Mercado and junior
Danny Mercado, who have all won NCAA Cross Country All-America honors
during their career. Other Duck veterans with NCAA Championships
experience include juniors A.J. Acosta and Matthew Centrowitz.
The women return their top two runners in NCAA All-Americans Nicole
Blood, the 2009 Pac-10 Champion, and Alexandra Kosinski, who won the NCAA
West Regional last season. The Ducks also return NCAA-experienced runners
in junior Zoe Buckman and seniors Bria Wetsch and Brooke Giuffre, while
senior Lauren Zaludek won the season-opening Pre’s Trail Pre-View. The
women graduated All-American Mattie Bridgmon and NCAA scorer Zoe
Nelson.
Newcomers could see significant action for both squads.
Jordan Hasay, the top running recruit in the nation, headlines the
women’s newcomers, who also include Taylor Wallace (Klamath Falls, Ore.),
Melanie Thompson (High Bridge, N.J.), Anne Kesselring (Nürnberg, Germany),
Chloé Steinbeck (Beaverton, Ore.), Rebecca Friday (Bellingham, Wash.),
Sarah Penney (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) and Alexandra Jones (Lake Oswego,
Ore.).
Newcomers for the men include Mac Fleet (San Diego, Calif.), Elliott
Jantzer (Medford, Ore.), Elijah Greer (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Ben DeJarnette
(Mechanicsville, Va.) and Mitchell Hunt (Fremont,
Neb.).
