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August 31, 2010

Oregon Cross Country Opens Season at OSU

Oregon, Oregon State, Portland and Portland State will all take part in the first annual John Frank Memorial Invitational.

          EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon men’s and women’s cross country teams will open the 2010 season at the first annual John Frank Memorial Invitational Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Avery Park in Corvallis, Ore. The Ducks come into the meet ranked tied for third nationally for the men and No. 5 for the women in the preseason polls released Tuesday by the USTFCCCA.

          The women will race first with teams from Oregon, Oregon State, Portland and Portland State entered in the meet, followed by the men’s teams from Oregon, Portland and Portland State at 6:15 p.m.

          Both races will feature regionally ranked teams. On the men’s side, the Ducks are No. 2 in the West, followed by No. 3 Portland, which is also ranked eighth nationally. For the women, the Ducks are also No. 2 in the region, with Oregon State at No. 11 and Portland at No. 12.

          The women will cover approximately 4,500 meters, while the men will run four miles.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW

          The men are experiencing success on a national level rarely seen in Track Town, USA. Oregon won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2007 and 2008, and followed that with a runner-up finish in 2009. Those results harken back to the era of the legendary Steve Prefontaine, when the Ducks won national titles in 1971, 1973 and 1974, were second in 1970 and third in 1972.

          The 2010 Ducks feature three All-Americans in Matthew Centrowitz, Danny Mercado and Luke Puskedra, plus NCAA qualifier A.J. Acosta, but will also need some help from newcomers to replace graduated NCAA veterans like Kenny Klotz and Diego Mercado. Puskedra, a junior from Ogden, Utah, has a pair of top-25 finishes in two NCAA appearances, leading the Ducks with a 21st-place finish in 2010 after taking 16th as a freshman. Centrowitz, a senior from Arnold, Md., earned his first All-America award in 2009 by placing 27th after running 45th as a sophomore in 2008.

          Two-time All-American Danny Mercado, a senior from West Covina, Calif., is the most experienced runner on the squad, having run in three straight Pac-10 and NCAA West Regional championships and two NCAA national races, including last year where he posted a career-best 31st-place finish. Acosta, a senior from Oceanside, Calif., is coming off his best season yet on the track and looks to carry that over into the cross country season. He was a member of Oregon’s national title squad in 2007, as well as the 2009 runners-up.

          The men also have other returning runners with championship level experience. Sophomores Mac Fleet and Bryce Burgess made their Pac-10 debuts in 2009. Fleet, from San Diego, Calif., was 33rd with Burgess, from Portland, Ore., was a spot back in 34th.

          Oregon will find its depth in a mixture of true and redshirt freshmen. Incoming newcomer Parker Stinton will be one to watch. The Austin, Texas, native is the reigning U.S. junior 10,000 meter champion. He’ll be joined by fellow first-year runners Colby Alexander (Stronsville, Ohio), Brian Shrader (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Cole Watson (Rogue River, Ore.).

          The redshirt freshmen include Ben DeJarnette (Mechanicsville, Va.), Elijah Greer (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Mitchell Hunt (Fremont, Neb.) and Elliott Jantzer (Medford, Ore.).

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW

          Oregon will be hard-pressed to replace 2009 Pac-10 champion Nicole Blood, who graduated with three career All-America awards in cross country, but the women will look to senior Alexandra Kosinski and sophomore Jordan Hasay to lead a deep, but young Duck team that has been the Pac-10 runners-up for the last three seasons.

          Kosinski, from El Dorado Hills, Calif., is both the most consistent and the most experienced runner on the team, having appeared in three straight Pac-10, NCAA West Regional and NCAA Championship races. She’s placed in the top 10 at each of the last three Pac-10 and Regional races, and has a pair of All-America awards to show from her national appearances.

          Hasay, from Arroyo Grande, Calif., did not disappoint as a freshman. She was the top rookie at the Pac-10 (third) and NCAA West Regional (second) and led all Oregon runners with an 18th-place finish at the NCAA Championships to earn her first career All-America award. Hasay was also chosen at the Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year.

          Senior Zoe Buckman and junior Claire Michel have experience at Pac-10 and NCAA Regional races. Buckman, from Canberra, Australia, has run at each of the last three Pac-10 and Regional meets. Michel, a native of Clackamas, Ore., showed some of the biggest improvement on the team after taking 12th at the Pac-10 Championships before going on to make her first NCAA appearance in 2009.

          Junior Bronwyn Crossman, from Bellingham, Wash., had a breakthrough campaign that culminated in a 17th-place showing at the Pac-10 meet and her first career NCAA Championships appearance a year ago.

          Sophomore Anne Kesselring, from Nurnberg, Germany, impressed as a freshman with a top-25 showing at the Pac-10 meet and her first NCAA Championships race. Sophomore Taylor Wallace, from Klamath Falls, Ore., also saw action at the Pac-10 meet as a freshman.

          The women also to look to be able to add depth from a strong freshman class that includes Sarah Andrews (The Woodlands, Texas), Phyllis Francis (Laurelton, N.Y.), Megan Patrignelli (Monroe, N.Y.) and Laura Roesler (Fargo, N.D.). The Ducks also have a couple of freshmen who redshirted last season in Alexandria Jones (Lake Oswego, Ore.) and Melanie Thompson (High Bridge, N.J.).

PRESEASON RANKINGS

          MEN: The Ducks were tied for third with Northern Arizona in the USTFCCCA poll released on Tuesday. The men’s preseason list had a strong Western slant to it, with defending Pac-10 champion Stanford the preseason No. 1, defending NCAA champion Oklahoma State in at No. 2 and Oregon and Northern Arizona tied for third.

          Future Pac-10 rival Colorado was at No. 6, Portland at No. 8, New Mexico at No. 14, Brigham Young at No. 17 and Arizona State at No. 19.

          WOMEN: Oregon opens the season at No. 5. Defending NCAA Champion Villanova took the top spot, followed by Florida State, defending Pac-10 champion Washington, Texas Tech and Oregon. Stanford was 16th, Colorado 17th and Arizona at No. 25.

TRACK TOWN, USA, HERITAGE

          The last two years have certainly lived up to the heritage established by the legends of Track Town, USA. In 12 NCAA championships and eight Pac-10 championships, the Men and Women of Oregon have won eight championships and another eight silver medals. Here’s the list from the last two years:

          Gold - Champions                                                     Silver - Runners-up

          2008 NCAA Men’s Cross Country                       2008 NCAA Women’s Cross Country

          2008 Pac-10 Men’s Cross Country                     2008 Pac-10 Women’s Cross Country

          2009 NCAA Men’s Indoor Track & Field           2009 NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field

          2009 Pac-10 Women’s Track & Field                2009 NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track & Field

          2009 Pac-10 Men’s Track & Field                       2009 Women’s Cross Country

          2010 NCAA Women’s Indoor Track & Field   2009 Men’s Cross Country

          2010 Pac-10 Women’s Track & Field                2010 Men’s Indoor Track & Field

          2020 Pac-10 Men’s Track & Field                       2010 Women’s Track & Field

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