University of Oregon
Pac-12 Championships
Ducks Win Pac-12 Title Thriller
10/31/14 | Cross Country
OAKLAND, Calif. – Seven Ducks finished in the top 20 as No. 3 Oregon pulled away from No. 11 Stanford to win its second Pac-12 women's cross country title in the three years in a thrilling race Friday morning at the Metropolitan Links Golf Course.
Later in the day, Edward Cheserek put on a dominating performance to win his second consecutive men's Pac-12 title, and claim his seventh straight cross country victory overall, in leading the Ducks to a runner-up finish.
“Overall it was a great day for the Ducks. The women executed the same race plan that we've used all year and it really came together today,” said head coach Robert Johnson. “The men still have a little work to do but that was a really impressive performance by Cheserek and Jenkins going 1-2 like that.”
How It Happened - Women: Oregon again executed its race plan to near perfection, running in a tight pack behind the leaders throughout the 6,000 meter course. Freshman Frida Berge led a barrage of Ducks crossing the finish line in the top 20, as all five scorers finished with :11 of each other.
Berge placed sixth in 20:25, followed by Waverly Neer in 10th (20:32), Molly Grabill 11th (20:32), Alli Cash 12th (20:35) and Maggie Schmaedick 15th (20:36) to round out the scoring. For good measure, the Ducks also had Megan Patrignelli 16th in 20:37 and Lindsay Crevoiserat 20th in 20:43.
It was the 2014 season debut for Neer, a junior transfer from Columbia, while Grabill, Patrignelli and Crevoiserat all recorded the highest conference finishes of their careers.
The Ducks built an 18 point lead over Stanford in the first third of the race with five Oregon runners just behind the race leaders. No. 7 Colorado tightened things up in the middle of the race and trailed the Ducks by just 10 points heading into the final lap. But Oregon finished strong to pull away for the victory.
The Ducks won with 54 points, followed by Stanford with 74, Colorado at 82, No. 17 Washington (93), No. 19 UCLA (143) and No. 22 Arizona State (158).
Shelby Houlihan of Arizona State was the individual medalist in 19:59 followed by Stanford freshman Elise Cranny (20:04).
How It Happened - Men: Unlike previous races, Cheserek made his move early, pulling clear of the field with 3,000 meters to go and was never challenged, finishing the 8,000 meter course in 23:23. Senior Eric Jenkins followed in Cheserek's footsteps with an impressive runner-up finish of his own in 23:34.
“That was the plan; to go with about two miles left and just try to finish hard. I felt pretty good today and so I just went for it,” said Cheserek. “Of course it's an honor to win, but I'm really excited for Eric (Jenkins) finishing second and just really proud of how hard my teammates ran today.”
Top-ranked Colorado then showed its depth with five runners finishing fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, as the defending champs won with 30 points. Oregon was next with 57 points, with No. 9 Stanford (60), No. 12 Washington (87) and No. 11 UCLA (168) rounding out the top five.
The men had a number of upperclassmen record career-best finishes behind Cheserek and Jenkins. Junior Matthew Melancon took 15th in 24:08, senior Daniel Winn was 16th in 24:09 and senior Cole Watson was 22nd in 24:17.
The Ducks also had sophomore Jake Leingang 23rd in 24:18 and freshman Travis Neuman 31st in 24:27.
What It Means - Women: With the ninth Pac-12 title in school history, the women have positioned themselves well heading into the NCAA West Regional. The addition of Neer adds to an already deep team that has shown the ability to run together as a flock, er pack.
What It Means - Men: Oregon and Colorado seemed destined for a final showdown at the NCAA Championships next month. The two squads will not face each other at the regional meets, with Oregon being in the West and Colorado in the Mountain. With Jenkins' runner-up finish, plus the native Oregonians running well late in the year, the Ducks are showing to be much more than a one-man show. That depth will be vital as the teams step up to 10,000 meters for the NCAA races.
Odds and Ends: Cheserek joins Steve Prefontaine (1970-71) and Jim Hill (1982-83) as the only runners in school history to win back-to-back Pac-12 titles. The men's third, fourth, fifth and seventh runners are all native Oregonians, with Melancon from Eugene, Winn from Portland, Watson from Rogue River and Neuman from Bend. “We certainly recruit the state of Oregon and those guys represented well today,” said Johnson.
What's Next: NCAA West Regional, Pac-12 Championships, Nov. 14, Stanford, Calif.
Quoteworthy: “This is awesome. I think this group, coming in this year without really a distinct frontrunner, we didn't know what to expect, but they've really jelled together, they've really embraced running together and having a really tight pack and being really selfless and I couldn't be prouder,” said Oregon women's assistant coach Maurica Powell.
- www.GoDucks.com -
Players Mentioned
