University of Oregon
Pac-12 Championships
Historic Win for Cheserek
10/30/15 | Cross Country
COLFAX, Wash. – Edward Cheserek accomplished something Friday that had never been done in the 100-year history of the Pac-12 Conference. He became the first man to win three consecutive league cross country titles after he captured the 2015 crown in 23:06.3 over 8,000 meters Friday at Colfax Golf Course.
He joins distance running legends Steve Prefontaine of Oregon and Henry Rono of Washington State as the only three men to win three career league cross country crowns. Prefontaine won his Pac-8 titles in 1970-71, and 1973, while Rono won his crowns for the Cougars in 1976, and 1978-79.
The fifth-ranked Women of Oregon finished second to No. 3 Colorado in a tight team race. The Buffaloes won with 45 points, six better than the Ducks. No. 10 Stanford was third with 80, with No. 12 Washington at 92 and No. 19 Utah at 149.
Top-ranked Colorado won the men's competition with 46 points, followed by No. 22 Stanford (57), No. 3 Oregon (83), No. 20 Washington (96) and No. 15 UCLA (127).
How It Happened - Men: Cheserek kept pace with a large lead pack for much of the race before making his move in the final mile to win going away. He was :07 faster than Stanford junior Sean McGorty who crossed the line second in 22:13.7. Travis Neuman led a strong contingent of Oregon natives scoring Friday for the Ducks. Neuman, a sophomore from Bend, was Oregon's No. 2 runner and placed 13th overall in 23:30.5. Freshman Matthew Maton, another Bend native, was 17th in 23:42.1. Jake Leingang placed 23rd in 23:52.0 and Eugene senior Matthew Melancon was 29th in 23:58.3.
How It Happened - Women: In their best race of the season, the Ducks placed five runners in the top 15, but were edged out by Colorado which had four runners in the top eight. Senior Waverly Neer led Oregon by finishing fifth in 20:00.6. Sophomore Alli Cash was sixth in 20:05.3. Senior Molly Grabill took 11th in 20:22.1, sophomore Frida Berge was 14th in 20:25.3 and junior Maggie Schmaedick, another Eugene native, ran 15th in 20:25.7. The women posted an impressive spread of :25 from their first to their fifth runners. The Ducks' 51 point total would have won the Pac-12 title three of the last six years.
What It Means: Both teams solidified their positions heading into the NCAA West Regional, where a top-two finish means automatic advancement to the NCAA Championships. Colorado will run in the Mountain Regional, not the West, leaving Stanford and Oregon as the squads to beat to claim automatic bids, with Washington, UCLA and Utah's women in the mix as well. A :25 spread at the next two meets for the women will have the Ducks in contention for high finishes.
Odds and Ends: The Men of Oregon have now finished third or better at Pac-12 Championships for the 10th straight time ... Neuman had a breakthrough meet with his best conference finish (13th) ... The same five women who scored for the Ducks when Oregon won this meet a year ago counted again on Friday ... Oregon actually had a better team score in 2015 (51) than in winning in 2014 (54) ... Neer is quietly putting together a solid country career ... Friday's fifth-place was the second career Pac-12 top-10 for the transfer from Columbia ... Grabill (11th) and Schmaedick (15th) matched their finishes from the 2014 Pac-12 Championships ... Aisling Cuffe of Stanford won the women's 6,000 meter race in 19:51.3.
What's Next: NCAA West Regional Championships, Nov. 13, Seattle, Wash.
Quoteworthy: “We ran in the best conference in the country and our teams competed hard, but we came up a little short. Edward (Cheserek) did a great job leading the way for the men and Waverly (Neer) and Alli (Cash) continue to do a great job running up front for the women. We are in a good position going into regionals,” said Oregon head coach Robert Johnson.
Quoteworthy: “It means a lot to me. Running is not easy, you have to be ready. You have to be prepared when you run against some of the best runners in the country,” said Edward Cheserek.
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