Women of Oregon Secure NCAA Bid

Friday, November 10

Sacramento, CA

10:00 AM

University of Oregon

NCAA West Regional Championships

Clute, Thornton-Bott hug at NCAA West Regional

11/10/23 | Cross Country

The Ducks combined for five all-region performers Friday in Sacramento.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The 12^th-ranked Women of Oregon earned an NCAA automatic bid Friday with their runner-up showing at the West Region meet in Sacramento. The Ducks were also second a year ago and will be making their 34^th appearance at the NCAA Championships.

Elliott Cook continued his strong season with a 10^th-place finish to lead the UO men. Oregon finished seventh in the team race.

The entire field for the NCAA Championships including at-large selections will be announced Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. (PT) on NCAA.com. All nine regions were contested across the country Friday.

The UO women placed four on the all-region team Friday with honors going to the top-25 performers from the race. Maddy Elmore and Izzy Thornton-Bott finished fifth and 10^th, respectively, followed by Anika Thompson in 12^th and freshman Katie Clute in 24^th place. It was Thompson's debut at the West Regional and Clute finished fourth among freshmen entries.

Tatum Miller rounded out the Ducks' top five in 58^th place overall, a career-best finish at the regional meet. The UO newcomer had a previous high of 69^th place last season at Portland State.

In the team race, Stanford took home the team title. Oregon finished just ahead of No. 8 Washington, 109-115, who had just won the Pac-12 title two weeks ago.

Cook, already an All-Pac-12 performer this season, added all-region honors with his run Friday. In his first regional 10K since the 2021 season, Cook navigated the Haggin Oaks Golf Course in 29:22.7 and crossed as the men's top finisher for the third time in four races this season.

The Ducks got a pair of top-40 finishes from Josh Edwards and Quincy Norman, also the team's 2-3 runners at the conference meet two weeks ago. Freshman Connor Burns was Oregon's four person across the finish line in 45^th overall while Giuliano Scasso rounded out the top-five lineup.

Edwards was up 21 spots from his 55^th-place effort last season as a freshman. Burns, Benjamin Balazs and Aiden Smith were making their NCAA regional debuts.

Stanford, the No. 10 team in the country, won the men's title to complete the regional sweep of the women.

NCAA West Region Championships | Nov. 10
Full Meet Results

Women of Oregon
5. Maddy Elmore – 19:22.8
10. Izzy Thornton-Bott – 19:41.3
12. Anika Thompson – 19:46.3
24. Katie Clute – 20:06.6
58. Tatum Miller – 20:41.3
67. Harper McClain – 20:46.5
74. Klaudia Kazimierska – 20:50.4

Team Standings (top five)
Women's 6K
1. #7 Stanford – 77
2. #12 Oregon – 109
3. #8 Washington – 115
4. #21 Cal Baptist – 126
5. Gonzaga - 173

Men of Oregon
10. Elliott Cook – 29:22.7
34. Josh Edwards – 29:57.8
39. Quincy Norman – 30:04.7
45. Connor Burns – 30:13.5
70. Giuliano Scasso – 30:47.6
91. Benjamin Balazs – 31:12.0
167 Aiden Smith – 32:56.1

Team Standings (top five + Oregon)
Men's 10K
1. #10 Stanford – 73
2. Gonzaga – 98
3. Portland – 125
4. #4 Cal Baptist – 125
5. #22 Washington – 129
--
7. #26 Oregon – 197

Up next: The 2023 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships take place Saturday, Nov. 18, hosted by the University of Virginia at Panorama Farms.

For more news and information about Oregon Cross Country and Track and Field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.