Ducks Sweep Emotional Dellinger Invitational

Friday, October 10

Springfield, OR

11:15 AM

University of Oregon

Bill Dellinger Invitational

Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com

10/10/25 | Cross Country

In the first staging of the Dellinger Invitational since its namesake's passing, Oregon swept both individual races and the team titles.

By: Rob Moseley

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — On a day when the memory of the Bill Dellinger Invitational's namesake was thick in the air, the Oregon cross country teams did his memory proud.

Running in their home meet for the first time since Dellinger's passing over the summer, the UO men and women swept both individual races and the team titles as well Friday at Pine Ridge Golf Club. Benjamin Balazs won the men's 8,000-meter race and Diana Cherotich won the women's 6k, with Ducks taking the top four places and also sixth to give the Oregon programs the men's and women's team titles with 16 points each.

Balazs crossed first in 23 minutes, 8.2 seconds, capturing the Bill Dellinger Invitational title less than four months after the eponymous former UO runner and head coach passed away.

"In the back of our minds we've all just been thinking about it," Balazs said. "As a team we haven't really said much, but the web of life Dellinger created … if he didn't do what he did, if he wasn't here, none of us would be here. So I'm just so grateful."

Oregon swept both individual races and the team titles in the Dellinger Invitational for the first time since 2015, when Edward Cheserek led a sweep of the top five spots by the UO men and Alli Cash crossed first on the women's side. The Ducks next toe the line at the Big Ten Championships hosted by Michigan State on Oct. 31.

"I told all of them, hey, great step," men's head coach Jerry Schumacher said. "I think our team's pretty good, but we have things we have to improve on. We want to be the team we're capable of being. We have to get better yet, we have to improve. And that's the big part of what we have to do between now and championship season."

How It Happened: The morning began with the women's race, and Cherotich took the lead at the outset. She ran much of the race with Juliet Cherubet on her hip; Anika Thompson trailed in third over the first half of the course, then swapped places with teammate Dalia Frias.

Ella Thorsett took fifth for the UO women, who were without standouts Silan Ayyildiz and Mia Barnett as they continue to build back up from track seasons that extended well into the summer.

UO women's coach Shalane Flanagan was excited to see Cherotich make her UO cross country debut. She was even more excited to see her break 19 minutes in the race, finishing in 18:58.81.

"She's obviously very good," Flanagan said. "Today it was great to just see her open up. And she loves cross country — loves it, loves it. I asked her, 'Was that fun?' And she was like, oh, that was so fun."

Cherotich, the Big Ten champion at 10,000 meters last spring, now turns her attention to the conference meet in cross country, not to mention postseason races beyond that one.

"I think it helps, because this is just for preparing for nationals," she said.

The UO men also settled into a couple of packs, though their strategy was tested when Peter Visser of Weber State — who finished fifth, spoiling Oregon's chances of a 1-5 sweep — pushed the pace over the first half of the race.

The Ducks' Abdel Laadjel took over the lead from there, followed by Evan Bishop and Balazs. Over the final kilometer, Balazs flashed the speed that made him a national finalist in the steeplechase, with Bishop taking second, Laadjel crossing in third, Aiden Smith finishing fourth and Michael Mireles also scoring with a sixth-place finish.

"I was hoping to keep it together a little bit tighter for a little bit longer," Schumacher said. "But I thought with the way the race played out and having to make decisions on the fly like that, I thought they did a really good job."

Bishop was the runner-up in his debut with UO cross country.

"It's a good confidence boost," he said. "We had a game plan coming in with the team, to kind of run together and really feel that team environment. Finally being being able to race is just a great reminder for the team, like, it's all about the group and the team as a whole, and less so individuals."

Dellinger Invitational Results

MEN (top 5)
1. #14 Oregon - 16 | 1-2-3-4-6
2. #23 Air Force - 50 | 8-9-10-11-12
3. Weber State - 103 | 5-18-24-26-30
4. UC Davis - 120 | 7-14-20-38-41
5. UCLA - 135 | 16-21-28-31-39

1. Benjamin Balazs - 23:08.20
2. Evan Bishop - 23:09.89
3. Abdel Laadjel - 23:11.47
4. Aiden Smith - 23:15.46
6. Michael Mireles - 23:25.61
14. Connor Burns - 23:45.97
18. Simeon Birnbaum - 23:52.14
33. Jack Meier - 24:24.21
48. Will Heslam - 24:59.36
58. Cain Evans - 25:10.73
73. Ben Greene - 25:49.85

WOMEN (top 5)
1. #4 Oregon - 16 | 1-2-3-4-6
2. Air Force - 72 | 5-10-11-18-28
3. Oregon State - 87 | 7-17-20-21-22
4. UCLA - 99 | 12-15-16-26-30
5. Cal - 148 | 8-13-29-47-51

1. Diana Cherotich - 18:58.81
2. Juliet Cherubet - 19:42.93
3. Dalia Frias - 19:57.05
4. Anika Thompson - 20:03.70
6. Ella Thorsett - 20:17.18
9. Ali Ince - 20:27.91
19. Katie Clute - 20:57.02
21. Landen LeBlond - 21:02.55
26. Liliana Hudnut - 21:11.01
37. Allura Markow - 21:28.30
83. Hannah Seubert - 22:27.92