The No. 1 Oregon men easily took care of their competition at the Mike Hodges Invitational Saturday in Clackamas, Ore., defeating No. 27 Washington 16-63. Both teams didn’t run their top runners, though – the Ducks rested theirs, and the Huskies sent theirs to the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. Division III Willamette finished third with 67 points.
Andrew Wheating led the Ducks in his collegiate cross country debut, finishing second in the 4-mile race in 19 minutes, 27 seconds, followed closely by Joaquin Chapa (third, 19:36), Carlos Trujillo (fourth, 19:37), A.J. Acosta (sixth, 19:43) and Mathew Cravens (ninth, 19:50).
The five earned 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 team points, respectively, separated from a perfect score of 15 points only by Caleb Knox of Washington.
Also racing for Oregon were Michael McGrath (13th, 19:57), Matthew Dettman (14th, 19:57), J.K. Withers (16th, 20:03), Eric Dettman (19th, 20:07) and Esteban Trujillo (20th, 20:09).
Freshman Chad Hall, the 2006 high school cross country national champion, competed unattached and finished 12th overall in 19:56.
The No. 3 Ducks also dominated women’s 5-kilometer race, scoring 28 points to beat out Oregon State (62) and No. 12 Washington (73).
Oregon rested two of its top runners, Nicole Blood and Alex Kosinski, and the Husky women, like the men, sent their top runners to Pre-Nationals.
Zoe Nelson was the top Oregon finisher, placing fourth in a time of 17:24. Nelson had four teammates also in the top 11 – Sarah Pearson (sixth, 17:29), Betsy Bies (eighth, 17:31), Bria Wetsch (ninth, 17:33) and Zoe Buckman (11th, 17:35).
Other finishers included Brooke Giuffre (16th, 17:42), Claire Michel (19th, 17:48), Hayley Belli (27th, 18:07), Erin Lewis (29th, 18:07), Lauren Zaludek (52nd, 19:04), Berkeley Aldinger-Gibson (61st, 19:27) and Tamara Starodubsteva (67th, 19:34).
Former Oregon runner Dana Buchanan finished second overall in 17:03.
The Duck men and women will run next at the Beaver Classic on Saturday at Avery Park in Corvallis. Many of Oregon’s top runners will be held out as they prepare for the Pacific-10 Conference Championships Oct. 27 at Trysting Tree Golf Course in Corvallis.
[email protected]