In the sport of cross country, only two competitions in a season really mean much of anything: The championship meet, and the championship-qualifying meet.
All season long, the Oregon women’s cross country team struggled — that is, in the meets that don’t count for anything. The Ducks were even in danger of missing the NCAA Championship meet (one of the meets that count).
Oregon broke out of its season-long slump Saturday, placing fourth overall at the NCAA Western Regional meet in Fresno, Calif. (the other meet that counts).
“I’m really proud of our team for battling because it’s been a rough season,” Oregon women’s coach Tom Heinonen said. “Once again, the team ran well at the end of the season when it was important.”
The Ducks have positioned themselves well for an at-large berth in the NCAA meet on Nov. 20. After placing a disappointing seventh at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships on Oct. 28, the Ducks faced a do-or-die situation in Fresno. Fortunately, six of Oregon’s seven runners responded with personal bests through the 6,000-meter course.
Senior transfer Hanna Smedstad led the way with an eighth-place finish in a time of 20 minutes, 42 seconds. Her place is Oregon’s highest at the Regional meet since Marie Davis’ fourth place in 1998.
Senior Katie Crabb put forth her best race of the season, and possibly her cross country career, with a 15th-place finish in a time of 21:00.
“Katie beat several people who she lost to at Pac-10s.” Heinonen said. “She was a solid top-20 runner the whole race and had a strong finish.”
Sophomore Eri MacDonald and senior Rhiannon Glenn rounded out the Ducks’ scorers at 45th and 46th place respectively (21:53 and 21:55).
“We’re certainly going to get an at-large berth,” Heinonen said. “I’m not worried about the NCAA committee decision on Monday. I’m really proud of our team to jump from seventh at the Pac-10 to finish fourth in the region.”
The Ducks trailed only No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 Arizona State and No. 7 Arizona in the standings. Oregon scored a major upset by edging No. 9 Washington by one point. Washington State and UCLA, teams that Heinonen believed the Ducks would need to beat for an NCAA berth, finished a distant seventh and eighth, respectively.
The tenth-ranked Oregon men’s team matched the women’s fourth-place finish, also assuring themselves of an NCAA berth.
Sophomore Jason Hartmann turned in his second-straight runner-up performance, trailing Stanford’s Jonathon Riley by only two seconds and leading Arizona’s Tom Pridinville by less than a second. Hartmann ran a 30:42 through the 10,000-meter course.
Senior Michael Kasahun put in his best performance in a Duck uniform, trailing the leaders by only three seconds with his fourth-place finish in a time of 30:45.
Oregon trailed No. 2 Stanford, No. 12 Arizona and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in the team standings.
Junior Adam Bergquist was the next Duck to the finish line, finishing 34th in a time of 31:47 in his first Regional meet for the Ducks. Redshirt freshman John Lucas was not far behind, placing 38th in 31:53. Oregon’s usual fifth runner, freshman Brett Holts, was off his mark Saturday, finishing 74th in 32:56.
Senior Lincoln Nehring filled the void at the No. 5 spot, placing 45th in a time of 32:10. Freshman Noel Paulson ran well in his first Regional meet, placing 60th in a time of 32:30.
Oregon receives official notice today if it has received one of the respective at-large NCAA berths. An NCAA selection committee takes the top two teams from each of the nine regions, plus an additional 13 at-large teams.