On Saturday morning, after busting out the rust in the first two races of the season, Jessica Hull came away with a first-place finish at the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin.
The race served as a preview for the NCAA Championships, which will take place on the same course on Nov. 17. Hull, the 2018 NCAA Outdoor 1500-meter champion, used her finishing track speed kick to finish with a time of 20 minutes, 3.2 seconds in the 6000-meter race. The second-place finisher was six seconds behind her.
The Oregon women placed second overall with 71 points, while Arkansas was first with 51. Four Oregon women finished in the top 20. Weronika Pyzik was 12th with a time of 20:92.4, followed by Phily Bowden in 17th place with a time of 20:39.5 and Carmela Cardama Baex finished just after in 19th at 20:40.9.
On the men’s side, James West was the first finisher for the Ducks, who ran 24:14.7, good for 12th place. Charlie Hunter was the next Oregon finisher at 24:25.4. The team placed fourth overall with 152 points. Northern Arizona put on a dominant performance by placing five runners in the top 15, which gave them a score of 41.
Teammates Cooper Teare (24:33.4), Blake Haney (24:33.9) and Jackson Mestler (24:34.1) put on a solid display of pack running. The trio finished 37-39, respectively.
Next on the schedule for the Ducks is the Pac-12 Championships in Palo Alto, California, on Oct. 26.
Follow August Howell on Twitter @howell_august