After a successful season for the Oregon cross country team, it’s finally time to bring on the postseason competition.
The meets that lie ahead for Ducks’ cross country team in the next month and a half are going to make the earlier races look like a warm-up. With the Pacific-10 Championships, West Regionals and the NCAA Nationals, the postseason is where the action is for the men and women of Oregon.
Saturday marks the first meet of the post-season, the Pacific-10 Conference Championship, hosted by the University of Arizona.
“This isn’t a qualifying meet, but it is still a championship meet because if we get third or fourth that means we are third or fourth in the Pac-10,” said Chris Winter, Oregon’s number two runner on the men’s team. “This meet is extremely important with our conference. If we have a really good race here then it can build our confidence for regionals.”
The top seven individuals from each race will claim All Pac-10 First Team honors. With defending champion and top-ranked Stanford competing, earning a top spot will be tough, but Oregon has a few hopefuls who have the potential to be top scorers, including Galen Rupp, Winter, Zoe Nelson and Katie Leary.
Sophomore runner Sarah Pearson said training this season has been based on developing high endurance and staying in top shape. Pearson kicked up her running ability and ran in the second seeded position, behind Leary, for the Ducks at the Pre-NCAA Invitational meet on Oct. 15.
“We have been focusing a lot less on numbers this season,” Pearson said. “We focus on working hard, and the numbers are going to reflect our hard work. I love the coaching so much. This year is so much better for me. Last year was focused on short intervals and lower mileage, but different things work for different people.”
The goal for this weekend’s meet is for the No. 22 Oregon women to place third in the meet. The main competition for the ladies is No. 2 Stanford and fifth-ranked Arizona State. This season the women’s team has become nationally ranked for the first time in five years under first-year head coach Vin Lananna.
“It has been really exciting to be a part of this change at Oregon,” Pearson said. “But we’re not focusing too much on the ranking because it’s not exactly where we want to be. I think we have the potential to do great things. We have a lot of talented recruits, and running with them has been really motivating.”
On the men’s side, competition will be tight because many of the Pac-10 teams are evenly matched.
“Stanford and Arizona are top in the nation. They’re basically the untouchables,” Winter said. “But Washington and Arizona State are probably going to be the closest-matched teams for us to go against. But we’re going to focus on staying as close together as a pack and talking to one another, giving each other confidence to pull forward.
“We haven’t been focusing all that much on individual performance but on team performance. This season has been really great. The dynamic on the team is awesome. Workouts are great. We’re working together well and supporting each other.”
The Pac-10 Conference Championship course is going to push the Ducks harder than many of the other courses they might be used to. It is a very hilly meet including tests of strength, speed and endurance. This course has been considered one of the toughest courses the Ducks have seen so far this season. The men will be competing in an 8,000-meter course and the women will run a 6,000-meter course.
“I think our team is young, but I believe that we have the potential to turn a lot of heads in the next couple of years,” Winter said.