Paced by seniors on each squad, the Oregon men’s and women’s cross country teams travel to Stanford on Saturday to take on the Western Regional Championships and try to earn a place in the national meet.
Redshirt senior Carrie Zografos and senior Jason Hartmann will lead the seven-member squads into the tough races, which feature Stanford, the top men’s team and second-ranked women’s team.
The Oregon men have been ranked fifth in the past five national polls. Led by Hartmann and redshirt sophomore Ryan Andrus, the men look to automatically qualify for the Nov. 25 NCAA Championships by finishing as one of the top two teams.
“Jason and Ryan need this type of competition to continue their preparation and maturation,” men’s head coach Martin Smith said. “Being able to physically and mentally handle the challenges in this race is a good lead-in to the future, and for a national type of race if we qualify.”
Joining Andrus and Hartmann on the course will be redshirt junior John Lucas, juniors Brett Holts and Noel Paulson, redshirt sophomore Eric Logsdon and freshman Shane Ahlers.
“The most important aspect is that we run extremely well as a team and advance to NCAAs,” Smith said. “It’s important we also have a good race and build some momentum and confidence going into nationals.”
The men will automatically qualify for the national meet if they finish either first or second as a team. Last year they finished third.
On the women’s side, Zografos and senior Erinn Gulbrandsen will run in what could be their last race if they don’t qualify for the national meet either individually or as a team. The top four individuals not from the top two teams automatically advance to the NCAA Championships.
“We know what we have to do — fourth will get us into the NCAA meet, fifth will give us a chance, sixth will give us a trip home,” women’s head coach Tom Heinonen said. “We’re going to show that we’re far better than last year.”
Five of the seven women who ran in last year’s regional meet return to the race this year. Zografos, Gulbrandsen, redshirt junior Alicia Snyder-Carlson, and juniors Magdalena Sandoval and Laura Harmon were part of Oregon’s 12th-place finish in Arizona. Redshirt junior Eri Macdonald and freshman Nicole Feest take the open spots ran by Sara Schaaf and Annette Mosey last year.
“Carrie and Laura know that they have a chance to get there individually, because the top four individuals not on a selected team make it to nationals,” Heinonen said. “We want to get (to nationals) as a team — that’s been our goal all season. It’s going to be a difficult challenge, and a large share of the selection process is out of our hands.”
After the automatic qualifiers from Saturday’s nine regional championships, another 13 teams and two individuals will be selected from across the nation on Monday.
Stanford won both the men’s and women’s races as a team last year, as well as the men’s individual title.