Ryan Andrus is old school in every sense of the term.
“He’s the strong silent type,” freshman J.K. Withers said. “He leads by example. After he won (the Stanford Invitational 4K) he wasn’t looking for any sunshine, he just went about his business.”
Withers then laughed and said, “We do all call him a senior citizen, though.”
At 25, Andrus is six or seven years older than most of his teammates on a very young Duck cross country team. After dominating the Utah prep scene at Mountain View High School in Orem, Andrus accepted a scholarship in 1997 from then-Wisconsin cross country coach Martin Smith.
“Coach Smith and I go back a long way,” Andrus said, recalling that Smith began recruiting him sometime in 1996, the same time freshmen Withers and Chris Winter were finishing up the fourth grade.
Andrus ran track for the Badgers during the 1997-98 academic year, then took a sabbatical from athletics to perform a two-year mission trip in Tampico, Mexico for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
“The mission was one of my hardest and best times of my life,” Andrus said. “Being immersed in a life of service was very rewarding. I wouldn’t be the same person I am without those two years.”
Andrus returned to the United States energized but unsure of where he would resume his collegiate running. The summer before Andrus left for Mexico, Smith had been hired to take over the legendary cross country and track and field programs at Oregon. Andrus, who decided not to worry about where he would end up until
after his mission, decided to follow Smith out west upon returning.
“It was pretty clear to me I wanted to continue a relationship with Martin Smith as a coach and continue
to develop with him,” Andrus said.
After two years of service in Mexico, Andrus enrolled at Oregon in January of 2001.
The decision paid off. Andrus immediately cracked the varsity cross country squad in the fall of 2001, consistently scoring for the Ducks in his first collegiate cross country season (Andrus redshirted the 1997 harrier season with a stress fracture in his leg). Andrus’ outstanding rookie year in Eugene continued as he was also a Pacific-10 Conference qualifier in the 1500 meters.
Andrus’ excellence then began to show in his second season in the Willamette Valley. In the fall, he helped the Ducks to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA meet, finishing 34th overall, good for All-American status. In track, Andrus finished 13th at the national meet in the 10K, one spot short of his second All-American award for the year.
Andrus’ third season in the Northwest led to another All-American award (indoor track, 5000) and a spot in the Oregon record book by recording the eighth-fastest outdoor time in the 10,000 by a Duck. These feats, along with helping lead the Duck harriers to a top-25 finish at the NCAA meet, helped prepare Andrus for possibly his greatest challenge: leading an extremely young Oregon squad through possibly the country’s toughest regional meet.
“We have a very young team,” Andrus said. “Realistically, a team goal is to get to nationals and have that as a team-building experience. That would be a great experience for the future.”
The Ducks, anchored by Andrus and fellow senior All-American Eric Logsdon, face a daunting West Regional, featuring two-time defending national champion Stanford, No. 12 Cal-Poly, Washington and Arizona. After Andrus and Logsdon, the Ducks rely exclusively on sophomore and freshmen runners for their third, fourth and fifth positions.
Despite being “the old man” on a team more likely to break out in 2005 than 2004, Andrus smiled and said how much fun he was having this season.
“I really enjoy the young guys,” he said. “I used to think freshmen were necessary nuisances, but I really like these guys.”
Saturday will mark the first real test for Andrus and his youthful counterparts. Andrus, whose win at the 4K Stanford Invitational led the Ducks to victory, and company will run their first 8K meet of the season at Terre Haute, Ind., home of the LaVern Gibson Championship course, also site of the NCAA meet in late November. The field will include eight top-10 teams and 37 of the 47 teams receiving votes in the national poll.
For Andrus, the NCAA meet in November will be his last collegiate athletic experience. The post-baccalaureate student graduated with a 3.98 GPA in business finance last spring and finished his track eligibility in June. He will accept a job at Intel in Hillsboro after the fall term.
“I’m excited to start a career and dedicate myself to that,” Andrus said. “It was a wonderful time of my life (but) I feel very ready to move on.”

Beau Eastes is a freelance sports reporter for the Daily Emerald