Oregon track and field posted some solid times at the Stanford Invitational Friday evening, as six Ducks likely posted times that will advance them to the NCAA West Preliminary Round later this season.
Redshirt junior Molly Grabill ran a personal best in the first section of the women’s 10,000, finishing 20th with a time of 33:33.20 — more than 90 seconds faster than her previous best. The time was also the 10th-fastest among collegiate runners and ranks 10th on the Oregon all-time list. Sophomore Maggie Schmaedick also ran a personal best, placing second in the second heat of the event. She crossed the finish line with a time of 33:46.14.
On the men’s side, it was the quartet of Edward Cheserek, Eric Jenkins, Travis Neuman and Matthew Melancon competing for the Ducks in the 10k. They were able to execute their race strategy, finishing within 10 seconds of each other.
Cheserek and Jenkins continued their tradition of finishing side-by-side, crossing at 29:04.06 and 29:04.08 respectively. Neuman crossed in 29:09.39 while Melancon came in just behind with a time of 29:10.38. Melancon’s time was a personal best.
The next meet on the schedule for the Ducks will see a return to Historic Hayward Field as they host the Pepsi Invitational Saturday. Both Kentucky and Washington will be joining Oregon for the meet.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur