Oregon women’s cross country was able to punch its ticket to the NCAA Championships by winning the NCAA West Regionals Friday afternoon at Jefferson Park Golf Course in Seattle, Washington.
While the women earned the automatic bid, the men must await the at-large selections because they finished just outside of the top-two, taking third. Because of a strong resume of wins this fall, they will most likely make it through to join their teammates.
The No. 4 Duck women were just able to sneak past No. 9 Boise State for the victory, edging the Broncos by a single point for their second-straight regional team title. The Ducks scored 79 points, with redshirt senior Waverly Neer and redshirt Alli Cash both placing in the top 10.
Neer took second (20:32.2) and Cash claimed sixth (20:46.1). Frida Berge (20), Molly Grabill (25) and Maggie Schmaedick (26) rounded out the Oregon runners in scoring positions.
On the men’s side it was Edward Cheserek who led the way, capturing yet another title to add to his collection. The junior crossed the line in 30:43.2, gapping the second place finisher John Whelan of Washington State by more than 11 seconds. Redshirt sophomore Travis Neuman finished fourth, Matthew Melancon 24th, Tanner Anderson 31st and Jake Leingang 39th.
As a group the Duck men finished third (99) behind a pair of conference foes, Washington (63) and Stanford (83).
The at-large bids will be announced tomorrow and the NCAA Championships will take place Saturday, November 21 at E.P Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur