The big event has finally arrived.
The No. 1 Oregon men look to defend their 2007 national title, and the No. 2 Oregon women hope to surprise at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will take place Monday at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
Galen Rupp, the Pacific-10 Conference and NCAA West Regional individual champion, is among the favorites to add an individual national title to his string of accolades. His most likely challenger is Liberty redshirt sophomore Sam Chelanga, a native of Nairobi, Kenya, who has not lost a race in a Flames uniform and broke the LaVern Gibson course record at eight kilometers during the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct. 18. (The men’s race will cover 10 kilometers, the longest race of the year for the Ducks.)
The men, who return all five All-Americans from last year’s national title team, have unfamiliar competition in their quest for a sixth national cross country title: No. 2 Oklahoma State, led by highly touted freshman German Fernandez, and No. 10 Colorado. The Cowboys are the Midwest Region champions, while the Buffaloes won the Mountain Region championship.
The women will face opposition from an opponent both familiar and intimidating in the six-kilometer race: No. 1 Washington, which followed a 15-point sweep at the Pac-10 championships with a 3-4-5-6-7 finish at the West Regional to claim the team title. Freshman Kendra Schaaf, one of the favorites to take home the individual national title, set a course record at Springfield Country Club in capturing the Pac-10 individual title but sat out the West Regional to focus on the NCAAs.
Texas Tech senior Sally Kipyego is the odds-on favorite to capture the individual title, which would be her second. The Marakwet, Kenya native set the LaVern Gibson course record at the 2007 NCAAs.
The women’s race will begin at 9 a.m., while the men’s race will begin at 9:45 a.m. CBS College Sports Television is providing coverage of the event.
A watch party on the video screen at Hayward Field will take place Monday. Gates open at 8:30 a.m. and fans are asked to bring one can of food to benefit Food for Lane County.