Sophomore All-American Galen Rupp said he was psyched that his teammates got to experience a win in the inaugural Bill Dellinger Invitational.
The Oregon Ducks men’s team made the most of its first home meet in eight years by outdistancing No. 8 Portland by a score of 47 to 89. The Ducks top five runners all placed in the top 20, led by Rupp in second, and sophomore transfer Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott in fourth. The Invitational, held at Alton Baker Park, was the first home cross-country meet since the Oregon Invitational in 1996.
“It’s great to win this one for Bill Dellinger,” Rupp said. “Team accomplishments are always more important than individual.”
Rupp finished second in the individual standings to BYU’s Josh Rohatinsky. Rupp said he took the lead a few times, but Rohatinsky just ran a great race.
“I’m typically a slow starter so it feels good to go out and run well right off the bat,” Rupp said.
No. 10 BYU came in third with 102 team points, followed by No. 20 Alabama in fourth. Cal Poly rounded out the top five.
The Duck women did not fare as well as they would have liked, but were happy to be a part of the Invitational and get the season started.
“I was happy with the way I finished in the second half of the race,” senior Dana Buchanan, Oregon’s top women’s finisher said. “It was my first race of the season, so for a rust-buster, I’m happy with how I ran.”
No. 8 Arkansas won the women’s meet handily by taking five of the top ten places. No. 6 BYU finished second, followed by No. 28 Wake Forest, No. 7 Duke and No. 10 Washington. The Ducks finished 10th in the eleven-team field.
“Oh my gosh, they were so good,” said Ducks junior Liisa Heinonen. “The teams were awesome. It was such a good field.”
Individually, BYU’s Kassi Anderson won the race, finishing 15 seconds ahead of Wake Forest’s Michelle Sikes.
Overall the Duck women were disappointed with their performance, Heinonen said.
“Some people ran well, and some others didn’t,” Heinonen said. “It was the first race so we’ll move on.”
Many of the participants talked about the energy level of the crowd and how great it was to run in Eugene.
“The crowd was definitely behind the Ducks,” Rohatinsky said. “But it was great to be next to Galen when they’re cheering him on. It’s great for the sport and also spurs you along.”
Buchanan said that the crowd was amazing and that she heard them the whole way.
“It was awesome. I don’t think a second went by without someone yelling, ‘go Ducks,’” Buchanan said.
Ducks senior Patrick Werhane said he felt great about the team’s win.
“It’s amazing to come out with a win here in Eugene,” Werhane said. “There’s nothing like it.”
The race began in an open field at Alton Baker Park. Following the field loop the race participants ran along the bark-covered “Pre’s Trail” to a canal near Autzen Stadium before turning around.
“Right at the beginning, when we hit the second loop on Pre’s trail, Rohatinsky hit it real hard,” Rupp said.
Bill Dellinger, who the invitational is named after, was a two-time NCAA National Champion for the Ducks and a three-time
Olympian. Dellinger went on to coach the Men’s track and cross country teams for thirty years from 1968 to 1998.
During his tenure, the Ducks won four NCAA team titles, among their 12 finishes in the top-3.
After the men’s race, the team gathered around Dellinger while fans clapped and hummed the Oregon fight song. It was an appropriate end to a new beginning for Oregon cross-country.