The last time the majority of the Ducks’ men’s and women’s cross-country runners competed was at the inaugural Bill Dellinger Invitational at Alton Baker Park on Sept. 29.
The teams’ two-week break will conclude and the second half of their season will begin on Saturday in the Mike Hodges Invitational at Clackamas Community College in Portland.
In addition to the No. 6 Ducks, the invitational, in its second year, will host runners from No. 8 University of Portland, Washington, nationally ranked NCAA Division III Willamette University (Ore.), and nine other teams from smaller universities and community colleges in Oregon.
The Men of Oregon finished first their last time out behind sophomore All-American Galen Rupp’s second-place overall finish, and teammate Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott’s fourth-place finish. Portland finished second in the invitational’s team standings, with Washington following in seventh.
The Duck women did not fare so well as they finished tenth in the eleven-team field at the Bill Dellinger Invitational. Senior Dana Buchanan was the first Oregon runner to finish, followed by sophomore Zoe Nelson and junior Sarah Pearson.
Some members of the men’s team found action in the Willamette Invitational Sept. 30 at Bush Park in Salem. Redshirt junior Estaban Trujillo paced the Ducks with an eleventh-place finish. As a team, Oregon finished fourth overall.
The teams will use Saturday’s Invitational, as well as next Saturday’s Beaver Cross Country Classic, as tune-ups for championship season, which begins with the Pac-10 championships on Oct. 28 at Stanford University.