Fresh off a sweep of the second-annual Bill Dellinger Invitational last weekend, the Oregon cross country teams found themselves shooting up the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national polls.
The Duck men’s convincing 54-73 win over then-No. 1 Wisconsin propelled them to the top spot, jumping over both the Badgers and No. 2 Colorado. The Ducks received nine of 13 first-place votes and totaled 384 points, ahead of Colorado and Wisconsin who tied at No. 2 with 371. Stanford, a Pacific-10 Conference and West Regional rival, was No. 6. Alabama, coming off a third-place finish at the Dellinger Invitational, moved up nine spots, from No. 17 to No. 8. Portland fell two spots to No. 13.
The Oregon women’s team moved up 21 spots in the wake of its 65-90 upset of then-No. 4 Arkansas at the Dellinger Invitational. The No. 3 Ducks received 360 points and are behind only Stanford (387 points, 10 first-place votes) and Colorado (374, 3). The Razorbacks fell one spot to No. 5. Arizona State stayed steady at No. 6 and Washington moved up five spots to No. 12 on the strength of its third-place Dellinger Invitational finish. Colorado State, fourth on Saturday, moved up seven spots to No. 14.
The Ducks’ next race is Oct. 13. The team will send some runners to the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet in Terre Haute, Ind. and others to Mike Hodges Invitational in Clackamas.

Town hall meetings resume tonight at Bowerman

The Oregon track and field program will resume its monthly town hall meetings tonight at 7 p.m. in the Bowerman Building. The public is welcome to come listen to Director of Track and Field Vin Lananna talk about next summer’s Olympic Trials at Hayward Field, assistant coach Lance Deal discuss the ongoing Hayward Field renovations and junior distance runner Galen Rupp talk about the current cross country season and his experiences at the World Championships in Japan. The event will run for an hour.
Future town hall meetings will be held Nov. 7 and Dec. 5.
– Bryn Jansson