In their last appearance in the state of Oregon, the Duck men and women Harriers made a strong impression and now look ahead to future championship meets.
Oregon senior Hanna Smedstad put in yet another strong performance Saturday, as she won the 26th annual Willamette Open and led her Oregon women’s cross country team to the team title.
The transfer from Oklahoma State toured the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes and five seconds — three seconds ahead of runner-up Abby Peters.
Twenty-five teams and over 700 runners at Bush Pasture Park in Salem comprised the largest cross country race on the west coast.
Oregon won the meet with a score of 23 points; more impressively is that the Ducks provided the first five Division 1 runners.
Senior Katie Crabb had a breakthrough race as she finished third in a time of 17:30, a personal best by 29 seconds. The next Duck to the finish line was sophomore Eri MacDonald at sixth in a time of 17:57, followed closely by freshman Laura Harmon, who came in seventh at the 17:58 mark.
The race marks the first time that Oregon had four runners under the 18-minute mark since the NCAA championships in 1997.
Oregon had two more runners in the top-20 with sophomore Erinn Gulbrandsen (14th, 18:19) and sophomore transfer Carrie Zografos (19th, 18:32). Freshman Annette Mosey (34th in 18:50) and sophomore Annie Davis (47th in 19:03) rounded out the Duck contingent.
“Our athletes ran strong and relaxed,” head coach Tom Heinonen said. “This was a good step for us as we prepare for pre-nationals next week. Hanna battled it out with Abby Peters, a former All-American from Boise State, and pulled ahead at 1 1/2 miles, then held off a late rush for the win.”
Oregon scored 23 points, well ahead of second place Greater Boise Running Club. In Division 1 scoring, the Ducks’ perfect score of 15 points stunned the competition. Portland was second with 49 points.
“This race will determine which six runners — in addition to Rhiannon Glenn who we held out — will compete at Pre-Nationals next Saturday,” Heinonen said. “It was a good test over 5,000 meters and a good performance to get us ready for the next meet.”
The Duck men also placed well in Salem. Although entering a “B” team, Oregon edged all other Division 1 opponents while placing 18th overall.
Freshman Chris Clancy was the top Duck, placing 23rd in a time of 25:05 over the 8,000-meter course. The freshman from Portland was seventh among collegians and ran 55 seconds faster than his time last week at the Roy Griak Invitational.
The rest of the Oregon team consisted of 800 meter runners from the track team. Juniors Sean Gross and Merrit McDole finished 133rd and 134rd respectively in identical times of 27:03.
Junior Ross Krempley, who was an 800-meter finalist at the Pacific-10 Conference track and field championships last May, finished 162nd in 27:23. Not far behind was freshman Mike Pluth at 169th in a time of 27:33. Sophomore Jake Horner was the last Duck to finish, as he came in at 244th in a time of 29:29.
Up next for the Duck Harriers is the Pre-NCAA meet in Ames, Iowa. The meet will feature many of the nation’s best teams on the course that will be used for the NCAA Championships November 20.