— The Oregon women’s cross country team surprised the track and field world this weekend by winning the NCAA Championship title, despite only being ranked 12th in the nation before the race. Freshman Katie Rainsberger led the way, finishing 4th overall, the best finish ever by an Oregon freshman. Edward Cheserek also shocked the nation by placing third in the men’s race, breaking his streak of three consecutive NCAA titles.
— In other cross country news, elite prep-runner Kate Murphy, who competed in the semifinals of the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials this summer, officially signed with Oregon to compete in the 2017 season.
— After coming in at No. 4 on the AP Top 25 Poll last week, the highest spot in school history, a loss to Baylor caused the men’s basketball team to fall to No. 13 this week. Another loss, this one to Georgetown during the first round of the Maui Invitational, may cause the Ducks to drop even further in the next poll.
— Sabrina Ionescu was honored with the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award following her performance during Oregon’s 77-62 defeat of CSU Bakersfield. She tallied her first double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
— Despite recent off-field troubles, the Oregon football team pulled off a stunning upset and topped No. 11 Utah 30-28 on Saturday. Darren Carrington, one of the aforementioned players with off-field troubles, caught a game-winning pass from Justin Herbert with his foot barely in bounds. The loss most likely ended Utah’s Pac-12 South title hopes.
Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03