It wasn’t a bad performance. In fact, it was a finish many teams wish they could have.
But this is Oregon, one of the biggest Meccas for running. It wasn’t a finish that a team with three All-American runners celebrates.
The Oregon men’s cross country team traveled to the 2003 Pre-NCAA Invitational and finished seventh overall. The Pre-NCAA Invitational featured 14 teams ranked in the top-30 or that received votes in the latest cross country poll.
The Ducks were among 176 men’s and women’s teams that competed on the same course where the National Championship race will be held. Northern Iowa hosted the meet at the Irv Memorial Golf Course in Waterloo, Iowa.
No. 7 Oregon finished seventh in its 35-team race, behind winners No. 5 Colorado, No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 14 Georgetown, No. 19 Arizona and No. 21 N.C. State.
There were three separate races for both the men’s and women’s events.
Oregon did not face Pacific-10 Conference foe Stanford, which entered the ‘purple’ race ranked No. 1 in the Nation. Stanford easily won its race.
BYU’s Kip Kangogo (23 minutes, 10 seconds) posted the top time of the day.
The Ducks were led by their All-American trio of Eric Logsdon, Ryan Andrus and Brett Holts. Logsdon was the fastest Duck on the day, finishing 21st overall (24:05), followed by Andrus at 24th (24:09) and Holts at 39th overall (24:25).
Oregon also received a strong debut from freshman Patrick Werhane when he finished 94th overall (25:00). It was Werhane’s first varsity race after the freshman finished second on the team’s “b” squad in Oregon’s season opener in Portland in September. The race also marked Logsdon’s first as a top finisher for the Ducks.
Also in the mix this weekend for the Ducks were seniors Magdalena Sandoval and Eri Macdonald.
Sandoval won her third consecutive race of the season. She had finished her last two races after being edged out of the lead by professional runner Margaret Butler of Kajaks Track Club.
Sandoval and Macdonald competed in the “open race” as the only representatives of the Oregon women’s team.
Sandoval won her race by a 40-second margin, ahead of N.C. State’s Kara Price. It was Sandoval’s first collegiate victory.
When compared to all the other times completed by runners, Sandoval had the 20th-fastest time among 537 women harriers. It was a promising finish for Sandoval, considering the field included seven top-10 teams, 18 top-25 teams and 28 teams receiving votes in the most recent poll.
Individually, returning NCAA champion Shalane Flanagan of North Carolina won the purple race by 32 seconds. She finished the race at a time of 19:30.
The No. 1 BYU women won the team title with 86 points, ahead of No. 11 North Carolina and No. 5 Notre Dame.