Today’s 2025 Bill Dellinger Invitational cross country meet, hosted at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Springfield Ore. , concluded with the top four athletes in the men’s 8000-meter and the women’s 6000-meter all being Ducks. Oregon decisively took both team wins, with both the men and women riding 16-point totals to the top of the standings. The Air Force Academy finished second in both races.

In the men’s 8000m, junior Benjamin Balazs took first with a time of 23:08.20, followed closely by senior Evan Bishop (28:09.89), senior Abdel Laadjel (23:11.47) and junior Aiden Smith (23:15.46). 

Balazs helped secure Oregon’s 2025 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championship in May by winning the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:40.93 — the title was the first Ducks outdoor championship for head coach Jerry Schumacher. 

In the women’s 6000m, freshman Diana Cherotich took first with a time of 18:58.81. Cherotich was nearly a full minute ahead of second place finisher Juliet Cherubet (a junior), who finished in 19:42.93. In third was junior Dalia Frias (19:57.05), and rounding out the top four Ducks was senior Anika Thompson who finished with 20:03.70. In August, Cherotich set the meet record at the Big Ten Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship with her time of 32:00.48 in the women’s 10000-meter final. 

Oregon will compete at the 2025 Big Ten Cross Country Championships in East Lansing, Michigan, on Oct. 31, where the women will look to defend their 2024 title.