This weekend holds enormous implications for the men’s cross country squad.
The NCAA Western Regional Championships in Tucson, Ariz., on the Dell Urich Golf Course features five other top-25 teams besides No. 18 Oregon.
Stanford, the second ranked team in the nation, will be chased by No. 8 Portland,
No. 13 Santa Barbara, No. 14 Arizona State and No. 20 Arizona.
The Western Regional is one of nine meets held nationally to determine the 31 teams who will travel to South Carolina for the national championship meet.
In the race in Tucson, the top two finishing teams and top four individuals from non-qualifying teams automatically receive invitations to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 19.
Another 13 teams and two individuals from across the nation, who will be selected by a committee, will also attend the national meet.
All-American junior Jason Hartmann, who placed second in last year’s race, will contend with Stanford’s Grant Robison and Arizona State’s Fasil Bizuneh for the regional title.
Following Hartmann for the Ducks will probably be senior Adam Bergquist, who finished 10th at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships. Other than the senior team captain and All-American junior, all the
other runners for the Ducks are either freshmen or sophomores.
“Even though we’re really young, I’ve been pleased that the team has progressed every meet,” head coach Martin Smith said. “This week is another important step in our development, and the regional has a very high level of talent.
“We’re excited about seeing where we’re at, and hopefully we’re rewarded with a trip to the NCAA Championships. That’s been the main goal we’ve been practicing toward all year.”
Brett Holts, John Lucas and Ryan Andrus have been running well for Oregon this season, and for the Ducks to place well at the regionals, their second through fifth men need to be in the 20th through 35th overall range, according to Smith.
True freshman Seth Pilkington, who has not finished the last two races in which he has competed, will most likely be held out of the regional race by Smith, but he will still travel with the team. Because the regionals and the nationals are both 10,000-meter races, Pilkington may sit out to preserve his strength for the national meet.