The Oregon men’s team hasn’t run in quite some time, but it will receive valuable feedback after this weekend.
The Ducks will send nine runners to the 2003 Pre-NCAA Invitational Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Many ranked teams are expected to participate, and Oregon is excited to see where the team is at midway through its season.
Previous to this weekend, Oregon competed in the Pier Park Preview — a race with mostly Oregon’s ‘B’ runners — and the Roy Griak invitational, where the Ducks finished fourth.
After this weekend’s race, the Ducks will take two weeks off before they run in the Pacific-10 Conference Championships. That will be followed by the NCAA Western Regional Championship in Pullman, Wash., and, depending on how the team fares at that point, the NCAA Championships.
The NCAA Championships will be held at the same venue as the Pre-NCAA Invitational, with many of the same teams and individuals expected to compete in both.

Rankings … again.
Despite being dormant last weekend, the Duck men moved up one spot in the cross country rankings to No. 7.
Oregon was helped by the poor performance of Arkansas, which fell from its previous No. 4 ranking down to No. 9. Otherwise, the top-nine positions stayed the same, with Stanford continuing its stronghold on the No. 1 spot. Oregon and Stanford are two of the five teams from the Pac-10 in the nation’s top 30. The Ducks and the Cardinal are the only two Pac-10 teams ranked in the top 10, according to a new poll released Oct. 7.
However, rankings do not play as much of a major role in deciding the fate of a team’s season as it does in football. The Ducks must still capture a top-two finish at regionals or receive an at-large bid in order to be invited to race in the NCAA Championships, regardless of ranking.

Down and out … sort of
If it seems there hasn’t been any mention of one of Oregon’s strongest runners, it’s no mistake.
Senior Laura Harmon has redshirted her season after a experiencing a case of pneumonia during the summer that set back her training and conditioning.
“I based my decision on not getting as good a summer as I wanted to,” Harmon said. “I have a goal to go to the NCAA (Championship) and be the best I can be.”
However, Harmon has participated in Oregon’s first two races of the season, competing as an unattached. Despite her scores not counting, she has shown a powerful work ethic and has finished strong in Oregon’s first full varsity races. Harmon finished ninth at the Sundodger Invitational and sixth overall at the Willamette Invitational.
Harmon continues to work out with the team and is involved in every aspect of the program. That is, everything except the races.
With new head coach Marnie Mason adjusting the intensity and distances of practice, Harmon has seen an improvement in her times.
“I was 22 seconds faster (this year, compared to last year at Willamette Invitational),” Harmon said. “I attribute that to different kinds of practice.”
She isn’t second guessing her decision, but some doubts remain about the decision to redshirt.
“It makes you question it,” Harmon said.