ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Andy McNamara — Assistant Athletic Director, Communications www.GoDucks.com David Williford — Executive Assistant Athletic Director, Football Communications twitter.com/GoDucks Todd Miles, Greg Walker — Associate Directors • Joe Waltasti — Assistant Director 541-346-5488 (P) Cross Country Contact: Greg Walker (O: 541-346-2252; C: 541-954-8775; email: [email protected])

FOR IMMEDIATE USE September 28, 2016

Ducks Look to Take Next Step at Washington Invitational Oregon swept this meet in 2015.

EUGENE, Ore. – Th e Ducks break fall camp with the Washington Invitational on Saturday at Jeff erson Park Golf Course in Seattle, Wash. Th e women’s race is at 11 a.m., while the men go at 11:45 a.m. Both the men’s and women’s races will be early-season contests between the Ducks, Huskies and other rivals. Th e Duck women are fourth nationally, while the Huskies check in at No. 12. On the men’s side Oregon is No. 3 with Washington at No. 21. Th e men’s race also has No. 24 Washington State and No. 29 Colorado State, while Harvard (also receiving votes) is in the women’s fi eld. Th e Washington Invitational will mark the 2016 debut of three-time defending NCAA champion , who won this event for Oregon last season (23:15.4). Sophomore Matthew Maton could open the 2016 season in Seattle as well; he was eighth in this race in 2015. For the women, look for 2015 Gatorade national high school runner of the year Katie Rainsberger, a freshman from Colorado Springs, Colo., in her fi rst race as a Duck. Oregon swept the Washington Invitational in 2015. Th e women held off Washington 36-59 with Alli Cash fi nishing second. Cheserek led the men to a victory over Stanford 52-69.

WHAT TO WATCH While there will be plenty of attention on the Ducks debuting this weekend - namely Cheserek, Maton and Rainsberger - it would be a mistake to overlook the importance of the depth Oregon is trying to develop this season. Oregon would certainly like to continue the outstanding performances of Sam Prakel (fi rst), Tanner Anderson (second) and Bryan Fernandez (fourth) from the Bill Dellinger Invitational men’s race. For the women, Emma Abrahamson was the low stick for the Ducks for the fi rst time in her career (fourth) and was backed by solid runs from Georgetown transfer Sam Nadel (sixth) and Maggie Schmaedick (eighth). Th e Duck women had just a :09 spread from their fi rst to fi ft h runners; that ability to fi nish in a pack was a hallmark of the Ducks’ NCAA bronze medal team of 2015.

ENTRIES With a couple of notable additions, the Ducks will primarily go with the same runners who appeared in the Dellinger meet. For the men, senior Edward Cheserek and sophomore Matthew Maton join Sam Prakel, Tanner Anderson, Bryan Fernandez, Blake Haney, Travis Neuman, Jake Leingang, Tom Gorman and Mick Stanovsek. For the women, Katie Rainsberger and Alli Cash join the group that ran at the Dellinger - Emma Abrahamson, Sam Nadal, Ashley Maton, Maggie Schmaedick, Frida Berge, Jessica Hull and Perrin Xthona.

WASHINGTON INVITATIONAL WOMEN’S RACE Time: 11 a.m. PDT Length: 6,000 Meters 6K Course Record: 19:15.6, , Oregon, 2012 Twitter: @OregonTF / @UWTrack Results: http://www.rtspt.com/events/uw/wa_inv16/ / www.goducks.com Teams (9): Colorado State, Eastern Washington, Grand Canyon, Harvard, Idaho, Oregon, Seattle U., Washington, Washington State Rankings: No. 4 Oregon, No. 12 Washington, Harvard (receiving votes) Oregon Entries: Seniors Ashley Maton, Samantha Nadel and Maggie Schmaedick, juniors Emma Abrahamson, Frida Berge and Alli Cash, sophomore Jessica Hull, and freshmen Katie Rainsberger and Perrin Xthona.

WASHINGTON INVITATIONAL MEN’S RACE Time: 11:45 a.m. PDT Length: 8,000 Meters 8K Course Record: 22:59.8, Patrick Tiernan, Villanova, 2014 Twitter: @OregonTF / @UWTrack Results: http://www.rtspt.com/events/uw/wa_inv16/ / www.goducks.com Teams (8): Colorado State, Eastern Washington, Grand Canyon, Idaho, Oregon, Seattle U., Washington, Washington State Rankings: No. 3 Oregon, No. 21 Washington, No. 24 Washington State, No. 29 Colorado State Oregon Entries: Seniors Edward Cheserek, Tim Gorman and Jake Leingang, juniors Bryan Fernandez, Blake Haney, Travis Neuman and Sam Prakel, sophomores Tanner Anderson and Matthew Maton, and freshman Mick Stanovsek.

SCORING Th e place of the fi rst fi ve fi nishers counts toward the team score. The next two runners may displace runners from opposing teams. First place is worth one point, second place two points, etc. Low score wins.

Len Casanova Athletic Center • 2727 Leo Harris Parkway • Eugene, Oregon 97401 • (541) 346-4481 • Fax (541) 346-5031

An equal-opportunity, affi rmative-action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 2016 OREGON CROSS COUNTRY

THE COURSE 2016 Men’s Rankings 1 Northern Arizona (7) Th e Jeff erson Park Course consists of multiple two kilometer loops on fl at fairways crossing some cart paths. Th e 2 Syracuse (1) course was the site of the 2010 Pac-10 Championships, the USATF Club Nationals, and the NCAA West Regional 3 Oregon (2) Championships in 2012 and 2015. 4 Brigham Young (1) t5 Colorado (1) BILL DELLINGER INVITATIONAL RECAP t5 Arkansas A courageous run by Bryan Fernandez and a solid pack fi nish by the Women of Oregon helped the Ducks sweep 7 Portland the 2016 Bill Dellinger Invitational on Sept. 16 at Springfi eld Country Club. Oregon’s second-ranked men won 8 Georgetown their season opener by a point over No. 22 Portland, 28-29. UC Davis was third with 101 points, while North 9 Eastern Kentucky 10 Oklahoma State Dakota State was fourth with 113. In the women’s race, the fourth-ranked Ducks won with 39 points, followed 11 Stanford by a spirted eff ort from defending NAIA national champion Northwest Christian, which had 51 points. UC 12 Wisconsin Davis was third with 75 while Oregon State placed fourth with 84. In the men’s race, it was a late charge by Bryan 13 Virginia Fernandez to pass the Pilots’ Fabian Tomas that gave Oregon the one-point victory. Junior Sam Prakel won the 14 Indiana race for the Ducks in 24:36.8 with sophomore Tanner Anderson just a hair behind in second. Fernandez, a junior 15 Iowa State from Santa Barbara, Calif., was a career-best fourth in 24:45.8, with junior Blake Haney 10th (25:05.7), senior Jake 16 Iona Leingang 11th (25:07.4) and freshman Mick Stanovsek 12th (25:21.0). Th e Women of Oregon placed fi ve runners 17 Boise State in the top 11 who all fi nished within nine seconds of each other to claim the 2016 Dellinger title. Junior Emma 18 Texas-El Paso 19 Michigan Abrahamson led the way by fi nishing fourth in 17:34.2. Senior Sam Nadel, making her fi rst appearance as a Duck 20 Mississippi aft er transferring from Georgetown, took sixth in 17:36.4, while senior Maggie Schamedick was eighth in 17:39.1. 21 Washington Senior Ashley Maton was ninth (17:42.8) and sophomore Jessica Hull was 11th in 17:43.0. Oregon State’s Emily 22 Michigan State Weber became the fi rst Beaver to win the Dellinger aft er she crossed the line in 17:26.2. It was the men’s fourth 23 North Carolina State straight Dellinger title, and eighth overall. Th e Duck women won for the second year in a row and seventh overall. 24 Washington State 25 Columbia LOOKING AHEAD 26 Penn Th e Ducks travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Pre-National Invitational on Oct. 15. 27 UCLA 28 Tulsa 29 Colorado State PAC-12 DOMINANCE t30 Florida State Since 1958, no other conference can match the league’s combined 22 NCAA men’s and women’s team championships t30 Texas in cross country. Others Receiving Votes Dartmouth, Providence, Combined NCAA Team Titles by Conference, 1958-present Virginia Tech, Louisville, 22 Pacifi c-12 Conference Middle Tennessee, 16 Big East Conference Princeton, Southern Utah... 13 Southeastern Conference 2016 Women’s Rankings 11 Big XII 1 Providence (4) 10 Big Ten 2 Colorado (3) 3 New Mexico (5) 9 Conference USA 4 Oregon 5 North Carolina State AN OVERVIEW OF THE TEAMS 6 Stanford WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW 7 Portland If the Women of Oregon are to return to the trophy podium for a second consecutive season, it will take 8 Michigan State 9 Boise State a blend of veterans and newcomers, as the Ducks look to replace three of their top six runners from the squad 10 Arkansas that took third at the 2015 NCAA Championships. 11 Penn State Junior Alli Cash is the lone returning all-American from 2015. She was 31st at the NCAA Championships 12 Washington and was Oregon’s No. 2 runner at all three postseason events last fall. 13 Oklahoma State Junior Frida Berge was also one of Oregon’s more consistent runners as she scored in the Pac-12, NCAA 14 Michigan 15 Brigham Young West Regional and NCAA championship races. 16 Notre Dame Like Cash and Berge, seniors Ashley Maton and Maggie Schmaedick also ran in all three championship 17 Syracuse races for the Ducks. 18 San Francisco Th ere is more experience down the roster with junior Emma Abrahamson, and sophomores Sarah Baxter 19 Georgetown and Jessica Hull all having Pac-12 championship appearances to their credit. 20 Virginia 21 Southern Methodist Th e intriguing part of 2016 for head coach Robert Johnson and assistant coach Maurica Powell will be the 22 Penn development of fi ve of newcomers. 23 Iowa State Georgetown transfer Samantha Nadel should have an immediate impact. Th e fi ft h-year senior was a cross t24 Vanderbilt country all-American for the Hoyas in 2014. t24 Mississippi State Duck fans will also be excited about the addition of Katie Rainsberger (Colorado Springs, Colo.) who was t26 Tulsa t26 Kansas the 2015 national Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year. 28 Utah Additionally, the Ducks have added a couple of in-state runners to the roster in Rennie Kendrick t29 Yale (Portland) and Perrin Xthona (Yamhill). t29 UCLA One more newcomer to keep an eye on is freshman Lilli Burdon, an Australian who enrolled at Oregon for Others Receiving Votes the 2016 winter quarter and earned all-America honors on the Ducks’ indoor distance medley team. Weber State, Minnesota, Harvard, Princeton, Eastern Th e Women of Oregon have enjoyed renewed success in recent years, including winning the 2012 NCAA Michigan, Mississippi... championship, as well as last season’s third-place fi nish. 2016 OREGON CROSS COUNTRY

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW OREGON’S NCAA CHAMPIONS Edward Cheserek has already established himself as one of the Th e Ducks won three NCAA titles in 2016: Men’s and Women’s Indoor best distance runners in NCAA history. He is the only man to win Track and Field and Men’s Golf. Th at brought Oregon’s total to 30 all- three consecutive NCAA and Pac-12 individuals titles and looks to time NCAA championships. Th e others are men’s outdoor track & fi eld add a fourth to those totals this fall. in 1962, 1964, 1965, 1970, 1984, 2014 and 2015, women’s outdoor track He comes into his senior year tied with Suleiman Nyambui of & fi eld in 1985 and 2015, men’s indoor track & fi eld in 2009, 2014 and Texas-El Paso for the most combined national cross country/track 2015, women’s indoor track & fi eld in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, and fi eld championships won - 15 - in NCAA history. Nyambui won men’s cross country in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 2007 and 2008, women’s seven outdoor titles, seven indoor crowns and one cross country cross country in 1983, 1987 and 2012, and men’s basketball in 1939. championship for UTEP from 1979-82. Additionally, Oregon’s acrobatics and tumbling team won NCATA But Cheserek would like nothing more than to bring his national titles in 2011-12-13-14. teammates along with him to the top of the victory podium this season. Th e Ducks have yet to claim an NCAA or Pac-12 team cross NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND country title during his career. TRACKTOWN Including Cheserek, the Ducks return all fi ve scorers from last Historic Hayward Field will host the 2017 NCAA Championships season’s team that fi nished fourth at the NCAA Championships - June 8-11. It will be the record 15th time that the historic venue has Oregon’s best showing in six years. Th e four veterans are senior Jake played host to the national meet. Previously, Hayward Field hosted the Leingang, junior Travis Neuman and sophomores Tanner Anderson NCAA Championships in 1962, 1964, 1972, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1991, and Matthew Maton. 1996, 2001, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2016, Hayward passed Neuman was Oregon’s No. 2 runner at the Pac-12, NCAA West Chicago, which hosted 13 championships between 1921 and 1936, for Region and NCAA championships and Maton was the Ducks No. 3 the most NCAA meets. scorer at the conference meet. Anderson contributed as the Ducks’ In addition to the annual Prefontaine Classic, Hayward Field has No. 4 runner at the Pac-12 and NCAA championships. recently served as host to the 2008, 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, Th e Ducks also have tremendous experience in rising junior the 2009, 2011 and 2015 USA Track & Field Championships and the Sam Prakel, who had a stellar season on the track in 2016, as well as 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships. Eugene will host IAAF fellow juniors Bryan Fernandez and Blake Haney. World Championships in 2021. For more information on the NCAA Head coach Robert Johnson and associate head coach Andy Championships, go to www.ncaa.com/trackandfi eld. Powell also have added several newcomers as Oregon looks to establish a deep pack behind Cheserek. Dartmouth transfer Tim Gorman brings immediate experience at the NCAA level, while freshmen Jackson Mestler (Eugene, Ore.), Mick Stanovsek (Chadron, Ohio), Austin Tamagno (Brea, Calif.) and Levi Th omet (Kodiak, Alaska) look to earn their places in the starting seven. In recent seasons, the men have experienced success on a national level rarely seen in TrackTown USA. Oregon won back- to-back NCAA titles in 2007 and 2008, and followed that with a runner-up fi nish in 2009. Th ose results harken back to the era of the legendary Steve Prefontaine, when the Ducks won national titles in 1971, 1973 and 1974, were second in 1970 and third in 1972. 2016 OREGON CROSS COUNTRY 2016 SEASON RESULTS

Bill Dellinger Invitational (Springfi eld Golf Course, Springfi eld, Ore., 9.16.16) Women’s Team Results (5,000 Meters) Women’s Individual Results Place Team Score Place Name Time 1 Oregon 39 1 Emily Weber, Oregon State 17:26.2 2 Northwest Christian 51 2 Sierra Brown, Northwest Christian 17:28.4 3 UC Davis 75 3 Shea Vallaire, Northwest Christian 17:31.1 4 Oregon State 84 4 Emma Abrahamson, Oregon 17:34.2 5 North Dakota State 97 5 Hannah Kirkegaard, UC Davis 17:35.3 6 Willamette 189 6 Samantha Nadel, Oregon 17:36.4 7 Portland 190 7 Brittany Brownotter, North Dakota State 17:38.4 8 Lewis-Clark State 230 8 Maggie Schmaedick, Oregon 17:39.1 9 Julia Lemak, UC Davis 17:41.8 10 Ashley Maton, Oregon 17:42.8 11 Jessica Hull, Oregon 17:43.0 12 Kristiane Width, Oregon State 17:44.4 13 Alyssa Harmon, Northwest Christian 17:54.9 14 Olivia Mancl, Willamette 17:55.9 15 Rosa Schmidt, Northwest Christian 18:00.1 23 Frida Berge, Oregon 18:16.3 55 Perrin Xthona, Oregon 19:23.8

Men’s Team Results (8,000 Meters) Men’s Individual Results Place Team Score Place Name Time 1 Oregon 28 1 Sam Prakel, Oregon 24:36.8 2 Portland 29 2 Tanner Anderson, Oregon 24:36.8 3 UC Davis 101 3 Logan Orndorf, Portland 24:43.2 4 North Dakota State 113 4 Bryan Fernandez, Oregon 24:45.8 5 Northwest Christian 163 5 Fabian Tomas, Portland 24:50.8 6 Willamette 187 6 Keegan Symmes, Portland 24:52.0 7 Lewis-Clark State 201 7 Sam Lomax, Portland 24:54.2 8 Lane CC 202 8 Joe Horen, Portland 24:54.4 9 Jordy Ceja, UC Davis 24:55.4 10 Blake Haney, Oregon 25:05.7 11 Jake Leingang, Oregon 25:07.4 12 Mick Stanovsek, Oregon 25:21.0 13 Erik Wingfi eld, Portland 25:23.0 14 Salem Bouhassoun, UC Davis 25:24.0 15 Michael Martin, Lane CC 25:26.4 19 Travis Neuman, Oregon 25:34.0 39 Tim Gorman, Oregon 26:32.3