University of Oregon
Pacific-10 Championships
Blood Wins Pac-10 Individual Title as Both Cross Country Teams Take Second
10/30/09 | Cross Country
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Nicole Blood overtook Kendra Schaaf of Washington with just over 1,000 meters remaining and raced to victory at the 2009 Pacific-10 cross country championships Friday at Sky Links Golf Course. Blood's victory ended a drought of 17 years for the Oregon women.
Both the Duck men and women finished second to the nation's top ranked teams at the Pac-10 meet.
"It was a good performance for Oregon all the way around," said Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. "Both races were really good competitions and I'm proud of the way our student-athletes came out and competed."
Blood, a senior from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., put on a burst of speed with half a lap remaining to catch Schaaf, who had sprinted out to a large lead, much like she did in winning the 2008 championship at Springfield Country Club. But Blood, working with teammate Jordan Hasay, chased down Schaff to become the first Pac-10 champion from Oregon since Nicole Woodward in 1992.
Blood finished the 6,000-meter race in 19:41.71, with Schaaf next at 19:46.17.
The Ducks also counted an impressive third-place finish from Hasay (19:48.97), a freshman from Arroyo Grande, Calif., and a ninth-place finish from junior Alex Kosinski (20:09.86) as No. 2 Oregon came within seven points of upsetting top-ranked Washington.
"The race went really well," said Blood. "Jordan, Alex and I were all in the lead pack and worked well together. After the second lap, Jordan moved past Mel (Lawrence of Washington) and I decided to go with her so we could continue to work together and reel in Schaff.
"Then with 1,000 meters left, I decided to move hard on Schaff and it felt good so I just kept going. That was probably decisive moment in the race."
The Huskies finished with 35 points, followed by the Ducks' 42. It was Oregon's third straight second-place Pac-10 finish. Arizona State took third with 110 points, edging No. 12 Stanford (111). California was fifth with 128 points, followed by No. 17 Arizona (130), UCLA (207), Oregon State (239), USC (250) and Washington State (251).
"It's very satisfying to have Nicole go out as a Pac-10 champion her senior year," said Lananna. "Nicole and Jordan ran terrific races today.
"Every single woman came out and gave 100 percent. They ran tough and hard today and we gave Washington a real scare," said Lananna. "Much better than last year."
Oregon also counted a 12th-place finish from sophomore Claire Michel (20:22.39) and a 17th-place showing from sophomore Bronwyn Crossman (20:32.30). Freshman Anne Kesselring ran 22nd in 20:39.42, while senior Lauren Zaludek was 29th in 20:49.80.
Blood is the sixth different Duck woman to win a conference title. In addition to Woodward, Liz Wilson won twice (1988, 1990) and Penny Graves (1986), Annette Hand (1987) and Lisa Karnoop (1991) each won once.
With three runners in the top eight, the men took second with 48 points. Sophomore Luke Puskedra ran fourth in 23:05.04, junior Matthew Centrowitz was fifth in 23:09.35 and senior Jordan McNamara, in his Pac-10 debut, was eighth in 23:21.14.
Friday's second-place showing marked the 11th time in the last 15 years that Oregon has finished first or second at the Pac-10 championships. The Ducks had won three straight league titles coming into the 2009 meet.
"We had a lot of good things happen for the guys," said Lananna. "We ran hard and we ran better than we did two weeks ago. We keep moving in the right direction and that's the goal."
Chris Derrick won the individual title in 22:35.41 to lead top-ranked Stanford to the team title with 25 points. After No. 2 Oregon, No. 16 Arizona State was third with 88 points, No. 13 Washington was fourth with 119 points, UCLA took fifth with 122 points, No. 26 Washington State was sixth with 163 points, California was seventh (180) and Arizona placed eighth (193).
From the outset, it was a race between Stanford and Oregon. At the halfway mark of the 8,000 meter race, Stanford was running first, second and third, with Puskedra fifth and Danny Mercado seventh.
Puskedra and Derrick were 1-2 over the next 2,000 meters, while Centrowitz moved up to third.
On the last lap, Derrick and Brandon Bethke of Arizona State began to pull away from the pack, while Elliott Heath of Stanford moved ahead of Puskedra. Bethke finished second in 22:41.43, with Heath third in 22:52.01.
McNamara, from Auburn, Wash., made his late charge to ensure a second-place finish for the Ducks.
"I'm especially pleased for Jordan McNamara," said Lananna. "That was a great way to finish as a senior."
Puskedra, from Ogden Utah, recorded his second-straight top four finish at the conference meet; he was second as a freshman a year ago.
Centrowitz, from Arnold, Md., posted his best finish at the Pac-10 meet; he finished 11th in 2008.
The Ducks also counted a 13th-place finish from junior Danny Mercado (23:34.85) and a 15th-place showing from junior A.J. Acosta (23:38.50).
Oregon next hosts the NCAA West Regional Nov. 14 at Springfield Country Club.
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