University of Oregon
Pre-National Invitational
Cheserek Wins Sixth Race in a Row
10/18/14 | Cross Country
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Edward Cheserek last lost a cross country race at the 2013 Pre-Nationals Invitational.
Saturday at the 2014 Pre-Nationals meet, he made sure that did not happen again as the sophomore from Newark, N.J., made a big move to the lead around the 5,000 meter mark and galloped home to win the title in 24:04.5. It was Cheserek's sixth consecutive cross country win dating back to the 2013 Pac-12 Championships.
Cheserek's victory capped a day that saw both the men's and women's teams finish second in a large field at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, a day after meet officials used a helicopter to try and dry a course that has been deluged with rain in recent weeks.
In addition to Cheserek's win, the men also had Eric Jenkins third in 24:09.4, Daniel Winn 19th in 24:40.2 and Tanguy Pepiot in 26th at 24:48.0.
Top-ranked Colorado won with 35 points, followed by No. 2 Oregon with 91, Georgetown with 148, No. 26 Furman with 262 and No. 22 Colorado State at 272.
“I think the men ran great today,” said associate head coach Andy Powell. “Colorado is No. 1 and we are No. 2 and it was good to see where we are at this point in the season.”
The Women of Oregon waited until the final 1,000 meters and moved up as a pack to pass a number of teams at the line, including top-ranked Michigan. Led by senior Megan Patrignelli's 18th place finish in 21:12.0, all five of the Ducks' scoring runners finished within 10 seconds of each other.
“We ran brilliantly together today, really packing it up there throughout the whole race,” said assistant coach Maurica Powell. “We knocked off a good Michigan team which was a big thing for us.”
No. 4 Georgetown won with 110 points, followed by No. 3 Oregon with 139, No. 1 Michigan with 143, No. 7 Colorado with 186 and No. 29 North Carolina State at 233.
The Ducks went 1-2 in the men's open race later in the day, with junior Matthew Melancon winning in 25:11.0 and sophomore Jake Leingang next in 25:36.1.
How It Happened - Women: Using the same strategy that produced a win at the Washington Invitational two weeks ago, the women executed their pack attack to perfection. The spread between Oregon's seven runners was 21 seconds, and the spread between the top five scorers was 10 seconds as all seven Ducks finished in the top 50. Following Patrignelli, Oregon also had Frida Berge 26th in 21:15.2, Maggie Schmaedick 27th in 21:15.3, Alli Cash 32nd in 21:18.6, Brianna Nerud 36th in 21:22.1, Lindsay Crevoiserat 36th in 21:32.2 and Abbey Leonardi 49th in 21:33.7.
Baylor's Rachel Johnson won the women's race in 20:21.1.
How It Happened - Men: Cheserek and Jenkins waited in the large lead pack for the first two-thirds of the race before moving up to challenge for the lead. The two worked together to pick off other contenders until Cheserek was clear. The only runner the two Ducks couldn't shake was Blake Theroux of Colorado, who made a charge 100 meters from the finish line, but ultimately took second in 24:06.1.
What It Means - Women: The women's showing is even more impressive considering Molly Grabill couldn't run due to a stomach virus and Crevoiserat, Oregon's top runner the first two races of the season, was battling the same ailment on Saturday. Additionally, the Pre-Nationals marked the first time that Patrignelli was Oregon's low stick, an encouraging sign for the senior who led Oregon five times in 2013.The women have now faced off against nearly all of the top teams in the nation, including Bill Dellinger champ Michigan State, which is poised to move into the No. 1 spot in the new polls this week.
What It Means - Men: While encouraged by Cheserek and the three seniors, the men will look to tighten things up to challenge Colorado for the Pac-12 title in two weeks. The Ducks had a number of runners seeing the massive sea of humanity that is the LaVern Gibson course for the first time, so that experience will prove invaluable at the NCAA Championships next month. Of the freshmen competing for the first time in Terre Haute, Travis Neuman was 42nd in 24:57.2 (giving the Ducks five runners in the top 50), Blake Haney was 77th in 25:20.6 and Sam Prakel was 83rd in 25:21.4. The Ducks were also successful in the Open race, with both Melancon and Leingang showing the Men of Oregon have a lot of depth to get through the championship season.
Odds and Ends: Patrignelli moved up 21 places over the last 2,000 meters, more than anybody else in the top 40 of the race. Berge (plus 11) and Cash (plus 10) were also big movers for the Ducks. Saturday marked Haney's debut in an Oregon singlet. Like the men, freshmen Berge and Cash got their first experiences on the Terre Haute course for the women. It was a windy and cool day on a wet and muddy course in Terre Haute, which could prove beneficial for the runners who could see similar conditions at the NCAA Championships in November.
What's Next: Pac-12 Championships, Oct. 31, Oakland, Calif.
Quoteworthy: “Edward and Eric really worked well together running up front great, so I like that and we had a pretty good pack behind them. “For all those guys, it was the first really hard effort of the season, and that's why we come to this meet, to get that experience.
“Our depth showed with Melancon and Jake (Leingang) in the open race, so I think we still can be a lot better when we come back here in five weeks for the NCAA Championships,” said Andy Powell.
“We were a little shorthanded today so knowing that we ran a pretty conservative strategy. We sat back and ran hard the last 1,000 meters. I'm pretty pleased with the 10 second spread from one to five. It's a big pack and we did a pretty good job finding each other,” said Maurica Powell.
- www.GoDucks.com -
Players Mentioned
