Ducks Eying Pac-12 Crowns

Friday, October 27

Springfield, OR

11:00 AM

University of Oregon

Pac-12 Cross Country Championships

Photo by: GoDucks.com

10/25/17 | Cross Country, @GoDucksMoseley

XC Notes: Pac-12 Championships Meet Details Men's Entries Women's Entries

Oregon will race for the Pac-12 Championships at Springfield Golf Club on Friday (11:10 a.m. PT, Pac-12 Network).

By: Rob Moseley

When the women's Pac-12 Championships are run Friday at Springfield Golf Club, Oregon will be the hunted. The men's race begins an hour later, and the Ducks will become the hunter.

Less than a month after winning the Bill Dellinger Invitational on the same course, thanks in part to a course-record time from Katie Rainsberger, the UO women take a No. 1 national ranking into Friday's 6,000-meter race, which begins at 11:10 a.m. An hour later, Oregon wants to end Colorado's six-year reign atop the Pac-12 in the 8k men's race.

Both races will be televised live by Pac-12 Network. Oregon coach Robert Johnson said he's "totally thrilled and ecstatic" about the coverage, but also hopes "people choose to come to the race and watch." Admission is free for spectators.

The Oregon women are defending NCAA Champions, and are two-for-two in races this year. After winning the Dellinger meet, the Ducks took first at the Pre-Nationals Invitational on Oct. 14, a preview of the Louisville course for this year's NCAA meet.

Along with Rainsberger, junior Jessica Hull is back for the Ducks after scoring at last year's NCAA meet. And senior Alli Cash, who also scored last year in Terre Haute, Ind., is entered in Friday's Pac-12 championships, which would be her 2017 cross country debut.

Rainsberger was Oregon's top finisher at Pre-Nationals, running fourth over 6k in 19 minutes, 42.1 seconds. She was trailed by seventh-place finisher Lilli Burdon, a redshirt freshman who was one of five Ducks in the top 30, the sort of balanced performance the UO women want to put together Friday.

"We're excited to put together a great race," said Burdon, a native of Queensland, Australia.

The Oregon men are equally driven, and take a No. 8 national ranking into Friday. Colorado is No. 5 and Stanford is No. 6, and those teams will have a target on their backs for the Ducks to try and run down.

At Pre-Nationals, the Ducks took third behind BYU and the Buffaloes. The top five runners from both Oregon and Colorado finished within a 33-second margin, and the smaller field Friday will provide both times more room to maneuver.

Oregon senior Sam Prakel, who was second for the Ducks behind sophomore Tanner Anderson in no Louisville, isn't shying away from the team's goals Friday – winning the Pac-12 title for the first time since 2008.

"We want to shoot for something we haven't been able to do yet," Prakel said. "And that's beat Colorado at Pac-12s. So I think we want to shoot for the win."

The Ducks have been joined for recent training sessions by a member of that 2008 Pac-12 title team, Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz. In town while back in school to finish his UO degree, Centrowitz has helped fellow 1,500-meter specialists like Prakel and Blake Haney with their cross country training.

"He can relate to us track guys," Prakel said. "He helps us transition that mindset into cross country, because he did a really good job of that in college. He's been a great help in the workouts, and just a guy to help us with the cross country mentality."

The fruits of that training with Centrowitz will be on display Friday at Springfield Gold Club, and for the audience tuning in on Pac-12 Network. The broadcast will provide a level of exposure that Johnson hopes will yield long-term dividends.

"All the kids we're recruiting," Johnson said, "for them to be able to tune in and watch one of their potential suitors, as far as college destinations, is always a good thing."