Ducks Sweep Team, Individual Titles at Dellinger

Friday, October 9

Springfield, OR

11:15 AM

University of Oregon

Bill Dellinger Invitational

Diana Cherotich, Bill Dellinger celebration (Oct. 9, 2026)

Photo by: GoDucks.com

10/09/26 | Cross Country

Meet Results

Simeon Birnbaum and Diana Cherotich were Friday’s meet champions.

EUGENE, Ore. – For a second-consecutive year, the Oregon men's and women's cross country teams swept the Bill Dellinger Invitational team and individual titles Friday afternoon at the Pine Ridge Golf Club in Springfield, Ore. Simeon Birnbaum and Diana Cherotich were the individual winners with the latter becoming the first woman to win the meet two times.

Birnbaum led a 1-2 Oregon finish with teammate Connor Burns in the first race of the day. Birnbaum crossed the finish line in 23:05.5 having pulled away from the field over the final two kilometers. The Men of Oregon placed four in the top 10 with newcomer Connor McCormick and All-American Aiden Smith in eighth and 10^th, respectively.

Smith, a cross country All-American in the past two seasons, was back in action since last December.

Freshman Jayden Warner finished 13^th overall and rounded out the Ducks' top five, all scoring top-10 points. Michael Mireles and Quentin Nauman, another UO freshman, were the sixth and seventh UO runners across the line.

The Men of Oregon finished ahead of runner-up Weber State (42 points), Division II No. 8 Chico State (78) in third and California and Saint Mary's in fourth and fifth, respectively.

With her victory Friday, Cherotich joined Edward Cheserek as the only other two-time Dellinger Invite champion. Both did so in back-to-back year; Cheserek won his Dellinger titles in 2014 and 2015.

Cherotich, Juliet Cherubet and Victoria's Madelyn Eybergen all posted a 13:30.8 split at the 4K mark. From that point, however, Cherotich and Cherubet pulled away for a definitive 1-2 finish for the UO women. Cherotich came across the finish line in 19:31.4 to successfully defend her Dellinger crown.

The Ducks' 1-2 punch at the top of the individual standings were supported by three teammates in the top 10 with newcomer Sofia Thogersen in sixth place, Ella Thorsett in seventh and Ava Parekh in ninth. The finish for Thorsett was the second top-10 Dellinger finish of her career after a sixth-place showing last season.

Landen LeBlond and Bahiya El Arfaoui—in her UO cross country debut—finished in 14^th and 15^th place, respectively.

In the women's team race, Oregon (25 points) out-paced Victoria (B.C) in second place with 95 points, Division II No. 6 Chico State (115) in third, UC Irvine in fourth and Cal in fifth.

Bill Dellinger Invitational | Eugene, Ore.
MEN
1. Oregon – 28 | 1-2-7-8-10-(22)-(23)
                1. Simeon Birnbaum – 23:05.5
                2. Connor Burns – 23:32.7
                8. Connor McCormick – 24:05.4 (7)
                10. Aiden Smith – 24:15.4 (8)
                13. Jayden Warner – 24:18.5 (10)
                25. Michael Mireles – 24:35.9 (22)
                26. Quentin Nauman – 24:36.8 (23)
                57. Jack Meier – 25:24.2

WOMEN
1. Oregon – 25 | 1-2-6-7-9-(14)-(15)
                1. Diana Cherotich – 19:31.4
                2. Juliet Cherubet – 19:42.3
                6. Sofia Thogersen – 20:34.7
                7. Ella Thorsett – 20:46.0
                9. Ava Parekh – 20:49.5
                14. Landen LeBlond – 20:58.6
                15. Bahiya El Arfaoui – 20:59.3
                20. Kendall Martin – 21:10.0
                35. Allura Markow – 21:37.0
                50. Charlotte Sinke – 21:52.7
                54. Samantha McDonnell – 21:56.5
                63. Liliana Hudnut – 22:01.5
                73. Annabelle Carr – 22:18.0

Up Next: The postseason begins Friday, Oct. 30, with the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis. The Ducks are the defending champions on the men's and women's side, and Cherotich will be running for her second-consecutive conference title.

For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.