2012 CROSS COUNTRY - GoDucks.com

Season Review
Luke Puskedra
Chris Kwiatkowski
Travis Stanford
2011 Recap
Jordan Hasay’s runner-up showing and Luke Puskedra’s fourth straight All-America award at the NCAA
Championships highlighted the 2011 cross country season for the Oregon men’s and women’s teams. Hasay’s
season also included a win at the NCAA West Regional Championships and a third-place showing at
the inaugural Pac-12 Championships.
The woman also received outstanding performances from seniors Claire Michel and Bronwyn Crossman,
juniors Sarah Penney, Becca Friday and Anne Kesselring, sophomore Lanie Thompson and freshman Molly
Grabill.
Puskedra finished his career with by becoming just the third Duck to win four cross country All-America
honors, joining Steve Prefontaine and Terry Williams. He also became just the fourth Duck to post three top-10
finishes at the NCAA Championships, joining Prefontaine, Alberto Salazar and Galen Rupp.
The men also received solid contributions from seniors Chris Kwiatkowski and Travis Stanford, junior Bryce Burgess,
sophomores Ben DeJarnette and Parker Stinson and freshmen Jeramy Elkaim, Boru Guyota, Matt Jablonski,
Ryan Pickering and Cole Watson.
Bill Dellinger Invitational
Sarah Penney posted her best finish as a Duck to lead the Women of Oregon to victory, while Parker Stinson
paced the men’s team at the sixth annual Bill Dellinger Invitational.
Penney led an imposing 3-4-5-6 finish for the Ducks as No. 17 Oregon captured the women’s team title
with 26 points. Wisconsin was second with 73 points, followed by Portland (95) and Oregon State ( 118).
Penney covered the 5,000-meter course at the Springfield Country Club in 16:46.97 to lead the Ducks.
Becca Friday was fourth in 16:49.00, Lanie Thompson was fifth in 16:51.60, Claire Michel took sixth in
16:51.97 and Megan Patrignelli was eighth in 16:57.60 to round out the scoring for the Ducks.
Hannah Kisler of Idaho came from deep in the field and took the lead with less than 50 meters remaining to
win the individual title in 16:45.71. Aliphine Tuliamuk of Wichita State appeared to be in control entering
the final turn when Kisler came from out of nowhere and passed several runners over the last 200 meters
before passing Tuliamuk with a final kick down the homestretch.
In the men’s race, No. 2 Wisconsin established itself in the lead pack from the outset and impressed by placing
five runners in the top seven. The Badgers won with 24 points, with No. 8 Oregon second with 59 points,
followed by Southern Utah (104), Idaho (110) and UC Riverside (113).
Parker Stinson was the first Duck to cross the finish line as he completed the 8,000-meter course in 23:23.85.
Brian Shrader was 10th in 23:57.13. The Ducks also counted a 15th-place finish from Ryan Pickering
(24:07.48) and a 16th-place showing from Bryce Burgess (24:10.69). Cole Watson wrapped up Oregon’s
scoring in his cross country debut, finishing 20th in 24:18.88.
Cameron Levens of Southern Utah went to the front of the men’s race on the first lap and never relinquished
it, though he never quite shook the Wisconsin pack and UC Riverside’s Chad Hall. Levens reached the finish
line in 23:10.51 for an eight-second victory.
Pac-12 Championships
Luke Puskedra and a bevy of freshmen led the No. 23 Oregon men’s cross country team to a third-place finish
at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships, run at Wigwam Golf Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Jordan Hasay
paced the Duck women with her third-place individual finish.
Puskedra sparked the men with his fifth-place finish, while Parker Stinson backed him with a seventh-place showing.
After that, the next five Ducks to cross the finish line were freshmen. Puskedra ran with the lead pack the
majority of the race and covered the 8,000-meter course in 22:58.
It was the fourth time that Puskedra has placed in the top five at the conference meet, and was his seventh straight
top-10 finish dating back to the beginning of last season. Stinson was strong with his seventh-place run in 23:28.
A trio of freshmen then locked up the Ducks’ third-place finish. Jeramy Elkaim came across the line in 20th in
23:51, followed by Lukas Verzbicas in 23rd (23:55) and Ryan Pickering in 39th (24:29).
Conference newcomer Colorado pulled a mild upset to take the inaugural Pac-12 men’s crown. The sixth-ranked
Buffalos scored 46 points, followed by No. 4 Stanford with 54 and No. 23 Oregon at 96.
Individually, Arizona freshman Lawi Lalang led nearly the entire race and won going away in 22:37. Chris Derrick
of Stanford was the runner-up in 22:45, followed by Colorado’s Richard Medina (22:54), Stanford’s Jake
Riley (22:55) and Puskedra.
Colorado made it a sweep in its first Pac-12 competition, with the 16th-ranked Buffalos taking the women’s title
with 50 points. No. 2 Washington held off No. 8 Stanford for second place, scoring 71 points to the Cardinal’s 73.
No. 11 Oregon was next with 87 points.
The women’s 6,000 meter individual race was extremely entertaining. Stanford’s Kathy Kroeger went to the lead
at the opening gun, with Hasay falling in right behind along with Washington’s Katie Flood. They led a large pack
through the first third of the race as no one moved to break from the field.
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2013 NCAA Championships, June 5-8, Historic Hayward Field