2012 CROSS COUNTRY - GoDucks.com

Hasay, the defending Pac-10 champion, pulled to the front at the 10:00 mark as Kroeger and Flood broke with
her and the three opened up a three-second lead on the trailing pack with 2,000 meters left. The trio then battled
to the end, with Flood pulling away taking the title in 19:31 over. Kroeger was second in 19:40 and Hasay placed
third in 19:49.
Seniors Claire Michel and Bronwyn Crossman stepped up in their final league championships. Michel, was 15th
in 20:26, while Crossman took 17th in 20:28.
The Ducks also counted a 22nd-place finish from Lanie Thompson (20:40) and a 32nd-place showing from Molly
Grabill (20:59).
NCAA West Regional
Jordan Hasay used a kick down the final hill to win the NCAA West Regional women’s cross country title for the
second year in a row at Stanford Golf Course. Luke Puskedra finished sixth in the men’s race. In the team standings,
the women finished fourth in an excellent field, while the men tied for sixth.
Hasay fought off a strong challenge from Loyola Marymount’s Tara Erdmann and pulled away over the final
1,000 meters to win in 19:44. Erdmann took the race out fast and opened up a gap on the field, though Hasay never
let the LMU runner get too far out of touch.
Hasay, a junior from Arroyo Grande, Calif., pulled even midway through the 6,000-meter race and then kicked
hard down the course’s final hill to pull away from Erdmann. Deborah Maier of California took second in 19:51
and Erdmann dropped to third in 19:53.
Hasay led four Ducks in the top 23 as No. 11 Oregon claimed fourth place with 120 points. No. 6 Washington
won the race with 50 points, while No. 16 Arizona was second with 98 points. No. 8 Stanford was third with 111
points, followed by the Ducks, No. 26 California (141) and No. 27 San Francisco (169).
Seniors Bronwyn Crossman and Claire Michel were solid in their final Regional appearances. Crossman finished
15th in 20:43, with Michel taking 21st in 20:51. Lanie Thompson was 23rd in 23:53 and Molly Grabill took 60th
in 21:41 to round out the scoring for the Ducks.
Hasay became just the second Duck to win the Regional meet twice and the first to do it in consecutive years.
Penny Graves was the West individual champion in 1986 and 1988.
Puskedra extended a couple of remarkable streaks. The race marked his eighth-straight top-10 finish dating back
to the 2010 season. It was also his third straight sixth-place showing at the Regional meet. The senior from Ogden,
Utah, covered the 10,000 meter course in 29:01.
Other highlights for the men included sophomore Parker Stinson’s 16th-place run in 29:49 and freshman Jeramy
Elkaim taking 36th in 39:18 in his first NCAA competition.
No. 6 Stanford won the men’s race with 50 points, edging No. 8 Portland. The Pilots scored 53. Cal Poly was
next with 122 points, followed by Washington State (141) and California (173). No. 17 Oregon and No. 21 UCLA
tied for sixth with 175 points. Pac-12 individual champion Lawi Lalang of Arizona claimed his first NCAA West
crown. The freshman won in 28:34.
NCAA Championships
Jordan Hasay matched the best finish by a Duck in school history to lead the Women of Oregon to their first topfive
finish in three years at the 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Senior Luke Puskedra also impressed
by earning his fourth straight All-America award for his sixth-place individual finish in the men’s race.
Hasay and Villanova senior Sheila Reid waged another entertaining round of their running duels. The two were
neck-and-neck the entire race before Reid had just enough at the end to clip Hasay by sixth-tenths of a second.
Reid covered the 6,000 meter Lavern Gibson Championship Course in 19:41.2, with Hasay right behind at
19:41.8 in one of the closest finishes in NCAA history.
Hasay’s runner-up showing matched the best finish by a Duck woman in school history. Leann Warren also took
second in 1981.
The Ducks also used well-executed pack running from Claire Michel, Bronwyn Crossman and Lanie Thompson
to take fifth place overall with 281 points, one point better than Vanderbilt. Georgetown won the women’s race
with 162 points, followed by Washington at 170, Villanova at 181 and Florida State at 189.
It was Oregon’s best finish since placing second in 2008. It was also the Ducks’ 16th top-10 finish all-time in 22
NCAA Championship appearances. Oregon finished 12th at the 2010 NCAA meet.
The four Ducks who followed Hasay across the finish line all posted NCAA career bests. Michel was 72nd in
20:48.8, Crossman took 76th in 20:50.6, Thompson was 80th in 20:52.9 and Becca Friday was 145th in 21:22.1.
Molly Grabill finished 207th in 21:56.3 and Anne Kesselring was 229th in 22:12.1 to round out Oregon’s runners.
The men’s race featured one of the deepest fields in years and the results showed it. Pac-12 champion Lawi Lalang
of Arizona, the pre-meet favorite, won comfortably, going 10,000 meters in 28:44.1. Chris Derrick charged at the
end to finish second in 28:57.5, with Leonard Korir of Iona third in 29:02.5, Southern Utah’s Cameron Levins,
the 2011 Bill Dellinger Invitational winner, fourth in 29:04.8, Mohammed Ahmed of Wisconsin fifth in 29:06.7
and Puskedra sixth in 29:09.3.
The last race of his cross country career marked the ninth consecutive top-10 finish for Puskedra, a sting that
covered his entire junior and senior seasons. Wisconsin won the men’s team title with 97 points; the Badgers also
won the 2011 Dellinger Invitational crown.
Claire Michel
Bronwyn Crossman
Sarah Penney
Season Review
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