This weekend kicks off the first big weekend of collegiate cross country, with several high-profile meets around the country pairing up top-ranked teams. The Oregon squad traveled to Boston this weekend for their first ever appearance at the Boston College Cross Country Invite.
The Oregon women came to Franklin Park as the defending NCAA champions and were pitted against Providence – the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s current No. 1 seed. Along with the No.3 Oregon women, Friday’s field included ninth-ranked Cornell and 24th-ranked Boston College.
The Providence squad comfortably took the women’s team race and was led by a 1-2 finish from seniors Emily Sisson and Laura Nagel. Sisson traversed the 5,000-meter course in a winning time of 16:51, with Nagel finishing seven seconds behind at 16:58. Rachel Sorna (5th; 17:17), Catarina Rocha (7th; 17:28), and Erin Murphy (36th; 18:09) made up the remaining of the Friars’ scorers – who concluded the day with 50 points.
The Oregon women were led by senior Megan Patrignelli, who stopped the clock at 17:22 – good for a sixth-place finish. The next three Ducks crossed the finish line in close proximity, as freshman Maggie Schmaedick (11th; 17:33) and sophomores Molly Grabill (12th; 17:34) and Abbey Leonardi (17th; 17:35) finished within two seconds of each other. Senior Sarah Penny (40th; 18:13) rounded out the top five for the Ducks, while junior Maria Elbon (46th; 18:20) and freshman Therese Haiss (51st; 18:23) finished as the final two Oregon harriers.
The Oregon women came away with second place, scoring 85 points. Cornell finished in third place with 101 points, while Boston College scored 110 points to edge out Wisconsin by one point for fourth place.
On the men’s side, the Ducks made easy work of a solid field and were led by a pair of talented freshman making their Oregon debut. Edward Cheserek was billed as the top distance recruit of 2013 after winning two Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships and the 2013 Gatorade National Cross Country Runner of the Year. Cheserek hadn’t lost a prep race since 2010 and continued his winning ways in his first collegiate meet, finishing the 8,000-meter race in 24:11 alongside teammate and fellow freshman Jake Leingang (2nd; 24:11).
The rest of the Oregon men weren’t far behind Cheserek and Leingang, as junior Ryan Pickering finished in fourth place at 24:14, with sophomore Matthew Melancon (24:18) and juniors Jeramy Elkaim (24:20) and Daniel Winn (24:20) finishing 7-8-9 overall. Senior Parker Stinson finished in 18th place, clocking in at 24:42. Junior and Northeastern transfer Eric Jenkins didn’t lace up for Oregon, but is expected to be a top scorer for the team this year after a strong outdoor track season.
The men of Oregon attained an impressive 22 points, with Syracuse finishing in second place with a 69-point score. Rounding out the top four teams were Providence and Wisconsin, with 81 and 88 points, respectively.