Steve Prefontaine. Alberto Salazar. Galen Rupp.
Edward Cheserek can now add his name to the list of Oregon distance legends who have won an NCAA Cross Country Championship.
Cheserek capped off his storybook freshman season with a decisive win at Saturday’s NCAA Cross Country Championships. With the victory, he became the first Oregon freshman to ever win the individual NCAA title.
“He was phenomenal,” head coach Robert Johnson told GoDucks.com. “You never want to put that kind of expectations on a freshman but everyone in the nation knew what kind of runner Edward was coming into this race. To be able to run so composed the way he did was just phenomenal.”
It was anticipated that Saturday would be the Kennedy Kithuka show, as the Texas Tech senior was considered the overwhelming favorite to take home the individual honors for the second straight year. Kithuka had dominated the competition during races this season and was looking to put the finishing touches on an undefeated NCAA cross country career.
Halfway through the 10,000-meter race, Kithuka and Cheserek had separated themselves from the rest of the field, with the Oregon freshman sitting on the shoulder of the reigning NCAA champion. Kithuka looked set to pull away from Cheserek, building as large as a ten-second lead during the next 2,000 meters.
But Cheserek made it apparent that he was just getting started, as he not only closed the gap on Kithuka but blew right past him at 8,000 meters. Cheserek never looked back and ended up putting 18 seconds between himself and Kithuka, breaking the tape in 29 minutes and 41 seconds.
“The plan was for him to bide his time, sit back and be steady to get to the 8k mark and take off if he felt good,” Johnson said. “He ran by coach [Andy] Powell somewhere in the 7k mark and he gave him the thumbs up.”
With the win, Cheserek capped off perhaps the most impressive freshman season in Oregon history, which is quite the distinction considering the illustrious distance runners that have made their way through Eugene.
Three weeks ago, Cheserek became the first freshman in program history to capture a Pac-12 individual championship and followed up that performance with a win last Friday at the West Region Championships.
Prefontaine brought home the individual honors on three separate occasions, winning in 1970, 1971 and 1973. Salazar was crowned champion in 1978, while Rupp, who now trains under the tutelage of Salazar as part of the Nike Oregon Project, had been the latest to win an NCAA championship in 2008.
In the team battle, it was Pac-12 champion Colorado edging out Northern Arizona for first place by a score of 148-167.
The Oregon men didn’t have their best day behind Cheserek but were still able to come up with a fifth-place team finish. Senior Parker Stinson was as high as tenth during the early parts of the race and sat in 27th at 5,000 meters before settling for a 54th place finish in 30:56. Junior French transfer Tanguy Pepiot completed his strong debut season as a Duck, finishing in 58th place in 30:58. Senior Mac Fleet concluded his collegiate cross country career with a 77th place finish, crossing the finish line in 31:05. Rounding out Oregon’s top five was freshman Jake Leingang, who finished in 150th place with a time of 31:46. The Ducks scored 272 points.
In the women’s 6,000-meter race, it was Dartmouth senior Abbey D’Agostino coming out on top, clocking in at 20:00. Boise State junior Emma Bates finished runner-up with a time of 20:03.
The Providence women were able to take home their second NCAA team championship in program history, beating out second-place Arizona by a score of 142-197.
Oregon finished in 15th place and was led by sophomore Annie Leblanc, who finished 66th with a time of 21:03. Senior Megan Patrignelli followed closely behind in 70th, finishing in 21:06. Freshman Maggie Schmaedick netted an 81st-place finish in her first NCAA championship, finishing with a time of 21:11. Sophomore Molly Grabill finished 101st in 21:20, while sophomore Abbey Leonardi rounded out Oregon’s top five in 142nd place, finishing in 21:35. Juniors Lindsay Crevoiserat and Maria Elbon finished in 235th and 247th, respectively.
“The women ran well but we have a lot of work to do,” Johnson said. “If we look back throughout the season, we haven’t had everyone run well on the same day yet. It’ll be a good motivation though as we head into the track season.”
Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @chris_mosch