Courtesy: GoDucks.com
Release: 09/30/2009

EUGENE, Ore. – Welcoming a field spanning the distance from Philadelphia to Honolulu - a shade over 4,900 miles - the top-ranked cross country Men and No. 2-ranked Women of Oregon will host the fourth annual Bill Dellinger Invitational Friday at Springfield Country Club.

The women’s race will cover a distance of 5,000 meters (two loops) and will start at 3:30 p.m. The men will race 8,000 meters (three loops)beginning at 4:15 p.m. Admission is free. Weather permitting, there will be a kids’ fun run following the men’s race.

The Dellinger Invitational has become one of the nation’s premier destination cross country events, and the 2009 meet is no exception. This year features the most geographically diverse collection of teams yet, with Villanova travelling from the East Coast (Philadelphia) and Hawaii (Honolulu) crossing the Pacific Ocean. The Dellinger also has two teams from Texas (Baylor and Texas-El Paso), California (Cal Poly and San Francisco) and Utah (Brigham Young and Weber State), plus one each from Alabama (Crimson Tide) and Colorado (Colorado State). That list doesn’t include the three in-state institutions, Oregon, Portland and Oregon State.

The Dellinger field is also well represented among the national polls. On the men’s side, top-ranked Oregon leads the field, with No. 8 Portland, No. 9 Alabama, No. 12 Brigham Young and No. 18 Cal Poly making it five of 10 teams in the poll. The rest of the field includes Colorado State, San Francisco, Villanova, UTEP and Weber State.

The women’s race features No. 2 Oregon, No. 5 Villanova and No. 14 Baylor as its ranked teams. The remainder of the field includes Colorado State, Hawaii, Oregon State, Portland, San Francisco, UTEP and Weber State.

This year’s race also boasts one of the strongest fields in terms of tradition ever. Between them, Oregon, Villanova and UTEP have combined for 27 NCAA cross country championships, 18 men’s and nine women’s. From 1966 to 1981, Oregon, Villanova and UTEP accounted for 15 men’s titles over the course of 16 NCAA Championships.

The two-time defending NCAA champion Men of Oregon could have as many as six All-Americans entered in the Dellinger Invitational. The Ducks’ roster includes sophomore Luke Puskedra, who finished fifth overall as a freshman at the NCAA Championships, in addition to fellow All-Americans Matthew Centrowitz, Kenny Klotz, Danny Mercado, Diego Mercado and A.J. Acosta.

The men’s field returns nine of the top 20 runners from the 2008 Dellinger, including Puskedra (third), Centrowitz (ninth) and Danny Mercado (15th) of Oregon, Alfred Kipchumba (runner-up), Tommy Betterbed (sixth) and Matt Frerker (18th) of Portland, Tyson David (seventh) and Emmanuel Bor (11th) of Alabama and Nicodemus Ng’etich (14th) of UTEP. Puskedra, Kipchumba and Ng’etich were all All-Americans at the NCAA Championships last season.

Portland finished seventh at the 2008 NCAA Championships, while BYU was ninth, Alabama tied for 10th, Cal Poly was 23rd and Villanova was 31st.

The Oregon women will be led by defending Dellinger champion Alexandra Kosinski and senior Nicole Blood, who were both All-Americans at the NCAA Championships last fall when the Ducks posted their second-straight NCAA runner-up finish. Blood ran fourth at the Dellinger in 2008 and won the meet as a sophomore in 2007. All-American Zoe Buckman was 16th for Oregon last year and the Ducks also have national prep runner of the year Jordan Hasay on the list of entries.

Among the visiting teams, 2008 All-Americans Amanda Marino of Villanova and Erin Bedell of Baylor are two to watch. Marino lead the Wildcats to a sixth-place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships, while Bedell was part of a Baylor squad that placed 19th.

KIDS’ FUN RUN
After the men’s race, kids 12 and under are invited to participate in a brief fun run on the Springfield Course that will conclude at the finish line. Members of the Oregon track and field team will assist with the Kids’ Fun Run that is being co-sponsored by City of Eugene Recreation.

AWARDS CEREMONY at 4:45 p.m.

2009 POSTERS, MEET PROGRAMS
2009 Cross Country posters and Dellinger Invitational meet programs will be given out free of charge at the Marketing Tent.

PARKING
Spectator parking will be at the Mohawk Elementary School on Sunderman Road. Shuttle buses will then transport spectators to the course at the Springfield Country Club. The shuttles will run continuously from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Please allow sufficient time to use the park-and-ride shuttle.

To reach the Mohawk Elementary School:
• Take 105E/126E and stay on 126E for 7 miles.
• Take the 42nd Street/Marcola exit and make a left on 42nd street for 0.4 miles.
• Make a right on Marcola for 5.5 miles, going 1 mile past the Springfield Country Club.
• Turn right on Sunderman Road.
• The Mohawk Elementary School will be on your right after ¼ mile.

Signs will be posted on the roads directing traffic to the park-and-ride lot at Mohawk Elementary School.

THE COURSE
The Springfield Country Club will be the site of the Bill Dellinger Invitational. Athletes will race entirely on grass and mostly on fairways on the back nine holes along the Mohawk River. The course consists of three relatively flat loops—an outer loop, and inner loop, and a finish loop. The outer loop is approximately 2,320 meters in length, the inner loop is approximately 2,150 meters in length, and the finishing loop is approximately 1,350 meters in length. Fans are reminded they are NOT allowed to walk on greens or tee boxes, and are asked to stay off fairways as much as possible. PDFs of the course maps are included in this release.

THE HISTORY
Since its inception, the Bill Dellinger Invitational has drawn top-ranked teams from around the nation to compete in the pastoral settings of the Springfield Country Club.

The men have entertained the likes of Wisconsin, Alabama, Texas, Duke, Texas-El Paso, Brigham Young, Penn State, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Georgia and Portland, in addition to Pac-10 rivals UCLA and Washington. The tradition grows in 2009 as Villanova makes its initial appearance at the Dellinger.

The women have welcomed Arkansas, Duke, Penn State, Indiana, Brigham Young, Wake Forest, Georgia and Texas-El Paso as well as Pac-10 rivals Oregon State, UCLA and Washington. Women’s teams from Villanova and Baylor will be competing in their first Dellinger meet in 2009.

THE WINNERS
The Oregon men have won all three team titles at the Dellinger, while the UO women have won the last two after Arkansas captured the inaugural crown.

Individually, Oregon women have won the last two races, Alexandra Kosinski last year and Nicole Blood in 2007. Kassi Anderson of Brigham Young won the first Dellinger women’s title in 2006. For the men, Oregon is still seeking its first individual winner. Josh Rohatinsky of Brigham Young won the initial title in 2006, Matt Withrow of Wisconsin won in 2007 and David Kinsella of Portland claimed the title last year.

2006 BILL DELLINGER INVITATIONAL
Pre’s Trail, Alton Baker Park, Eugene, Ore. (Sept. 29, 2006)
Men (8k)
1, Oregon, 47. 2, Portland, 89. 3, Brigham Young, 102. 4, Alabama, 135. 5, Cal Poly, 144. 6, California, 163. T7, Washington, 183; Butler, 183. 9, Texas, 189. 10, Duke, 243. 11, Utah State, 270. 12, American, 325. 13, Wake Forest, 356.
Individual
1, Josh Rohatinsky, Brigham Young, 22:58.37. 2, Galen Rupp, Oregon, 23:09.03. 3, John Moore, Portland, 23:19.09. 4, Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott, Oregon, 23:28.18. 5, Scott Overall, Butler, 23:31.41.
Women (6k)
1, Arkansas, 35. 2, Brigham Young, 55. 3, Wake Forest, 117. 4, Washington, 119. 5, Duke, 132. 6, Butler, 158. 7, Indiana, 170. 8, California, 179. 9, Portland, 231. 10, Oregon, 247. 11, Utah State, 264.
Individual
1, Kassi Anderson, Brigham Young, 19:54.09. 2, Michelle Sikes, Wake Forest. 20:10.91. 3, Emily McCabe, Duke, 20:31.68. 4, Dani Parry, Arkansas, 20:39.99. 5, Amy Fowler, Brigham Young, 20:43.43.

2007 BILL DELLINGER INVITATIONAL
Springfield Country Club, Springfield, Ore. (Sept. 29, 2007)
Men (8k)
1, Oregon, 54. 2, Wisconsin, 73. 3, Alabama, 111. 4, Portland, 137. 5, UCLA, 147. 6, Texas-El Paso, 148. 7, Washington, 176. 8, Cal Poly, 183. 9, New Mexico, 221. 10, Ohio State, 292. 11, Colorado State, 302. 12, Duke, 330. 13, Utah State, 343. 14, Marquette, 352. 15, Georgia, 369.
Individual
1, Matt Withrow, Wisconsin, 23:20. 2, Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott, Oregon, 23:24. 3, Emmanuel Bor, Alabama, 23:26. 4, Augustus Maiyo, Alabama, 23:30. 5, Austin Ramos, UCLA, 23:37.
Women (6k)
1, Oregon, 65. 2, Arkansas, 90. 3, Washington, 93. 4, Colorado State, 95. 5, Brigham Young, 104. 6, Georgia, 163. 7, Portland, 178. 8, Wake Forest, 187. 9, Marquette, 301. 10, New Mexico, 302. 11, UCLA, 323. T12, Montana, 324; Oregon State, 324. 14, Utah State, 361. 15, Texas-El Paso, 403.
Individual
1, Nicole Blood, Oregon, 20:04. 2, Katie Follett, Washington, 20:17. 3, Alexandra Kosinski, Oregon, 20:24. 4, April Thomas, Colorado State, 20:27. 5, Katie Bowen, Brigham Young, 20:31.

2008 BILL DELLINGER INVITATIONAL
Springfield Country Club, Springfield, Ore. (Oct. 4, 2008)
Men (8k)
1, Oregon, 49. 2, Portland, 56. 3, Alabama, 62. 4, UCLA, 106. 5, Cal Poly, 144. 6, Weber State, 158. 7, Texas-El Paso, 166. 8, Colorado State, 186. 9, Penn State, 221.
Individual
1, David Kinsella, Portland, 24:02.68. 2, Alfred Kipchumba, Portland, 24:05.48. 3, Luke Puskedra, Oregon, 24:06.90. 4, Augustus Maiyo, Alabama, 24:12.70. 5, Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott, Oregon, 24:14.41.
Women (6k)
1, Oregon, 23. 2, Arkansas, 60. 3, Penn State, 107. 4, Wake Forest, 115. 5, Brigham Young, 126. 6, Portland, 7, Cal State Fullerton, 175. 8, Colorado State, 177. 9, Texas-El Paso, 236.
Individual
1, Alex Kosinski, Oregon, 20:19.90. 2, Melissa Grelli, Oregon, 20:20.51. 3, Catherine White, Arkansas, 20:30.55. 4, Nicole Blood, Oregon, 20:39.56. 5, Bridget Franek, Penn State, 20:43.96.

COACHING LEGEND BILL DELLINGER
The meet is named for legendary University of Oregon track and field coach Bill Dellinger. The Springfield, Ore., native and two-time Olympic champion for the Ducks was a three-time Olympian and won a bronze medal in the 5,000 meters at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He set two world indoor records and six American records during his career and in cross country, never lost a race at the high school, collegiate or post-collegiate level. As Oregon’s cross country coach from 1968-98, Dellinger guided the Ducks to four NCAA men’s titles and 12 top-three finishes. He also counted 13 conference and four district titles. Athletes under his mentorship received 45 cross country All-America honors and won eight Pac-8/Pac-10 championship and six regional crowns.

NO. 1 RANKING
The Oregon men are currently ranked No. 1 in the USTFCCCA poll (Sept. 30). Come Friday, the Ducks will have retained the No. 1 spot for two consecutive years. The Men of Oregon first moved into that position on Oct. 2, 2007, following that year’s Dellinger meet.

The Pac-10 is well-represented in both polls. In addition to top-ranked Oregon, the men also have No. 3 Stanford and No. 22 Washington.

The women boast three of the top seven teams, including No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Oregon and No. 7 Stanford. Also in the poll is No. 13 Arizona State.

LOOKING AHEAD
Next on the fall schedule, the Ducks are entered in a pair of meets the weekend of Oct. 16-17, the Mike Hodges Invitational at Clackamas Community College (Oct. 16) and the Pre-NCAA Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. (Oct. 17). After that, it’s back to the State of Oregon for one final tune-up - the Oct. 24 Beaver Classic in Corvallis, Ore. - prior to the championships season.

Oregon heads to Long Beach, Calif., for the Pac-10 Championships on Oct. 30. Then the Ducks will host the NCAA West Regional Nov. 14 at Springfield Country Club. The season commences in the NCAA Championships Nov. 23 at the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute, Ind.

A LOOK AT THE TWO-TIME NCAA CHAMPIONS, RUNNERS-UP
For the first time since 2004, the Oregon cross country roster does not include Galen Rupp, the six-time NCAA Champion, 2008 Olympian and 14-time All-American. The men are also looking to absorb the losses of All-Americans Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott and Scott Wall, and fellow NCAA veterans Chris Winter and Curtis Suver to graduation.

The Ducks will look to a core of veterans to fill that void, including sophomore Luke Puskedra, seniors Kenny Klotz and Diego Mercado and junior Danny Mercado, who have all won NCAA Cross Country All-America honors during their career. Other Duck veterans with NCAA Championships experience include juniors A.J. Acosta and Matthew Centrowitz, while senior Jon Thomas was victorious at the season-opening Pre’s Trail Pre-View.

The women return their top two runners in NCAA All-Americans Nicole Blood and Alexandra Kosinski, who won the NCAA West Regional last season. The Ducks also return NCAA-experienced runners in junior Zoe Buckman, seniors Bria Wetsch and Brooke Giuffre, while senior Lauren Zaludek won the season-opening Pre’s Trail Pre-View. The women graduated All-American Mattie Bridgmon and NCAA scorer Zoe Nelson.

Newcomers could see significant action for both squads.

Jordan Hasay, the top running recruit in the nation, headlines the women’s newcomers, who also include Taylor Wallace (Klamath Falls, Ore.), Melanie Thompson (High Bridge, N.J.), Anne Kesselring (Nürnberg, Germany), Chloé Steinbeck (Beaverton, Ore.), Rebecca Friday (Bellingham, Wash.), Sarah Penney (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) and Alexandra Jones (Lake Oswego, Ore.).

Newcomers for the men include Mac Fleet (San Diego, Calif.), Elliott Jantzer (Medford, Ore.), Elijah Greer (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Ben DeJarnette (Mechanicsville, Va.) and Mitchell Hunt (Fremont, Neb.).

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