Michael Mireles Switches Uniforms For Third Dellinger XC Meet As Oregon Men Debut 2025 Lineup; No. 4 Oregon Women Building Upon Gans Creek

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Tim Healy Photo

Transfer Michael Mireles will race for the third time at the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Friday, but it will be his first time repping the local green and yellow. 

Mireles, a senior who competed the past three seasons at UCLA, was sixth at last year's Dellinger meet -- behind the 1-2-3-4-5 sweep of eventual national champion BYU. He was ninth at the Dellinger meet in 2022 for the Bruins.

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Mireles was the Big Ten runner-up in cross country last year and should give the Ducks a boost this fall. 

Oregon has all of its top runners on the entry list for Friday, including Simeon Birnbaum, Benjamin Balasz, Aiden Smith, Abdel Laadjel, Evan Bishop and Connor Burns. 

The Ducks will face Air Force, UCLA, Cal, Weber State, St. Mary's (Calif.) UC-Riverside and Central Washington on the 8-kilometer layout at Pine Ridge Golf Club. 

Friday's meet is first Bill Dellinger Invitational since the passing of the meet's namesake and Hall of Fame Oregon coach, who died in June.

Oregon's No. 4 women entered the season with high expectations and a talented international lineup. The Ducks opened their season at the Gans Creek Invitational in Missouri and finsihed sixth. 

On Friday, Oregon could add more of its A-list runners to the lineup. 

Juliet Cherubet, who was fifth at Gans Creek, and Dalia Frias, who was 27th, are on the entry list along with Diana Cherotich, Anika Thompson, Ella Thorsett, Ali Ince and Katie Clute. 

Cherotich, who didn't run at Gans Creek, will make her cross country debut for Oregon after winning the Big Ten title in the 10,000 last spring. 

Silan Ayyildiz and Mia Barnett, who both competed in Tokyo at the World Athletics Championships, are not on the entry list as of Tuesday. 

Oregon State, which placed 18th at Gans Creek, is also set to race at Dellinger along with Air Force, Cal, UC-Irvine, UCLA, UC-Riverside and San Diego State.