Ducks Go 1-2 at Pre-Nationals

Published by Oregon SID on September 15th, 2016

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Edward Cheserek won again, while a handful of newcomers helped lead the Oregon cross country teams' efforts Saturday at the Pre-National Invitational.

The No. 4 men won with 85 points. No. 5 Arkansas was second with 110 points, followed by No. 6 Colorado (124), No. 20 Michigan (200), No. 13 Indiana (254) and No. 12 Texas-El Paso (257).

The ninth-ranked women made a statement with a second-place finish. No. 2 Colorado won with 93 points. The Ducks were next at 154, followed by No. 13 Michigan (179), No. 5 Portland (196), No. 12 Arkansas (225), No. 7 Stanford (229) and No. 16 Eastern Michigan (255).

How It Happened - Men: Cheserek's win was backed by top-20 finishes from sophomores Matthew Maton and Tanner Anderson, as well as a top-30 run from freshman Levi Thomet. Cheserek pulled away from the pack halfway through the race and went unchallenged for the remainder of the competition. He won in 23:34.7, which was more than :20 faster than Frankline Tonui of Arkansas, who was second in 23:56.1. Maton had one of the best races of his young career with a fourth-place finish in 24:07.7, while Anderson was solid with an 18th-place finish in 24:22.9. Thomet was impressive in his Oregon debut, taking 26th in 24:29.5. Junior Sam Prakel rounded out the scoring for the Ducks by running 36thin 24:38.8. Later Saturday, junior Travis Neuman won the men's open race in 25:23.3 with teammate Tim Gorman second in 25:27.2.

How It Happened - Women: Newcomers Katie Rainsberger and Sam Nadel led an impressive effort for the women, who also welcomed all-American Alli Cash back to the lineup for the first time in 2016. Rainsberger was the top freshman at the Pre-Nationals and finished sixth overall in 20:19.1. Nadel, another newcomer as a fifth-year transfer from Georgetown, took 13th in 20:20.7. Jessica Hull continued her strong sophomore season as the Ducks' No. 3 runner. The Australian was 34th overall in 20:50.6. In her 2016 debut, Cash clocked in at 20:59.1 as the Ducks' fourth runner, while Maggie Schmaedickrounded out the scoring for the Ducks in 53rd (21:02.0). Later Saturday in the open individual race, junior Frida Berge finished eighth in 22:01.5.