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NCAA Cross Country Regionals: Oregon women, Colorado's Joe Klecker take home first-place finishes

by Sarah Kezele
Nov 9, 2018
GoDucks / Ken Moreland/CUBuffs.com

The Oregon women's cross country team is finding the right time to peak, just ahead of the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, next Saturday at the NCAA Championships.

They Ducks the NCAA West Region team title on Friday in Sacramento, California, squeezing by second-place Boise State and earning an automatic bid. Ducks seniors Jessica Hull (19 minutes, 22.50 seconds) and Susan Ejore (19:24.6) crossed the finish line second and third, respectively, trailing only Boise State's Allie Ostrander (19:09.0). Six of Oregon's seven runners finished within the top 30 in a field of 250 participants.

NCAA West Region Championships

The Stanford women also had a strong day in Sacramento, sending Elise Cranny (19:26.2, fourth place) and Fiona O'Keeffe (19:27.0, fifth place) across the finish just behind Oregon's Hull and Ejore. The Cardinal's 95 team points were enough to slot the squad in third behind Oregon and Boise State. 

The Washington women placed fourth as a team, thanks to five runners finishing in the top 35. Sophomore Allie Schadler led the way for the Huskies in 21st with a time of 20:13.3, and freshman Shona McCulloch was close behind in 28th place at 20:29.7.

The Oregon State and UCLA teams finished sixth and seventh, respectively, while Washington State (12th), Cal (13th) and Arizona State (16th) rounded out the team results.  

The Pac-12 absolutely dominated the men's race, comprising six of the top-10 team finishes. Washington led the pack for the league, placing second and getting an automatic bid with 82 points behind first-place Portland's 77. Six of UW's seven runners placed within the top 35.

Teams four through eight in the final standings were Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, Washington State and Cal. Arizona State placed 14th.

Arizona junior Carlos Villarreal was the Pac-12's top finisher in second place, clocking in exactly one second behind the winner — Portland's Nick Hauger — at 29:43.4. Three others from the Pac-12 made the top 10: Washington junior Tanner Anderson (29:44.6, fourth place), Cal senior Garrett Corcoran (29:46.3, sixth place) and Oregon senior Blake Haney (29:48.2, eighth place). 

NCAA Mountain Region Championships

Colorado junior Joe Klecker headlined the Pac-12 men in the NCAA Mountain Region race in Provo, Utah, breaking the tape 2.2 seconds ahead of Northern Arizona's Tyler Day to win his second-straight region championship. Klecker's race played a big role in CU's third-place team finish, as did the 10th-place and 12th-place results from Buffs Ryan Forsyth and John Dressel.

Three Colorado women finished in the top 10 in their region race, crossing the line in a cluster to place sixth, seventh and eighth, all at 20:01. That effort by Dani Jones (sixth), Makena Morley (seventh) and Tabor Scholl (eighth) brought the Buffs to a second-place team finish in the regional behind New Mexico. Every Colorado runner placed within the top-40 of a nearly 200-person field.

The Utah women's squad placed 11th in the team standings with junior Sarah Feeny leading the way for the Utes (20:46.6, 25th place). Cara Woolnough was the team's next-best finisher at 21:14.2, placing 47th.

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