Ducks Collect XC All-Conference Honors

EUGENE, Ore. – On the heels of standout performances at the 2021 Pac-12 Championships, the Oregon cross country team has collected five all-conference accolades as announced Thursday afternoon by the league office. Caleb Brown is the Pac-12 Men's Freshman of the Year with additional honors for Cooper Teare, Aaron Bienenfeld, Alessia Zarbo and Aneta Konieczek.
 
Men's Freshman of the Year: Caleb Brown
Men's All-Pac-12 First Team: Cooper Teare (2nd place), Aaron Bienenfeld (5th)
Women's All-Pac-12 Second Team: Alessia Zarbo (9th place), Aneta Konieczek (13th)
 
Brown is the third UO runner in the past five seasons to win top freshman honors, along with Teare and Charlie Hunter who went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The Shelby, Ohio, native finished 24th overall at the Pac-12 Championships and was fourth in the UO lineup.
 
Teare was the Pac-12 runner-up for the second time in his career (2019) while Bienenfeld crossed fifth overall to pace the UO men. Teare is now a four-time conference performer in cross country including three first-team selections. Bienenfeld, in his first season at Oregon, has finished top five in all three of his races heading into next week's regional meet.
 
In lead the UO women to a bronze showing at the Pac-12 Championships, Zarbo and Konieczek earned spots on the all-conference Second Team. Zarbo was the first UO woman across the finish line with her ninth-place performance while Konieczek was second in the lineup in 13th place overall.
 
Zarbo has been the Ducks' top runner in each of the team's four races this season including a victory at the Lewis & Clark Opener (Sept. 1). Konieczek moved up seven spots—from 20th to 13th—over the final 2K of last Friday's race.
 
The Ducks' postseason continues Friday, Nov. 12, with the NCAA West Regional Championships at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, Calif. The top-two teams in each race earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships (Nov. 20) in Tallahassee, Fla.
 
Behind their third-place finish at the conference meet, the Women of Oregon moved to the top spot in the West region rankings and jumped to a season-high No. 20 national ranking. On the men's side, the Ducks check in at No. 3 in the West region and No. 16 in the latest USTFCCCA national poll.
 
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