Beavers to run at Bill Dellinger Invitational

Friday, September 16

Springfield, OR

5:15 p.m.

Oregon State

Bill Dellinger Invitational

Senior Samantha Lewis

Photo by: Scobel Wiggins/Oregon State Athletics

September 14, 2016 | Women's Cross Country

USTFCCCA regional rankings USTFCCA national rankings Live results 2016 performance list

By: Brooks Hatch

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State cross country team will return to the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Friday after a one-year absence for its second competition of the season.

Hosted by the University of Oregon, the 5,000-meter race begins at 5:15 p.m. at the Springfield Country Club. The Ducks are the defending champion; OSU did not compete in the 2015 meet after taking fourth in a five-team field in 2014.

The field includes the Beavers, Oregon, Portland, UC Davis, North Dakota State, Lewis-Clark State, Northwest Christian, Willamette and Lane CC. Oregon is No. 1 in the current USTFCCCA West Region rankings; Portland is No. 6 and UC Davis is No. 14. NDSU is No. 10 in the Midwest Region.

"Oregon got some really good schools in here for this meet," OSU coach Kelly Sullivan said. "It will be a great test for us, a great second meet.

"We are excited and looking forward to it. We are going to [start] two more runners this Friday, and in a couple weeks we hope to add two more. We're getting progressively closer to running our top 10 or top 12 in the next few weeks.

"We have work to do. The good news is, the team did a good job this summer of not overtraining. The whole idea is to get stronger and better as the season goes on," and peak in late October and November, not in September.

OSU's projected counting runners are seniors Morgan Anderson, Samantha Lewis and Emily Weber; juniors Kristiane Width and Kala Kopecek; redshirt sophomores Nicole Goecke, Gwyneth McMorris and Sam McKinnon, and freshman Lexi Reed.

It will be the first race of the fall for Weber, Goecke and McMorris. The others all competed in the John Frank Invitational at Avery Park on Sept. 3, where OSU defeated Portland State but lost to Portland in a double dual.

Sophomore Kaely Gordon and freshman Emily Bacon will run unattached, preserving their redshirt status. They also ran unattached at the John Frank Invitational.

Friday's meet is named in honor of former Oregon men's cross country coach Bill Dellinger. A Springfield native who coached at UO from 1968-98, he was a two-time NCAA champion, a three-time Olympian, the 1964 Olympic bronze medalist at 5,000 meters, and held two world indoor and six American records.

OSU opened the season on Sept. 3 by losing 21-34 to Portland and defeating Portland State 15-42 at the John Frank Invitational at Avery Park. Width led the Beavers with a fourth-place finish in 17:01.8 over three miles.

"We raced very well, even if we were only firing on six of eight cylinders," Sullivan said. "I'd rather be in that position than to be firing on all eight cylinders now and wondering if we can hold on for another two months.

"This group has nowhere to go but to get into better shape and in better racing fitness. I'm excited about where we are headed."

WELCOME BACK: Sophomore Sam McKinnon returned to action at the John Frank Invitational after redshirting in 2015 and placed sixth in her first competitive race since May, 2015. She was OSU's No. 2 runner.

McKinnon was OSU's No. 2 placer at the 2014 Pac-12 meet as a freshman, and in two other meets as well, and then took fourth place in the steeplechase at the 2015 Pac-12 track meet. McKinnon is fourth all-time over 6,000 meters (20:52) and fifth over 5,000 (17:06) in cross country.

Sophomore Gwyneth McMorris, a Portland State transfer, and redshirt sophomore Nicole Goecke also return after redshirting in 2015. McMorris had a PR of 4:42.07 in the 1500 in the 2016 track season.

FANTASTIC FROSH: Incoming freshmen Lexi Reed (Denver) made her collegiate debut on Sept. 3 and placed No. 3 on the team and seventh overall. Freshman Emily Bacon (Newport Harbor, Calif.) ran unattached.

OSU other freshmen are Brooke Chuhlantseff (Salem); Sara Christianson (Boise); Emily Mackay (Endicott, N.Y.), and Mikayla Sodersten (Fresno).

REDSHIRTING RUNNERS: Senior Holly Cavalluzzo underwent off-season ankle surgery and will redshirt. A three-year letterwinner, she was OSU's No. 1 runner in every meet in 2015 and placed 52^nd at Pac-12s and 67^th at the NCAA West Regional. Cavalluzzo ranks No. 1 on the career 6,000-meter list (20:30) and is No. 2 over 5,000 (16:55).

Charlotte Corless, a junior from Beaverton who ran at Boise State the past two seasons before transferring to OSU for winter term of 2015-16, will also redshirt. She was 20^th at the Mountain West meet, 36^th at the NCAA West Regional and 207^th at NCAAs in 2015.

LOSSES FROM 2015: OSU lost Maureen Tremblay, Kira Kelly, Macaulay Wilson, Adrienne Demaree and Dakota Steen from the 2015 team. Kelly was OSU's No. 3 finisher at Pac-12s and No. 4 at regionals. Demaree was No. 5 at both meets, Tremblay No. 7. Wilson ran at Pac-12s but was not in the regional lineup. Steen ran in the season-opener only.

WEEKLY RANKINGS: The Beavers were not ranked in the West Region in the second regional rankings, released on Sept. 12 by the USTFCCCA. Regional rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region.

Eight Pac-12 teams were ranked in the West Region: Oregon (1), Stanford (3), Washington (4), California (7), Arizona State (8), UCLA (10), Washington State (12) and Arizona (13). Colorado (2) and Utah (5) were ranked in the Mountain Region.

Oregon is No. 7, Stanford is No. 7 and Washington is No. 11 in the national poll, released on Sept. 13. California and Utah also received votes. Portland, which edged OSU 21-34 on Sept. 3, is No. 30.

UP NEXT: The Beavers return to action on Sept. 30 at the Notre Dame Invitational at South Bend, Ind. Other team members will race in the Willamette University Charles Bowles Invitational, set for Oct. 1 at Bush Park in Salem.

POSTSEASON PLANS: The Pac-12 Championships are Oct. 28 at Tucson, hosted by Arizona. Sacramento State hosts the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento on Nov. 11. Indiana State hosts the NCAA Championships, set for Nov. 19 at Terra Haute, Ind.

Corvallis is frequently listed among the "best college towns" in the country by many magazines. For more information on the Oregon State track and field program, follow the Beavers on Facebook at Facebook.com/OSUTrackCrossCountry, or on Twitter at twitter.com/@BeaverTrackXC

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