OSU cross country has depth, experience
August 22, 2016 | Women's Cross Country
Oregon State's deepest and most experienced cross country team since the program's 2004 revival will be complemented by an outstanding group of incoming freshmen.
And that combination has veteran coach Kelly Sullivan believing the Beavers are poised for a major breakout, and their best finish at the Pacific-12 Conference meet since the 2008 squad took sixth in what was then a 10-team race.
"Everybody in the program is really excited," Sullivan said. "Our objective is to have our best team in a number of years. We definitely have the talent.
"The main goal will be to have everyone ready at the end of the season," for the Pacific-12 Conference championships and the NCAA West Regional, the qualifier for the NCAA Championships. "We won't race everybody in September."
The Beavers begin reporting to campus on Wednesday. They will open the season on Sept. 3 with the John Frank Oregon State Invitational at Avery Park. It will be the first full-scale home meet in nearly a decade, with Portland, Portland State, Western Oregon, Concordia, and a number of unattached or open runners, expected to compete.
Anchoring this year's squad are seniors Morgan Anderson, Samantha Lewis, Emily Weber and Monica Anderson; junior Kristiane Width, and sophomore Juliana Mount. All have extensive Pac-12 and NCAA regional experience.
·       Lewis was OSU's No. 3 runner at regionals and its No. 4 finisher at Pac-12s. She is 20th all-time over 6,000 meters (21:43) in cross country, and No. 5 all-time in the 10,000 (36:05) in track & field.
·       Morgan Anderson was No. 5 at Pac-12s and No. 6 at regionals. She should move up significantly, though, after an outstanding 2016 track season that saw her post OSU career top-10 times in the 800 (2:11.54), 1,500 (4:22.94) and 5,000 (16:31.09) She is 12th all-time over 5,000 meters (17:27) in cross country.
·       Weber redshirted in 2015, but was OSU's top runner at regionals in 2014. She is No. 3 all-time over 6,000 meters (20:52) and No. 11 over 5000 (17:26). She also ranks 10th all-time in the 1,500 (4:29.46) on the track.
·       Monica Anderson ran in four meets in 2014 and in three meets in 2015. She ran at the 2014 Pac-12 Championships.
·       Width was OSU's No. 2 runner in the first three meets in 2015 before sustaining a season-ending injury. However, she recovered and had an outstanding outdoor track campaign, posting the No. 9 career time in the 1,500 (4:29.33) and the No. 10 time in the 800 (2:15.19). In cross country, she is 18th all-time over 5,000 meters (17:43) and 10th over 6,000 (21:12).
·       Mount was the surprise of the 2015 season. She joined the varsity lineup at midseason and was OSU's No. 2 finisher at Pac-12s (59) and at regionals (76). She ranks 18th all-time over 6,000 meters (21:36) in cross country, and is No. 4 all-time in the 1,500 (4:26.53) and No. 8 in the 800 (2:12.03) on the track.
"We have a great veteran group returning," Sullivan said. "That is exciting. The leadership and talent in that group, how hard they have worked to prepare … that group is one of our strongest returning groups ever.
"The nice thing is, if something happens to somebody we have more depth. Not having depth really hurt us the past two years, we weren't able to replace somebody" if they were injured or redshirting. "Now we have that depth" to withstand some adversity.
Junior Kala Kopecek and sophomores Kaely Gordon and Rachel Johnson also have varsity experience. Gordon ran at the 2015 Pac-12 meet; Kopecek and Johnson do not have Pac-12 or regional experience.
On a down note, senior three-year letterwinner Holly Cavalluzzo will redshirt while recovering from offseason left ankle surgery. She was OSU's top runner at every meet in 2015 and placed 52nd at Pac-12s and 67th 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 who ran at Boise State the past two seasons before transferring to OSU for winter term of 2015-16, will also redshirt. She was 20th at the Mountain West meet, 36th at the NCAA West Regional and 207th at NCAAs in 2015.
However, the Beavers will regain the services of sophomore Sam McKinnon, a 2015 redshirt. She was OSU's No. 2 finisher at the 2014 Pac-12 meet as a true 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.
"She had an amazing freshman year," in cross country and indoor and outdoor track, Sullivan said. "By the time she raced the steeple, she was one of the best freshmen in the country in that event," and she set a school record (10:25.78) at the Pac-12 meet.
"We missed her a lot last year. She has a competitive edge to her that is contagious. Having that back is big for everyone."
Two others in addition to McKinnon and Weber return from redshirting: Sophomore Gwyneth McMorris, a Portland State transfer, and redshirt sophomore Nicole Goecke.
Sullivan also expects some or all of the incoming freshmen – Brooke Chuhlantseff (Salem); Sara Christianson (Boise); Emily Mackay (Endicott, N.Y.); Lexi Reed (Denver); Mikayla Sodersten (Fresno) and Emily Bacon (Newport Harbor, Calif.) to contribute immediately.
"This freshman class has the best depth we have ever recruited," Sullivan said. "We haven't determined how many of them will be in uniform at the end of the season but all six of them have no intention of redshirting.
"That is how competitive they are. That's what you want. They are all talented. I am excited to see how they all develop."
The Beavers took 11th at last year's Pac-12 meet, staged at Washington State. Gone from that team are Maureen Tremblay, Kira Kelly, Macaulay Wilson, Adrienne Demaree and Dakota Steen.
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.
The Pac-12 Championships are Oct. 28 at Tucson, hosted by Arizona. Sacramento State hosts the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento on Nov. 11, and 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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