Ducks Host Fifth Annual Bill Dellinger Invitational

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EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon men’s and women’s cross country teams will host the fi fth annual Bill Dellinger Invitational Saturday on Pre’s Trail in Eugene’s Alton Baker Park. The men’s 8,000 meter race starts at 11:45 a.m., while the women’s 6,000 meter competition will start at 12:30 p.m. Admission to the meet is free.

It will be the first time the Dellinger has been held on Pre’s Trail since the inaugural race in 2006.

The men’s race will feature three ranked teams, with No. 8 Portland and No. 11 Wisconsin joining the third-ranked Ducks, along with Idaho, Portland State, Willamette and the University of Guelph from Ontario, Canada. The women’s race will have Idaho, Oregon State, Portland, Portland State and Guelph meeting the No. 2 Ducks.

The Gryphons of Guelph are the fi rst international team to compete in the Dellinger.

Individually, men’s runners to watch for include Oregon All-Americans Luke Puskedra, Matthew Centrowitz and Danny Mercado, as well as Wisconsin All-American Mohammed Ahmed and Badger teammates Landon Peacock, Maverick Darling and Michael Brice. Puskedra, a junior from Ogden, Utah, won the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 1 and was 21st at the NCAA Championships a year ago after running fi fth as a freshman. Centrowitz, a senior from Arnold, Md., was 27th at the 2009 NCAA meet to earn his fi rst distance All-America

honors. Mercado, a senior from West Covina, Calif., is the most experienced cross country runner on the UO squad with a pair of All-America awards to his credit.

Ahmed, a sophomore, was 26th for the Badgers at the 2009 NCAA Championships. Peacock was the NCAA Great Lakes Regional champion, while Darling was the 2009 Big Ten freshman of the year. Earlier this season, Brice was the individual winner of the season-opening Badger Classic.

Others to watch include Idaho’s all-Big West performer Markus Geiger and all-WCC runners Jared Bassett and Matt Frerker of Portland. On the women’s side, watch for Oregon’s All-Americans Alex Kosinski and Jordan Hasay. Kosinski, a senior from El Dorado Hills, Calif., is a two-time All-American and the Ducks’ most experienced female runner. She won this race as a sophomore in 2008. Hasay, a sophomore from Arroyo Grande, Calif., was the Pac-10 freshman of the year and fi nished 18th at the 2009 NCAA Championships. The women’s race also features all-WCC performer Theresa Hailey from Portland.

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