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Puskedra Leads Oregon Men’s Harriers to Victory Notre Dame XC Invitational

Published by
ross   Oct 1st 2010, 11:39pm
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For Immediate Release

October, 1, 2010

 

Puskedra Leads Men’s Harriers to Victory

Women are impressive in a runner-up finish at Notre Dame.

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Luke Puskedra led the Men of Oregon to victory Friday at the Notre Dame Invitational, while the women’s team registered an impressive runner-up finish to defending NCAA champion Villanova at the Notre Dame Golf Course.

“It was our first opportunity to really run hard together,” said Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. “There were a lot of good things that happened and we also identified some things that we need to work on, but overall they did a good job.”

Puskedra finished strong for a six-second victory over Nicholas Kipruto of New Mexico. The junior from Ogden, Utah, covered the 8,000-meter course in 23:39 with Kipruto clocking in at 23:45, just ahead of Oregon’s Matthew Centrowitz.

“Luke was great,” said Lananna. “He and Matthew did a fantastic job.”

Centrowitz, a senior from Arnold, Md., finished at 23:46 as he and Puskedra were two of four Ducks in the top 20 to lead No. 3 Oregon to the team title with 69 points. No. 16 New Mexico was second with 78, followed by No. 21 Florida State at 99, Tulsa at 196 and Penn State at 205 to round out the first five.

The Ducks also counted an 18th-place finish from senior Danny Mercado in 24:17, a 20th-place showing from senior A.J. Acosta in 24:19 and a 27th-place finish from freshmen Ben DeJarnette in 24:30.

Other runners for the men included junior Chris Kwiatkowski, who was 29th in 24:31 and Parker Stinson, who was 36th in 24:38. The freshman from Austin, Texas, was making his Oregon debut on Friday.

Some of the higher ranked teams in the men’s race struggled with No. 5 Alabama coming in eighth with 242 points, No. 18 Arizona State 11th at 289 and No. 14 Villanova 13th at 306.

The women used top-10 finishes from Jordan Hasay and Alexandra Kosinski to place second behind Villanova. The top-ranked Wildcats won with 64 points, while No. 5 Oregon had 118 to edge No. 2 Florida State’s 129.

No. 12 New Mexico was fourth at 143, Stony Brook fifth at 153, No. 3 Washington sixth at 185 and No. 8 Princeton seventh at 214 in a race that featured four of the nation’s top five teams and 11 ranked squads overall.

Lucy Van Dalen of Stony Brook was the individual medalist, covering the 5,000-meter course in 16:22. Sheila Reid of Villanova, the 2009 Bill Dellinger Invitational champion, was second at 16:26.

Hasay, a sophomore from Arroyo Grande, Calif., lost her shoe with a half mile to go and completed the race without it but still led the Ducks with a seventh-place finish in 16:45. Kosinski, a senior from El Dorado Hills, Calif., was eighth in 16:46.

The Ducks also counted a 28th-place finish from freshman Lanie Thompson in 17:17, a 29th-place finish from senior Zoe Buckman, who also timed 17:17 and a 44th-place showing from sophomore Anne Kesselring in 17:27.

“I think that place was very good for the women,” said Lananna. “Like the men, there are still a number of things to work on, but it’s pretty good to have results like that when there is still plenty of room for improvement.

“Now we’ll get back to Eugene and both teams will be able to put in some hard training and we’ll be ready to run well at the Dellinger Invitational,” said Lananna.

A small contingent of men will run Saturday at Willamette University’s Charles Bowles Invitational.

The full squads will then next return to action Oct. 16, when the Ducks host the fifth annual Bill Dellinger Invitational at Pre’s Trail in Alton Baker Park.

-goducks.com-



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