OSU WXC
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A day after a historic performance at the west regional, Oregon State was selected to compete in the field of 31 teams at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country National Championships. The race will take place at 7 a.m. PT on Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla. ESPNU will broadcast the race. The Beavs essentially punched their ticket to Oregon State’s third team appearance on Friday with a fourth place finish at the NCAA West Regional, the best regional performance in school history. Kaylee Mitchell, a contender for the individual national championship won the race while Grace Fetherstonhaugh and Christina Geisler earned all-region honors. “You know, it’s really hard to put into words what these athletes have accomplished this year. Cross country is a niche sport, but has a huge following. 330 schools sponsor Division I cross country. This is a really, really, really hard meet to make. To be one of the 31 is an incredible honor – but we earned it. We had to get it done on the day and we did,” head coach Louie Quintana said. “This is the third time our team has qualified and the fourth time in six seasons since I’ve been at OSU that we have been represented at the NCAA Championships. It’s a total team effort, from the Athletic Trainers, Strength Coaches, Doctors, Nutritionist to the Administration- they all are huge supporters of what we are trying to do,” Quintana continued. “But ultimately, it’s the women who literally choose to do hard things every day that should be celebrated. This is a great achievement, one that should never be overlooked.” Oregon State’s best team performance at the NCAA Championships came in 2020 when the Beavers placed 16th with 375 points behind a 20th-place finish from Mitchell. In 2018, OSU’s first-ever appearance, the Beavs earned 27th place with 600 points.
UO MXC
UO release – EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon men’s cross country team has earned an NCAA at-large bid with Saturday’s announcement of the entire national field. The official selections come one day after the UO men were fourth at the NCAA West Regional Championships in University Park, Wash. The Men of Oregon advance to the national meet for the 46th time in program history. The 2022 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Greiner Family OSU Course in Stillwater, Okla. The meet will air live on ESPNU, beginning at 7 a.m. (PT). By way of their top-25 individual finishes, seven Ducks earned all-region accolades Friday. The women collected four honors with Izzy Thornton-Bott (fourth place), Maddy Elmore (12), Malia Pivec (23) and Harper McClain (24). Led by runner-up Aaron Bienenfeld, the men’s trio of all-region performers also includes Abdinasir Hussein and Quincy Norman in 16th and 20th place, respectively.
UO WXC
UO release – UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – The 10th-ranked Oregon women’s cross country team secured its national qualifier Friday morning with a second-place finish at the NCAA West Region Championships. The 2022 Division I Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, Nov. 19, in Stillwater, Okla., and will air on ESPNU beginning at 7 a.m. (PT). The Women of Oregon will be making their 33rd appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Ducks were led Friday by Izzy Thornton-Bott who crossed the line in 19:26.6 and finished fourth overall to match her finish at the Pac-12 meet two weeks ago. She has been the top UO runner in each of the team’s last three races dating back to the Nuttycombe Invitational. Eugene native Maddy Elmore (19:37.7) was the next Duck across the finish line, placing 12th overall in her regional debut. The Ducks picked up two more all-region nods in Malia Pivec and Harper McClain with their respective 23rd- and 24th-place finishes; both also finished in Oregon’ top five at last year’s regional meet.