Men Harriers Defeat 16th-Ranked Oregon In Dual Meet
9/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
SUNRIVER, Ore. - Gonzaga University's men's cross country team upset 16th ranked University of Oregon, while the fourth-ranked Duck women downed the Bulldogs in a dual meet Saturday evening at Meadows Golf Course.
The Bulldog men topped Oregon 26-33 while the Duck women prevailed 15-30.
Willie Milam and Patrick Richie finished second and third, respectively, for the Bulldogs in the men's race. Milam, a sophomore, covered the 4-mile course in 19:49.7 while Richie, a junior, came across in 20:04.06. Oregon's Ben DeJarnette won in 19:39.5.
"It's great to get a victory over Oregon," Gonzaga head coach Pat Tyson said.
He dismissed the notion that Oregon didn't race four of their top six runners and sat their true freshmen in what was the season opening meet for the Ducks. Gonzaga raced last weekend at the Clash of the Inland Northwest.
"We're redshirting Chris Boyle and we didn't have Andrew Walker today," Tyson said.
Tyson, an Oregon alum and member of the Ducks 1971 NCAA Cross Country Championship team, was especially pleased with Milam.
"He went out hard and was convinced he could get second place. Our next group was bunched together very well. Sophomore Nate Gesell and freshmen Colin O'Neil and Braeden Van Deyzne performed well," Tyson noted.
On the women's side, the Ducks entered just six runners but they crossed the finish line one through six for the sweep. But Tyson wasn't discouraged.
"Lindsay Drake and Emily Thomas were in the hunt and they stayed near the top in the Oregon pack for better than half the race," Tyson said.
Drake, Thomas and Maggie Jones all broke 18 minutes for the 5K layout. Drake was seventh 17:16.4, Thomas eighth in 17:21.3 and Jones ninth in 17:59.6. Oregon's Claire Michel won in 16:45.1.
"It was a good effort by our ladies," Tyson said. "The results don't show how well they really ran."
Tyson said the day was a success for what he hoped to get out of this meet coming in, the men's victory a little icing on the cake.
"Everybody ran with a lot of heart which is very exciting for Gonzaga," Tyson said. "One of our goals was to not be intimidated. This will help callous us for the rest of the season and the WCC's (West Coast Conference Championship)."
Tyson said the course was flat and fast, and he also pointed out the elevation is at 4,000 feet, more than twice of what the Bulldogs train at. Sunriver is officially list at 4,150 feet while Spokane is at 1,843 feet.
"We didn't even talk about the elevation coming in," Tyson said. "We turned in some pretty good times when you take that into consideration, too."
"We don't know who our top seven or nine are going to end up being. But it's going to be competitive and it's going to be exciting," he said as the Bulldogs eye a trip to the WCC Championship in late October.
The next action for the Bulldogs will be Sept. 24 at the Erik Anderson Invitational at Plantes Ferry Park in the Spokane Valley.
