Long road ahead looks just fine for x-country runners
■ New recruits and a core group of returning runners should
equate to a sixth straight NCAA appearance for the cross
country team
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Oregon cross country teams
have entered the second phase of
Martin Smith and Tom Heinonen’s
rebuilding process.
Both coaches have added prized
recruits to an already talented roster.
Both teams are coming off of NCAA
appearances last year, with the ma
jority of last year’s runners returning.
Seniors Katie Crabb and Rhiannon
Glenn and the highly touted 1999 re
cruiting class all return to lead the
women. Crabb, coming off a seventh
place finish in the 1.500 meters at the
NCAA track meet in the spring, is in
her final year of elgiblitv.
“Everyone’s real excited this
year.” Crabb said. “It’s definitely a
smaller group than last year, but
that’s good in a way. It gives us a
chance to get to know each other
better and become a family.”
Glenn, who had a breakthrough
year in 1999, was the Ducks’ No. 2
runner for most of last season.
“We’ve got a good mix of seniors,
sophomores and freshmen — with
no juniors,” Heinonen said. “We’ve
got four seniors and the rest are un
derclassmen.”
Leading the sophomores is Tara
Struyk, who was Oregon’s No. 3 run
ner last season. Eri MacDonald and
Erinn Gulbrandsen also return after
successful freshmen years.
The Ducks were hurt by the loss
of sophomore Amv Nickerson, who
has left school. Nickerson was Ore
gon’s top runner last season, and led
them to an NCAA berth. According
to Heinonen, she will spend the year
in her home town of Coquille.
Essentially replacing Nickerson
will be senior transfer Hanna Smed
stad, from Oklahoma State. Smedstad
was a three-time All-American for the
Cowboys. Last season, Smedstad
placed 18th at the NCAA cross coun
try championships, an improvement
by ten places over her 1998 finish.
The Kent, England, native is working
toward her doctorate in neuroscience
at the Oregon Graduate School.
Smedstad is “a real solid competi
tor,” Heinonen said. “She can add so
much to our team. We’re real lucky
to have her drop out of the sky for
us. She’ll add so much to our team
as long as she. can adapt to the new
environment.”
Heinonen signed three-time state
champion Laura Harmon from Port
land’s Jesuit High School and An
nette Mosey out of St. Mary’s High
School in Portland.
“We’re very happy to have Lauren
and Annette,” Heinonen said. “If ei
ther or both of them can step into
our top-seven, that will make us that
much more competitive.”
The 2000 season will be the first
year that the women will run 6,000
meters at championship meets. The
primary distance in the past has been
5,000 meters, or just over three miles.
The Division I subcommittee of the
NCAA Men's and Women's Track
and Field Committee voted at their
1997 meeting to extend the length of
the women’s cross country champi
onships race, effective this year.
“I don’t think that there will be a
huge difference,” Heinonen said.
“We’ll do longer repetitions at race
pace; a little slower, but longer to adjust.
Everybody on our team who has been
healthy has done more volume in
mileage than they’ve ever done before.”
The change in distance doesn’t
seem to affect the runners, who are
simply eager to get the season going.
“I’m sure we’ll adjust fine,” Glenn
said. “For me, it’s no big deal. The
longer the better.”
“I think the lengthening is a good
move,” Heinonen said. “The womens
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[NCAA] meet is getting more competi
tive each year, and they’re not getting
spread out. This will help.”
On the men’s side, All-American
sophomore Jason Hartmann is the top
returning Duck. Hartmann followed
last year’s seniors — Steve Fein and
Andrew Bliss — to a 37th place finish
at the NCAA meet. Hartmann was
third among freshmen at that race.
Senior Michael Kasahun also re
turns. Since transferring to Oregon
from Fresno City College, the
Ethiopian was Oregon’s No. 4 run
ner last season and the track team’s
top 10.000 meter runner this spring.
The men’s team also had a good
recruiting summer. In addition to
three prized, in-state recruits, Smith
also landed junior transfer Symon
Kimata, a Kenyan. Kimata was a
NCAA All-American while at South
Plains Junior College in Texas. He
didn’t compete this spring, howev
er, due to transfer regulations.
Freshman Eric Logsdon leads the
Duck recruits. The Canby native
caused quite a bit of excitement at
the 4A state track meet at Hayward
Emerald
Sophomore Tara Struyk (middle) was the Ducks’ No. 3 runner last year and is expected to better her times in 2000.
Field this past spring when he near
ly broke Steve Prefontaine’s national
high school record in the 3,000 me
ters. Logsdon came eight seconds
shy of the mark in 8:22.
Noel Paulson, a four-time state
champion from Turner, Ore.,, and
Salem native Kyle Robinson also
signed with the men. Out of state re
cruit Aaron Emery, from Croghan,
NY, also adds depth.
In addition to Hartmann and
Kasahun, senior Lincoln Nehring
and junior Sam Hill return from last
year’s NCAA qualifying team.
Oregon’s opening meet-is this Sat
urday at the Roy Griak Invitational
in St. Paul, Minn.
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