Oregon daily emerald., October 14, 2004, Image 13

“We’re all idiots here. We all have fan.
We all hug, kiss, grab, whatever. ’’
David Ortiz on the 2004 Boston Red Sox
Geoff Thurner | Oregon Media Services
Ryan Andrus, seen here last season, helped Oregon finish fifth at the NCAAs and
finished 34th overall, giving him All-American status.
■ Duck cross country
In the 1 O
II g run
Senior Ryan Andrw
after a two-year hi
BY BEAU ESTES
FREELANCE SPORTS REPORTER
Ryan Andrus is old
school in every sense
of the term.
“He’s the strong silent
type,” freshman J.K. With
ers said. “He leads by ex
ample. After he won (the
Stanford Invitational 4K)
he wasn’t looking for any
sunshine, he just went
about his business.”
Withers then laughed and
said, “We do all call him a
senior citizen, though.”
At 25, Andrus is six or
seven years older than most
of his teammates on a very
young Duck cross country
team. After dominating the
Utah prep scene at Moun
tain View High School in
Orem, Andrus accepted a
scholarship in 1997 from
then-Wisconsin cross coun
try coach Martin Smith.
“Coach Smith and 1 go
back a long way,” Andrus
; wraps up his career
itusfor his mission
said, recalling that Smith be
gan recruiting him some
time in 1996, the same time
freshmen Withers and Chris
Winter were finishing up the
fourth grade.
Andrus ran track for the
Badgers during the 1997-98
academic year, then took a
sabbatical from athletics to
perform a two-year mission
trip in Tampico, Mexico for
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints.
“The mission was one of
my hardest and best times
of my life,” Andrus said.
“Being immersed in a life
of service was very reward
ing. I wouldn’t be the same
person I am without those
two years.”
Andrus returned to the
United States energized but
unsure of where he would
resume his collegiate run
ning. The summer before
Andrus left for Mexico,
Smith had been hired to
take over the legendary
cross country and track
and field programs at Ore
gon. Andrus, who decided
not to worry about where
he would end up until
after his mission, decided
to follow Smith out west
upon returning.
“It was pretty clear to me
1 wanted to continue a rela
tionship with Martin Smith
as a coach and continue
to develop with him,” An
drus said.
After two years of service
in Mexico, Andrus enrolled at
Oregon in January of 2001.
The decision paid off. An
drus immediately cracked
the varsity cross country
squad in the fall of 2001,
consistently scoring for the
Ducks in his first collegiate
cross country season (An
drus redshirted the 1997
harrier season with a stress
fracture in his leg). Andrus’
outstanding rookie year in
Eugene continued as he was
also a Pacific-10 Conference
qualifier in the 1500 meters.
Andrus’ excellence then
began to show in his second
season in the Willamette
Valley. In the fall, he helped
the Ducks to a fifth-place
finish at the NCAA meet,
finishing 34th overall, good
for All-American status. In
track, Andrus finished 13th
at the national meet in the
10K, one spot short of his
second All-American award
for the year.
Andrus' third season in
the Northwest led to anoth
er All-American award (in
door track, 5000) and a
spot in the Oregon record
book by recording the
eighth-fastest outdoor time
in the 10,000 by a Duck.
These feats, along with
helping lead the Duck har
riers to a top-25 finish at
the NCAA meet, helped
prepare Andrus for possi
bly his greatest challenge:
leading an extremely young
Oregon squad through pos
sibly the country’s toughest
regional meet.
"We have a very young
team,” Andrus said. “Realis
tically, a team goal is to get
to nationals and have that as
CROSS COUNTRY, page 14
■ Duck soccer
Offensive
continue
for Ducks
The women's soccer team
has been outscored 29-10 in
12 games so far this season
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
A lack of offense has been one of the
main factors throughout the Ducks unex
pected 3-8-1 season. Despite their recent
three-goal output against Wyoming, the
Ducks have only managed seven goals over
their 12 other contests.
“There have been a couple of things,” Ore
gon head coach Bill Steffen said of the team’s
lack of offense. “One is bad luck; we’ve had a
number of balls hit the crossbar. Second, our
confidence is affected because of it. Third, our
lineup has shifted because of all the injuries.
Because of that, we have players trying differ
ent things and playing in different areas.”
Only once have the Ducks equaled the
season-high output of three goals: an over
time victory against Weber State, while
scoring two goals once and a single goal
twice. In total, Oregon has been outscored
29-10 on the season.
Oregon has been shutout seven times al
ready this season, equaling the number of
times the Ducks were shutout in all of 2003.
The Ducks rank last in nearly every
SOCCER page 14
■ Women’s basketball
Oregon optimistic about 2004-05 season
The women's basketball team lost
only one player from last season
and returns Cathrine Kraayeveld
BY STEPHEN MILLER & BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTERS
The Oregon women’s basketball team
walked onto McArthur Court for media day on
Wednesday dressed in lighting yellow and
ready to compete with some highly skilled
programs across the nation.
The Ducks finished with a 14-15 overall
record last season. They defeated No. 9 LSU
early in the year and No. 10 Stanford at the end
of 2003. Both victories came at Mac Court.
Oregon head coach Bev Smith emphasized
that her team is a “dynamic group, a diverse
group, and very determined this year. ”
The lineup includes five seniors and three
juniors. Three of the four returning starters for
the Ducks are seniors.
“This year you can see that we have great
depth,” Smith said. “Not only do we have
numbers at each and every position, but we’re
a year older and we have some experience at
each position ... 1 think that’s going to allow us
to weather a lot of the storms that teams go
through each year. ”
Redshirt senior forward Cathrine Kraayeveld
has returned with the same mentality and
enthusiasm she has carried throughout her
extended career.
“1 think our whole team is excited just to get
back,” Kraayeveld said. “We only graduated
one girl so we got a lot of experience back. ”
Last 'year» the 6-foot-4 Kraayeveld was
sidelined after she tore the anterior cruciate
ligament in her right knee during practice. The
Pacific-10 Conference granted her a medical
hardship after she was limited to five games.
“I’m just excited to get this extra year back
and play a full season,” Kraayeveld said, “I
don’t really see anything different than I did
Nicole Barker | Photographer
Oregon head coach Bev Smith introduced the 2004 women’s basketball team during Media Day at McArthur
Court on Wednesday afternoon. The Ducks lost only one player from last year's roster.
coming into last year. All I can do is hope for
the best.”
Springfield native Chelsea Wagner is back at
full-strength and anticipating a successful
season for the Ducks. The junior shooting
guard sat out injured for the first two games last
year but finished second on the team in
three-point field goals made with 39.
“Things are feeling really good - (the team
is) healthy,” Wagner said as she knocked on the
hardwood court. “We're feeling ahead of where
we were last year at about this time. ”
This summer, Oregon traveled to the South
Pacific for the 2004 Tour “Down Under” in
Australia where it polished up against four re
gional teams. The Ducks finished 3-1 on the
12 -day trip.
“This year, 1 think one of our focuses for this
team is that we are just trying to become a
consistent team," Smith said. “We got a lot of
things done ... on and off the court in terms of
chemistry and communication.”
Kraayeveld explained that every member of
the team saw significant playing time during
the tour and gained a lot of experience.
“It was just a good chance for us to play dif
ferent teams from a different country,” she said.
The Ducks are eager to see if the time spent
in Australia translates to an advantage over
their opponents.
Oregon’s first challenger will be Western Ore
gon for an exhibition game on Nov.' 5 at Mac
Court.
stephenmiller@dailyememld.com
briansmith@dailyemerald.com