EUGENE, Ore. – Seniors Jon Thomas and Lauren Zaludek led the Oregon men’s and women’s cross country teams to a sweep of the season-opening Pre’s Trail Pre-View Friday evening in Alton Baker Park.

“It was a good opportunity to get our athletes out and run,” said Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. “Nice crowd, great weather and overall a very good start to the 2009 season.”

Zaludek, a senior from Elmira, Ore., won the women’s race in 17:00.1 to lead the Ducks to a 19-37 win over Oregon State and a 15-45 defeat of Portland State. The Beavers defeated the Vikings 17-43.

Zaludek and sophomores Bronwyn Crossman and Claire Michel broke away from the pack on the first lap and that trio paced the field to the finish line. Crossman, from Bellingham, Wash., finished second in 17:02.4, while Michel, from Clackamas, Ore., was third in 17:02.8.

“It was really exciting to start the season off strong,” said Zaludek of her first career win as a Duck. “We had pretty good teamwork today. We worked together and stayed together most of the race.”

Junior Betsy Bies was fourth in 17:11.6 as the Ducks swept the top four places. Oregon State’s Jennifer Macias was fifth in 17:19.7.

The Pre’s Trail Pre-View marked the debut of Oregon freshmen Sarah Penney and Becca Friday. Penney, from Paradise Valley, Ariz., rounded out the scoring for the Ducks with a 10th place finish in 17:51.6, while Friday (Bellingham, Wash.) was right behind her in 11th at 17:55.8.

On the men’s side, Thomas won in his first cross country race since 2007 to lead the two-time defending NCAA Champion Ducks to a 15-48 victory over Portland State. The Des Moines, Iowa, native finished in 22:21.5, with teammates Bryce Burgess (22:21.9) and Danny Mercado (22:22.3) right behind.

“It feels good to be back running again,” said Thomas. “I’ve been injured for a really long time.”

John Lawrence of Portland State led after the first of three laps, followed by the entire Oregon contingent before Mercado, a junior from West Covina, Calif., pushed the three Ducks ahead of the pack for good on the second lap.

“I’ve got to give credit to Danny for setting the pace and keeping me and Bryce honest,” said Thomas of the 2007 All-American.

Burgess, a redshirt freshman from Portland, Ore., finished second in his first varsity race as a Duck. The Men of Oregon swept the top five spots with junior Eric Dettman (Elmhurst, Ill.) taking fourth in 22:56.4 and redshirt freshman Walker Augustyniak (Eugene, Ore.) finishing fifth in 22:57.3. Lawrence was sixth in 23:10.1.

“This is going to be an interesting year,” said Lananna. “It’s a season of opportunity.

“We’ll see a very exciting team on October 2 (for the Bill Dellinger Invitational).”

Pre's Trail Pre-View

Alton Baker Park, Eugene, Ore.

Men’s 6,800 Meter Run

Oregon 15, Portland State 48                                                     

1, Jon Thomas, Oregon, 22:21.5. 2, Bryce Burgess, Oregon, 22:21.9. 3, Danny Mercado, Oregon, 22:22.3. 4, Eric Dettman, Oregon, 22:56.4. 5, Walker Augustyniak, Oregon, 22:57.3. 6, John Lawrence, Portland State, 23:10.1. 7, Isaac Stoutenburgh, Oregon, 23:20.3. 8, Matt Dettman, Oregon, 23:54.6. 9, Andrew Salg, Portland State, 23:57.7. 10, Tony Crisofulli, Portland State, 24:00.2. 11, Mark Bozarth, Portland State, 24:57.2. 12, Freddy Hernandez, Unattached, 26:06.0. 13, Peter Tran, Portland State, 28:49.6. 14, Brian Pinkstaff, Portland State, 28:56.1.

Women’s 4,800 Meter Run

Oregon 19, Oregon State 37

Oregon 15, Portland State 45

Oregon State 17, Portland State 43                          

1, Lauren Zaludek, Oregon, 17:00.1. 2, Bronwyn Crossman, Oregon, 17:02.4. 3, Claire Michel, Oregon, 17:02.8. 4, Betsy Bies, Oregon, 17:11.6. 5, Jennifer Macias, Oregon State, 17:19.7. 6, Hannah Soza-Hodgkinson, Oregon State, 17:24.8. 7, Sandra Martinez, Unattached, 17:39.4. 8, Laura Carlyle, Oregon State, 17:44.3. 9, Abby Chesimet, Oregon State, 17:46.6. 10, Sarah Penney, Oregon, 17:51.6. 11, Becca Friday, Oregon, 17:55.8. 12, Erin Jones, Unattached, 18:06.0. 13, Amber Rozcicha, Portland State, 18:19.8. 14, Amelia Holcombe, Portland State, 18:21.0. 15, Jenny Elder, Unattached, 18:30.7. 16, Kambria Schumacher, Oregon State, 18:34.9. 17, Tosh Buruse, Oregon State, 18:46.3. 18, Julie Pederson, Portland State, 18:52.8. 19, Jenny O'Connor, Oregon State, 18:57.5. 20, Sabrina Lopez, Unattached, 19:00.2. 21, Regina Lopez, Unattached, 19:00.7. 22, Stephanie Deever, Portland State, 19:03.2. 23, Brandy Castillo, Portland State, 19:15.4. 24, Katie Blue, Portland State, 19:28.7. 25, Cassandra Schumacher, Oregon State, 19:35.1. 26, Brittany Long, Portland State, 19:56.6. 27, Brittany Castillo, Portland State, 20:17.9.

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