Cross Country Preview: Women of Oregon

Assessing where things stand for the Oregon cross country team entering the 2017 season, which now kicks off September 29 with the Bill Dellinger Invitational at Springfield Golf Club after the cancellation of the Oregon XC Preview due to the poor air quality throughout the Willamette Valley earlier this month.

WOMEN OF OREGON

Who's Back: Coming off a magical 2016 season in which they took home the national championship in dramatic fashion and secured the first jewel in the eventual Triple Crown, the Women of Oregon return six student-athletes as they begin their NCAA title defense. Outstanding sophomore Katie Rainsberger (pictured below), the Ducks' top runner last season as a freshman, highlights the group of returners along with redshirt senior Alli Cash. Rainsberger took fourth at the NCAA Championships last year to lead the Ducks to the national title before enjoying a phenomenal season on the track, and Cash was 14th overall last season at NCAAs and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in her final season.

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Senior Emma Abrahamson and junior Jessica Hull also return after helping the Ducks secure the championship last season, and both performed well on the track last spring with point-scoring performances in the 1,500 meters at the Pac-12 Championships. Sophomore Lilli Burdon, an NCAA qualifier in the 5,000 meters last spring, and redshirt freshman Rennie Kendrick round out the group of returners for the Ducks.

Who's New: The Ducks make up for the losses of three NCAA Championship participants from last year, Samantha Nadel, Ashley Maton and Maggie Schmaedick, by adding six newcomers to the 2017 roster. Four of the six newcomers come by way of transfer in redshirt senior Sabrina Southerland, juniors Susan Ejore and Carmela Cardama Baez and sophomore Judy Pendergast. Southerland, an all-American and three-time Big East champion from Georgetown, brings a wealth of 1,500 meter experience to Oregon for her final year of eligibility. Ejore, a native of Nakuru, Kenya, by way of Monroe College in New York, was the runner-up in the 2016 NJCAA Cross Country Championships and was a five-time NJCAA all-American. Cardama Baez is a two-time all-ACC selection from Vigo, Spain, who comes to the Ducks after being Florida State's top cross country runner the last two seasons, capped by a 73rd-place finish at last year's NCAA Championships. Pendergast, a Naperville, Ill., native, rounds out the group of transfers for the Ducks after competing at Harvard and earning all-Ivy League first-team honors as a freshman last season.

A pair of true freshmen, Kate Murphy and Kiley McCarthy, complete the 2017 roster for the Women of Oregon. Murphy enjoyed a tremendous high school career at Lake Braddock High School in Virginia, winning the Virginia 6A state cross country title in 2016, and has also thrived on the national stage with a win in the 3,000 meters at the 2016 USATF Junior Championships. Murphy also was a semifinalist at Hayward Field in the 1,500 meters at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, but she will most likely redshirt the cross country season as she works her way back to fitness. McCarthy rounds out the Oregon roster after a strong high school career at Carlsbad High School in California that she capped by winning the 800 meters at the Avocado West League Championships.

Outlook: Despite losing a few key contributors to graduation, the second-ranked Women of Oregon once again appear to boast a squad deep and talented enough to compete for the national championship. Rainsberger and Cash will lead the way along with Hull, who really began to emerge last season on the track, and multiple newcomers appear ready and able to step up and fill important spots for the Ducks. Fans will get two chances to see the Women of Oregon run live at Springfield Golf Course this fall, first at the Bill Dellinger Invitational and then at the Pac-12 Championships on October 27, where the Ducks will compete against the toughest distance runners in the country.