T&F Preview: Women's Distance

Previewing the Oregon track and field program by event groups entering the start of the 2018 indoor season (Jan. 13)

Head coach Robert Johnson: "Similar to the sprint group, we will rely heavily on this group to bring depth and consistency for the Women of Oregon. Led by returners Katie Rainsberger, Alli Cash, Lilli Burdon and Brooke Feldmeier, this is a really talented group. We have added a lot of new young talent, and a handful of transfers who should have an immediate impact."

WOMEN'S MIDDLE DISTANCE (800m, 1,500m, Mile, Distance Medley Relay)

Who's back: There will be a new NCAA 800-meter champion in 2018 both indoors and outdoors for the first time since 2015, as six-time NCAA champion and 2017 Bowerman Award winner Raevyn Rogers has moved on to the professional ranks. The Women of Oregon will still return a top 800 runner despite the loss of Rogers, as Brooke Feldmeier (below) returns for her final season. A five-time all-American, Feldmeier enjoyed a breakout performance at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships, coming in just two spots behind Rogers in the 800-meter final for a national third-place finish. Feldmeier, who trains with the long sprints group, could also be a factor for Oregon in the 4x400 meter relay.

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Sophomore standout Katie Rainsberger is back to lead a talented group of returners in the middle distance in the second season of what has already been an impressive career. A versatile runner with excellent range, Rainsberger scored as a freshman in both the 3,000 meters and the DMR last year at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and then placed fourth outdoors in the 1,500 meters before starring for the UO women in cross country this fall. Already a five-time all-American, Rainsberger will once again be an important piece for the Ducks in a range of distance events.

Also back for the Ducks are Alli Cash (below), Lilli Burdon, Jessica Hull and Emma Abrahamson. Cash is a four-time all-American who has scored for the Ducks from the 1,500 to the 5,000 meters, and she is looking for a strong finish to her career after missing last year's outdoor season and the majority of the 2017 cross country season due to injury. Burdon helped the Ducks to a national third-place finish in the DMR last season and has qualified for NCAAs in the 1,500 meters, but she really began to thrive in the longer distances late last year and into the 2017 cross country season. Hull enjoyed a strong outdoor season last year, finishing third in the 1,500 meters at the Pac-12 Championships and reaching the NCAA West Regionals, and she will look to build on that in 2018 in both the mile and the 1,500. Abrahamson returns for her senior season after placing seventh at last year's Pac-12 Championships in the 1,500 meters and joining Hull at the NCAA West Regional meet. Rennie Kendrick returns for the Ducks as well, a redshirt freshman who shined in the classroom last year while not competing.

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Who's new: The Women of Oregon brought in reinforcements to this group over the offseason by adding multiple transfers and freshmen to the mix. In the 800 meters, the Ducks brought in all-American Sabrina Southerland (below) from Georgetown to help fill the void left by Rogers. A three-time Big EAST champion, Southerland has thrived in the 800 meters throughout her career and will join Feldmeier as a consistent scoring threat for UO in her final season of eligibility.

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Southerland is not the only transfer brought in to the UO women's distance group, as Susan Ejore, Ruby Stauber and Amanda Gehrich (below) have also joined the Ducks for 2018. Ejore came to the Ducks in time for the 2017 cross country season from Monroe College in New York, where she was a five-time NJCAA all-American and the runner-up at the 2016 NJCAA Cross Country Championships. Stauber is a sophomore transfer out of LSU who reached the NCAA Championships in the 800 meters last year as a freshman, and she was also the 2016 bronze medalist in the 800 meters at the U.S. Junior Outdoor Championships. Gehrich is also a sophomore, and she comes to Oregon from within the Pac-12 after transferring from Utah. Like Stauber, Gehrich impressed in 2016-17 as a freshman, placing fifth in the 1,500 meters at the Pac-12 Championships before advancing to the NCAA West Regionals.

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In addition to the transfers, the Ducks added a pair of freshmen to their distance corps in Kate Murphy and Kiley McCarthy. Murphy was a highly-touted runner out of high school who was a semifinalist in the 1,500 meters at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials and the 2016 USATF Junior champion in the 3,000 meters, but she is recovering from injury and may or may not compete as a true freshman. McCarthy enjoyed a solid career at Carlsbad High School in California while specializing in the 800 meters.

WOMEN'S LONG DISTANCE (3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m)

Who's back: Rainsberger will be counted on to make an impact here as well as in the middle distance events, as she scored for the Ducks indoors last year in the 3,000 meters and has shown an ability to thrive at longer distances in cross country. Cash could be used in a similar role, as she has scored at NCAA meets in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters in addition to the 1,500 throughout her career.

The Ducks will get a big boost outdoors with the return of Samantha Nadel, who was granted a clock-extension waiver from the NCAA to make her eligible for the outdoor season. Nadel was a three-time all-American last year in her first season with UO after transferring from Georgetown, finishing eighth outdoors in the 5,000 meters after a fourth-place finish indoors in the 3,000 meters.

Burdon (below), who began her UO career as a 1,500-meter specialist, came on strong in the 5,000 meters last year before bursting onto the cross country scene this fall. Burdon finished one spot behind Nadel in the 5,000 meters last June to earn second-team all-American honors, and she carried that long-distance success through the summer and into cross country. A native of Queensland, Australia, Burdon was consistently UO's No. 2 runner this fall, and she earned her fourth all-American honor with a 21st-place NCAA finish.

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Who's new: Like the middle distance events, the Ducks will count on transfers in 2018 to provide a significant impact in the long distance. Carmela Cardama Baez (below) was a nice addition for the Ducks during the cross country season after transferring from Florida State, earning all-American honors with a 34th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Cardama Baez was an ACC Championships and NCAA East Regional competitor in the 5,000 meters last year, and she also placed seventh in the 3,000 meters at the ACC Championships. Judy Pendergast is another transfer who joined the UO women in the fall for the cross country season. A sophomore transfer from Harvard, Pendergast was the Ivy League indoor champion in the 5,000 meters and runner-up in the 3,000 as a freshman, and she qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 5,000 with the best time in the nation by a freshman (15:52.64).

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