Colorado Men, Stanford Women Rule In Talent-Rich Pac-12 Cross Country Championships

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

MONMOUTH, Ore. -- The winner, plus five of the top 13, proved to be the championship recipe at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships on Friday in sunny, windy conditions at Ash Creek Preserve. 

Joe Klecker of Colorado won the men's 8-kilometer race in 23 minutes, 2.7 seconds as the Buffaloes reclaimed the conference title after a two-year run for Stanford. 

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Klecker was joined by freshman Kashon Harrison (seventh), John Dressel (eighth), Alec Hornecker (12th) and Eduardo "Lalo" Herrera (13th) as Colorado won convincingly with 41 points. 

"It wasn't about getting the one point (for me), it was about tiring out the field so that our guys could beat as many Stanford, as many Oregon and as many Washington as possible," Klecker said. "John made a surge and I threw in one a little later. It was a mixture of making it our own race and putting some fear in other peoples' minds that Colorado means business today."

Harrison, from Kirtland, N.M., was the top freshman in the race and he ran with the poise of a veteran.

"Joe ran with me in the summer and told me he believed I could be one of the top freshman in the country, and John, he's been like a mentor to me," Harrison said. 

Said Klecker: "I've never seen a freshman come in and be as team-oriented as he is. Since Day One, he's been trying to make everyone better. He ran with me and John pretty much every day over the summer, and this is just a testament to his work."

Oregon's Cooper Teare led a spirited effort by the Ducks to take second place against higher ranked teams from Stanford and Washington. He finished three seconds behind Klecker. 

Andrew Jordan of Washington was third, followed by Alex Ostberg of Stanford in fourth and UCLA's Robert Brandt fifth. 

Stanford's women rolled out an impressive performance, going 1-2-3 with Fiona O'Keeffe, Ella Donaghu and Jessica Lawson on the way to 27 points. Jordan Oakes (eighth) and Julia Heymach (13th) also made big contributions.

The second-ranked Cardinal became the first team to sweep the top three spots since the NCAA champion Washington women did it in 2008. 

"It was exciting," said O'Keeffe, who covered the 6K distance in 19:32.7. "I think I actually screamed out loud a little bit."

O'Keeffe was fifth in the 2018 conference meet and the Cardinal was a distant third behind Oregon and Colorado. 

On Friday, a veteran lineup that has been through some ups and downs and a mid-summer coaching change continued the arc of a season that is shaping into something special. 

"To see it come together after so much hard work, especially having a crazy coaching transition, I'm really proud of how we've come together," Donaghu said. 

Washington, which rose to No. 3 in the country after a victory at the Pre-Nationals Invitational, put together another strong performance for second with 55 points. Utah was third with 86 points, Colorado was fourth with 89 points and Oregon was fifth with 119.

After the Stanford trio in front, Washington went 4-5 with Katie Rainsberger and Melany Smart and Utah got the 6-7 spots with Poppy Tank and Bella Williams. 

"I thought we ran great," Washington coach Maurica Powell said. "The Stanford women were phenomenal today. I think second was the best we were going to do today and I was really pleased with the way we executed."

Washington's Shona McCullough was 12th and Allie Schadler was 15th.