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Men's Team Champs - Oregon

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Duck Men & Women Fly To '08 Dellinger XC Invite Wins

The #1 Ranked Men and Women Oregon Ducks Cross Country teams both took team victories Saturday morning at the 2008 Bill Dellinger Invitational at the Springfield Country Club in Oregon. Despite several downpours and overall wet conditions the course held up enough to see two competitive races with a large crowd in tow.

The women's race was a battle for 2nd through 4th as Oregon Women held a comfortable lead throughout. The Ducks were paced by Alex Konsinski (20:19.90), Melissa Grelli (20:20.51) and Nicole Blood (20:39.55). This was Kosinski's first individual cross country win in her second season with the Ducks. Nicole Blood finished 4th and won the 2007 Bill Dellinger Invite. Grelli won the Pre's Trail Race at Alton Baker Park during her first action as a Duck back in September. Arkansas was led by Catherine White (20:30.55) and Denise Bargiachi (20:57.97)

The men's race was dominated by great individual performances from Portland, Oregon and Alabama. The Portland Pilots top returner, David Kinsella, proved his hamstring issues that kept him out of Spring track and field are behind him. Leading wire to wire with a few other competitors, Kinsella beat his own expectations with a winning time of 24:02.68.

By far the more shocking development for the #1 Ranked Duck Men was the performance of true freshman Luke Puskedra. Less than a year out of High School, Puskedra showed a level of tenacity not often seen for a newcomers first cross country race. Admittedly going out harder than he wanted to, Puskedra still managed to stay up front for most of the race. Although his breakaway attempt came up short on the last lap, a third-place finish by a true freshman means an already deep Oregon Men's team may be deeper than previously thought.