Ducks Add Transfers, Freshmen for 2013 - 2014

As the 2013 season draws near, the Oregon track and field and cross country teams have added a number of transfers and freshmen for the upcoming year.

EUGENE, Ore. – As the 2013 season draws near, the Oregon track and field and cross country teams have added a number of transfers and freshmen for the upcoming year, completing an impressive first recruiting class for Head Coach Robert Johnson and his staff.

Among those joining the Ducks are transfers Eric Jenkins, Nathan Mathabane, Lindsay Crevoiserat, Samantha Murphy and Julia Zrinyi, freshmen Chris Mulverhill, Benjamin Thiel and Austin White, and junior Tanguy Pepiot.

“Our staff continued to work heavily on the recruiting trail throughout the summer to find some very talented student-athletes and we are excited and proud to announce the newest additions to the Duck family,” said Johnson. “We knew this was going to be an important year for recruiting in terms of trying to replace the magnitude of stars and quality of talent that we lost through graduation.

“Adding these nine to the outstanding group we signed earlier this year will allow the Duck programs to continue to be vibrant and strong.”

Jenkins transfers to Oregon following an impressive career at Northeastern, where he was an all-American at 5,000 meters and a four-time Colonial Athletic Association champion, including the 2013 800 and 1,500 meter titles. The Portsmouth, N.H., native ran the second-fastest 5,000 meters in the NCAA last season, 13:18.57, before finishing 10^th at that distance at the 2013 NCAA Championships at Historic Hayward Field. Jenkins’ personal best was the fastest 5,000 meters ever run by an American under the age of 21.

Jenkins also holds impressive personal bests in the 3,000 meters (7:50.44) and mile (3:58.11). At the 2013 NCAA Indoor meet, he initially finished second in the 3,000 meters (7:46 unofficially), but was disqualified in a controversial ruling. He was also the 2011 CAA cross country individual medalist.

Jenkins will have two years of eligibility remaining in both track and cross country.

Crevoiserat and Zrinyi are both transfers from Connecticut.

Crevoiserat was a three-time indoor all-American for the Huskies and a key member of UConn’s cross country team, finishing 42nd at the 2012 NCAA Championships.

The Glastonbury, Conn., native placed 15th in the 3,000 meters at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., to earn All-America status. She was also second in the 3,000 at the Big East Championships (9:23.46) and took sixth place in the mile (4:43.46). Crevoiserat set a personal best at 3,000 meters of 9:09.48 at the 2013 Columbia Qualifier.

She won three national high school titles – the mile (2009), two-mile (2010) and 5,000 meters (2010). Crevoiserat redshirted the 2013 outdoor season. She will have two seasons left in cross country and three in track.

Zrinyi is an exceptionally talented Canadian who was an NCAA Championships qualifier in both track and cross country for UConn.

As a freshman in 2012-13, Zrinyi finished 17th in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Championships (4:21.17). She posted a season-best mark of 4:16.49 in the 1,500 at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. In cross country, Zrinyi was a 2012 NCAA Championships qualifier after placing 22nd at the NCAA Northeast Region Championships.

The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native won the Canadian high school 800 meter national title in 2011 and 2012 and the 1,500 title in 2010 and 2011. Zrinyi holds the Manitoba 800 meters junior record and has a personal best in the event of 2:04.38.

Murphy transfers to Oregon from Illinois. She was a two-time NCAA scorer and all-American at 800 meters. Her impressive 800 personal best of 2:02.10 came at the 2013 NCAA Championships, as she set the Illinois school record with a fifth-place finish.

The Perth, Ontario, native was also the 2013 Big Ten champion in the 800 and part of the winning 4x400 meter relay team.

During the 2013 indoor season, Murphy earned her first all-America honor after finishing fourth in the 800 at the NCAA Championships in 2:03.95, which was an Illini indoor record.

Murphy will be a senior in both track and cross country.

Mathabane is a graduate of Princeton who will have one year of eligibility left. The Portland, Ore., native is the latest in a long line of fifth-year Ivy League transfers, including fellow Tiger alum Matt Maag in 2010 and Dartmouth transfers Alexi Pappas and Matt Miner last season.

Mathabane was an Ivy League scorer in the mile as a freshman in 2010 before being sidelined by injury the next two seasons. The former Oregon prep champion for Lincoln High School came back in 2013 to set a personal best in the 800 meters of 1:51.15.

Pepiot is an international steeplechaser from Besancon, France, with an impressive personal best of 8:33.42, a time that is just :13 off the Oregon school record.

He finished third in the steeplechase at the 2013 European U-23 Championships (8:38.07). Prior to that, Pepiot placed seventh in the steeple at the 2010 World Junior Championships.

Pepiot will have two seasons of eligibility remaining in track and cross country.

Mulverhill, from Cedar Park, Texas, placed third in the 2,000 meter steeplechase at the 2013 Oregon Preview in 6:01.52. That time ranked eighth among all high schoolers for the year. Mulverhill also ran sixth in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the 2013 U.S. Junior Championships and placed tenth at the Texas 4A state cross country meet.

Thiel, from Celina, Texas, was the Texas 3A state champion in the 300 meter hurdles in both 2012 and 2013. His best time of 36.85 ranked ninth nationally among high schoolers in 2013.

Thiel was a member of two Celina High School state championship track teams (2012, 2013) and was also an all-state honorable mention selection in football.

White, from Carmichael, Calif., threw personal bests of 56-6.75 in the shot put and 148-4 in the discus for Jesuit High School.

The nine will join an impressive class of 17 men and 14 women who signed with the Duck track and field programs earlier in the year.