A week before the NCAA Cross Country Championships, we had the Oregon women at what we felt was a generous No. 9 in the Saucony Flo50. The coaches' poll had them at No. 12; when the Ducks pulled off the upset in Terre Haute, it made them the lowest ranked team in the history of the poll to win NCAAs.



Obviously, the most dramatic performance was by senior Maggie Schmaedick, who crossed the line with the same time as Michigan's Jaimie Phelan and outleaned her by the thinnest of margins. (See the photo above.) Oregon beat Michigan by one point for the title.

But every Duck had to step up for the title to happen. Fourth-place freshman Katie Rainsberger, on a much windier and slower day, ran 28 seconds faster than she did on the same course at Pre-Nats. Rainsberger and Samantha Nadel finished higher at NCAAs than they did at Pac-12s. And Ashley Maton basically ran the same pace of her 5K track PR on a 6K cross country course.



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