DUCKS WILL GET GAUGE OF PROGRAM'S PROGRESS.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

The foundation has been laid.

Now it's time to measure the progress the youthful Oregon men's and women's cross country teams have made in the past two months under the tutelage of head coach Vin Lananna.

The Ducks will compete in the Pac-10 championships Saturday at the University of Arizona in Tucson. The men's 8,000-meter race begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women's 6,000-meter race at 10:30 a.m.

Lananna and the husband-wife assistant coaching team of Andy and Maurica Powell have brought a wave of energy and excitement into the UO program, but nobody knows when that might translate into tangible results.

`We have great team chemistry, and if enthusiasm, optimism and hard work can amount to anything measurable, we've already had a successful season,' said Lananna, the architect of 15 Pac-10 championship cross country teams at Stanford.

`With the help of Andy and Maurica, I've done everything I can to give this group a very good foundation, but they have to run the race. There's no way to explain it until they have experienced it for themselves.'

The UO women haven't been a factor at the Pac-10 meet since placing second in 1997.

Of the 10 runners who will step to the starting line Saturday, only three have Pac-10 experience - seniors Mandi Fitz-Gustafson and Sara Schaaf and South Eugene sophomore Sarah Pearson. Fitz-Gustafson, who placed 37th last year, is the Ducks' top returning scorer.

`The women started out with a sketchy roster that was somewhat scary in terms of the number of people we had and the number of people that I thought could be contributors,' Lananna said.

`But they've made great progress.'

The good news for Oregon is the top performers have been two newcomers.

Redshirt freshman Katie Leary, the 2003 state prep cross country champion from Klamath Falls, clocked 21 minutes, 13.1 seconds to lead the Ducks at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., two weeks ago. Leary ran two cross country meets last year, then missed the rest of the season, plus indoor and outdoor track, due to a lingering illness that didn't resolve itself until the spring.

`I went through a series of colds and just felt tired and blah,' Leary said. `I was tested for mononucleosis several times, but it turned out to be some type of imbalance. It took a long time before I felt better.'

Zoe Nelson, a true freshman from Flathead High School in Kalispell, Mont., was Oregon's top runner in the first two meets of the year. The four-time 2A Montana state champion was one of the nation's prized recruits after three top-10 performances at Foot Locker nationals, including an individual title in 2002.

Nelson watched the Oregon track and field coaching drama unfold last spring - from the resignations of Martin Smith and Marnie Mason to the hiring of Lananna - with a certain amount of trepidation.

`I didn't know if it was a bad idea to go to a school where I didn't know who the coach would be,' Nelson said. `But everything has worked out and it's exciting to be a part of all these things that are changing, and knowing that it's only going to get better and better every year.'

Both Leary and Nelson believe that the UO women can make a better showing at the Pac-10 meet than they have in the past if they stick to the plan - work together, stay focused and trust their training.

Second-ranked Stanford and No. 5 Arizona State are the clear favorites, but the No. 22 Ducks - making their first appearance in the top 25 since the end of the 2000 season - will try to stay ahead of the rest of the pack.

`This is new to a lot of us,' Leary said. `We have a great group this year and it's exciting to go to practice every day. The coaches are building a great program. I have no doubts we're on the right track.'

The rest of the Oregon travel squad includes two Canadian transfers - senior Amber McGown of Cornell and junior Dana Buchanan of Hawaii - junior Emily Mathis, freshman Heather Fitz-Gustafson and freshman Rebekah Noble.

This will be the first cross country race of the season for Noble, who won the U.S. Junior national title in the 800 meters last summer with a time of 2:03.73 that ranks ninth all-time in U.S. prep history.

The Oregon men are in similar circumstances.

While the Ducks have enjoyed a long string of success at the Pac-10 meet - five titles and no finish below third in the past 20 years - they enter Saturday's race with one of their most inexperienced teams.

The UO travel contingent includes three runners who have combined for four conference appearances since 2003.

Junior Patrick Werhane is the top returner (25th in '04, 38th in '03), while sophomore Chris Winter (39th) and sophomore J.K. Withers (67th) also ran last season.

The Ducks do have a legitimate front-runner in freshman Galen Rupp, who placed second in the 10,000 at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships last June, but he didn't make the trip to Arizona.

Rupp was left behind as a precautionary measure due to a foot injury. It is not known whether Rupp will be back when the Ducks contend for a spot at the NCAA Championships at the West Regionals, Nov. 12 at Stanford.

`Galen is feeling his way around right now,' Lananna said. `He's been training at a very high level, and whether or not he reaps the benefits of that hard work this fall, or it extends into the future, I'm not sure.'

The rest of the UO runners expected to compete Saturday include sophomores Mike McGrath, Carlos Trujillo and Esteban Trujillo and freshmen Scott Wall, Jon Thomas and Donald Wasteney.

The team favorite is No. 4 Stanford with seventh-ranked Arizona, led by defending champion Robert Cheseret, likely to provide a stiff challenge on its home course. Oregon is expected to battle No. 24 Washington and UCLA for third place.

`In the men's group, there is a tremendous amount of parity for the first time in a long time, and I don't think it will necessarily be a runaway,' Lananna said.

`I think we're a lot better than what our results have shown thus far. Either we get it to click on a given day or we don't. In any case, the future is quite bright. We have a great group of young men and I'm very excited about what they've done.'

CAPTION(S):

Katie Leary (left) and Zoe Nelson are two of Oregon's young and promising members of the cross country team.