Ducks get another from Foot Locker.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

CORRECTION (ran April 20, 2007): Justin Cross, who signed a national letter-of-intent to compete for the Oregon men's track and field team, is a senior hurdler from Powell High School in Powell, Wyo. A story on Page C1 Wednesday had the wrong hometown.

For the second straight year, the Oregon men's track and field program has attracted the Foot Locker national cross country champion.

Chad Hall, a senior at Big Bear High School in Big Bear Lake, Calif., captured the 2006 title last December with a time of 15 minutes, 20 seconds over the 5,000-meter course at Balboa Park in San Diego.

UO director of track and field Vin Lannana confirmed Tuesday that Hall, who also won the California state cross country title and the Mt. SAC Invitational last fall, has signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Oregon.

His personal bests on the track are 1:57 (800), 4:10 (mile) and 8:58 (2-mile).

`We try to recruit athletes who want to come to Oregon and be a part of what we're building here,' Lananna said.

`In our first conversation with Chad, we determined that was the case ... clearly, Chad is a good runner, he has been developed properly and slowly, and at some point, he will come into his own and make an impact.'

UO freshman A.J. Acosta won the 2005 Foot Locker national title as a senior at El Camino High School in Oceanside, Calif.

Lananna is very familiar with the Hall family.

Chad Hall's older brother, Ryan, is one of America's top young distance runners. He was recruited to Stanford by Lananna and enjoyed an outstanding collegiate career, capped by an NCAA title in the 5,000 in 2005.

Last January, Ryan Hall became the first American to run better than 60 minutes in the half-marathon (13.1 miles) when he set the record of 59:43 at the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Houston.

The Halls were both coached by their father, Mickey, an accomplished triathlete and special education teacher at Big Bear High School.

The school, which sits at an elevation of 6,748 feet in the San Bernadino National Forest, about a 2-hour drive from Los Angeles, didn't have a track or cross country program until the elder Hall started one after Ryan's sophomore season.

`It's a wonderful family,' Lananna said. `I've known them since Ryan was a senior in high school. It's funny, I remember going out to Big Bear to visit Ryan, and I met Chad when I accompanied the family to one of his elementary school basketball games.

`They all care about running, and the dad has done a nice job as a coach.'

Lananna said the Ducks also signed Justin Cross, a senior hurdler from Powell High School in Casper, Wyo.

Cross won state titles in the 110-meter high hurdles and 300 intermediate hurdles as a sophomore.

He placed second in both events as a junior, although he set a state record in the high hurdles (14.46) in the preliminaries.