Sitting Duck no more.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

UO CROSS COUNTRY

For Oregon sophomore Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott, sitting on the sidelines last season was an exercise in frustration.

It's no wonder he took full advantage of his first cross country race in a Duck uniform.

The all-American distance runner, who redshirted last year after transferring from the University of New Mexico, sped to a four-second victory over a 4-mile course at Portland's Pier Park on Sept. 8.

Now, after being sequestered at a preseason training camp with the rest of the UO men's team in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains outside of Bend, he's eager to show what the Ducks are capable of this season.

`This is a very talented and hard-working team,' said Kiptoo-Biwott, who placed 13th overall at the NCAA cross country championships as a freshman. `Everybody has a role to play, and that's a blessing.'

The Ducks will play host to a cross country meet for the first time since 1998 when the inaugural Bill Dellinger Invitational is held on Pre's Trail at Alton Baker Park on Friday. The men's 8,000-meter race begins at 6 p.m., while the women's 6,000-meter race starts at 5:20 p.m.

After watching the UO men struggle to sixth place at last year's Pac-10 meet, and fail to qualify for the NCAAs as a team for the second straight season, Kiptoo-Biwott is happy for any chance to perform.

`(Last year) was a real difficult time for me,' he said. `Being in such an environment, where running is everything, and me out there seeing my teammates putting on the uniform and competing; that was pretty tough. I didn't know what to do. So I told myself, `It's just one year,' and then I can compete.'

The native of Kenya is expected to team with sophomore Galen Rupp to give the Ducks an outstanding 1-2 punch up front this year.

Rupp, who missed all but two early cross country races with a foot injury last season, is in good shape this fall, and his thyroid issues, which sabotaged much of his outdoor track and field season, appear to be under control.

`Both Galen and Shadrack can be top-10 contenders at the NCAA meet, and 10th might be selling them short,' said Vin Lananna, the UO director of track and field and cross country. `They aren't 100 percent yet, but they're both appropriately prepared to compete for the end of September.'

The rest of the Duck men's team includes a small pool of veteran returners, plus a large cast of extremely talented but untested freshmen.

Senior Patrick Werhane was Oregon's only representative at the NCAA championships last year after placing 13th at the West Regionals. Werhane, a Southridge High standout, was 119th overall at the NCAAs.

Juniors Mike McGrath and Chris Winter are also key performers for the Ducks.

McGrath, who joined the sub-4:00 mile club indoors last winter (3:59.25), returned to Oregon in great shape after spending most of the summer on academic excursions to Spain and Mexico.

Winter scored in five cross country races last year, and was Oregon's No. 2 runner at three of the most important stops - West Regionals (19th), Pac-10 championships (23rd) and the Pre-NCAA Invitational. He was fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Pac-10 track and field meet.

This year's goal for the 15th-ranked Ducks is a return to the NCAA meet.

It won't be an easy chore, however, with three schools in the West Region already ranked ahead of Oregon: No. 4 Stanford, No. 7 Portland and No. 8 Arizona. Two other teams are threats in No. 20 Arizona State and Washington.

Lananna would prefer not to be `too dependent' on the UO freshmen class. Those runners have to make the adjustment from the prep distance of 5,000 meters to the collegiate level of 8,000 and 10,000 meters.

`Our returners have to do a good job,' Lananna said. `If they can improve just reasonably, we can get to the NCAAs. But if we're sitting around waiting for freshmen to get us there, well, it's always been my goal not to be too dependent on freshmen ... for some, it's an easy transition, but for others, it isn't.'

Thus far, the Ducks have triggered the eligibility of one freshman.

Central Catholic's Kenny Klotz was fourth overall at the Pier Park Preview in Portland. The two-time Class 4A state cross country champion was fourth as a senior at the Foot Locker national championships.

Lananna said `one more, and maybe two' freshmen will open up at Friday's meet.

He said they will emerge from a group that includes Crater's Isaac Stoutenburgh, twin brothers Diego and Daniel Mercado of West Covina, Calif., and A.J. Acosta of El Camino High School in Oceanside, Calif.

Acosta was the 2005 Foot Locker champion, while Daniel Mercado was eighth, Diego Mercado 11th and Stoutenburgh 28th.

`The reality for us is that we can't have a team that is competitive at the conference and regional levels without freshmen in the lineup,' Lananna said. `There is no chance of that. We have to figure out a way to put them in the lineup without beating the hell out of them.

`The big challenge for me is which kids do we trigger eligibility on. I don't want to do that to anyone that won't be running in our top 10 at the Pac-10 meet, so we'll open up our kids very cautiously.'