Bill Dellinger Invitational
Host: Oregon
Date: Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021
Location: Pine Ridge Golf Club in Springfield, Ore.
Live Stats: portlandpilots.com
Video: portlandpilots.com
 
Schedule of Events
Men's 8K: 6:00 p.m.
Women's 6K: 6:40 p.m.
 
Mike Johnson Classic
Host: Western Oregon
Date: Friday, Sept. 24, 2021
Location: Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Ore.
Live Stats: portlandpilots.com
Video: None
 
Schedule of Events
Women's 6K: 5:00 p.m.
Men's 8K: 5:45 p.m.
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots No. 19 men's and (RV) women's cross country teams will send select runners to compete at two in-state meets, the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Springfield on Thursday, September 23rd, and the Mike Johnson Classic in Monmouth on Friday, September 25th.
• Live results will be available for both meets at portlandpilots.com, and live video will be provided with a RunnerSpace PLUS subscription for the Dellinger Invitational on Thursday evening.
 
LAST RACES
• Portland's men's and women's programs both placed second to the in-the-polls Oregon Ducks at the Lewis & Clark Chase Race to open their 2021 seasons.
• Justin Hazel from the men's side claimed second-place individually in the 4M event, and Lacey Conner finished first for the Pilots women in the 3M at 11th overall.
• Matt Strangio and Laura Pellicoro each picked up individual wins in the men's 6K and women's 4K, respectively, at the PSU Rust Buster on September 3.
• The Pilots men defeated Portland State in the team scores while the Portland women finished second only to No. 22 Oregon State.
 
THIS SEASON
• The Portland men return all seven runners who competed at last year's NCAA Cross County Championships in Stillwater, Okla.--redshirt freshman Bradley Peloquin, redshirt juniors Zak Kirk, Cathal Doyle, and Evert Silva, seniors Jacob Klemz and Stan Niesten, and redshirt senior Riley Osen.
• Kirk returns as the Pilots' first-finisher from the race (60th place) held at OSU Cross Country Course, which was recognized as one of the hardest courses to ever host the national meet.
• The Pilots men's cross country team also welcomes 12 newcomers to the Bluff this fall.
• The Portland women return four of the seven who competed at last year's NCAA Cross Country Championships--freshman Samantha Prusse, junior Emma Jenkins, redshirt junior and All-American Anna Pataki, and senior Veerle Bakker.
• Pataki comes back after making her second appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last year, and recorded the sixth-best finish in program history with her 31st-place individual performance.
• The Pilots women's cross country team has also added six freshmen to their roster for the upcoming 2021 season.
 
LAST SEASON
• The men's team finished 21st at the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships, marking the program's 21st overall appearance at the NCAA Championships since 1993 under the guidance of head coach Rob Conner.
• The Pilot men remained in the top-25 of the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll throughout the entire 2020 season, reaching as high as the No. 7 program in the country back in Week 4.
• The Portland men collected third place at the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships this past year, and Evert Silva earned All-WCC First Team honors with his sixth-place individual finish.
• Klemz, Kirk, and Niesten each garnered All-WCC Second Team honors with their Top-15 performances at the 2020 conference championship meet.
• The women's squad finished 22nd at the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Stillwater, and made their first appearance as a team since the 2018.
• Pataki won the women's individual title at last year's West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships at Craig Ranch Regional Park, crossing the line more than eight seconds before the next runner.
• The Portland women nabbed third as a team at the 2020 conference championships, and had three members recognized on the All-WCC First Team: Pataki, Victoria Weir, and Stella Gillman.
• The women's team will be without Weir and Gillman in 2021, in addition to last year's NCAA Elite 90 recipient Sofia Castiglioni.
• The Portland women's cross country program earned a 2020 NCAA Division I All-Academic Team Award after the completion of last season, as the Pilots posted a stunning 3.75 team cumulative grade-point average, highest among all teams that competed at this year's NCAA Cross Country Championships.
• Six women's runners also earned individual All-Academic awards, including Bakker, Jenkins, and Pataki.
• The Portland men were also honored as a 2020 All-Academic Team with their 3.19 cumulative GPA from the fall semester of last year.
• Five members of the men's program also notched individual All-Academic accolades in Doyle, Kirk, Niesten, Osen, and Peloquin.
 
PILOTS IN THE POLLS
• In the Week 2 NCAA DI Cross Country National Coaches Polls, the Portland men rank No. 19 overall and the Portland women are currently receiving votes.
• In the Week 2 West Region Rankings, the men are currently No. 4, and the women sit at No. 8.