Event: Bill Dellinger Invitational
Host: University of Oregon
Date: Friday, Sept. 23, 2022
Location: Pine Ridge Golf Club Springfield, Ore.
Live Results: portlandpilots.com

Schedule of Events
Men's 8K: 11:00 a.m.
Women's 6K: 11:45 a.m.

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots will continue their season at the Bill Dellinger Invitational.
• Last year, the field included athletes from University of Oregon, Utah, Colorado State, Boise State, Arkansas, Oregon State, Washington State, Air Force, San Fransisco, Cal State Fullerton, UCLA, Cal Poly, Idaho and UC Santa Barbara.
• The women's race was comprised of 165 athletes, while the men's race contained 151.
• In 2021, the Pilot's top finisher was Matt Strangio who finished in ninth, leading the Pilots to a fourth place finish with 98 points.
• The women's top finisher was Anna Pataki who finished third, leading the Pilots to a fourth place finish with 115 points.
• This year, the Pilot men will be racing Chris Anderson, Leo Donlea, Justin Hazell, Nolan Hosbein, Henry Mong, Bradley Peloquin, Daniel Racle and Ahmed Sado.
• Pilot women will be racing Lauren Block, Emma Jenkins, Courtney Klatt, Abby Lawrence, Miriam Marx, Mie Nielsen, Laura Pellicoro, Teresa Perez and Tiahna Woodger.
• The races will take place on Friday, Sept. 23, with the Men's 8K at 11:00 a.m. and the Women's 6K at 11:45 a.m.

THIS SEASON
• The Pilot men raced at the Ash Creek Invitational hosted by Western Oregon. Justin Hazell was Portland's top finisher, finishing second.
• Hazell was named WCC Runner of the Week for his team leading efforts.
• Hazell was followed closely by Cohen Williams (fourth), Brady Martisus (eighth), Kevin Williams (ninth) and Kai Vickers (15th) to round out the Pilot's scoring five. The Pilots finished second overall with 38 points.
• The Pilot men started off with a strong finish in their first outing of the 2022 season, winning the Viking Rust Buster 19 points led by Henry Mong. The remaining scorers were Daniel Rackle (third), Leo Donlea (fifth), Eliason Kabasenche (sixth) and Justin Hazell (seventh).
• The Pilot women opened their season with a third place finish (51 points) this season, led by Abby Lawrence who finished second. Their scoring five were rounded out by Courtney Klatt (third), Teresa Perez (15th), Lauren Block (24th), and Tiahna Woodger (27th).
• The Portland men return five of their top seven runners who competed at last year's NCAA Cross County Championships in Tallahasee, Fla.: redshirt sophomores Bradley Peloquin and Jonas Gertsen, as well as redshirt seniors Zak Kirk, Cathal Doyle and Leo Donlea.
• Kirk returns as the Pilots' first finisher from the race (52th place) held at Apalachee Regional Park.
• The Pilots men's cross country team also welcomes 19 newcomers to the Bluff this fall.
• The Portland women return five of the seven who competed at last year's NCAA Cross Country West Regional: sophomores Mie Gam, Anna-Sophie Meusburger, Laura Pellicoro and Samantha Prusse and senior Emma Jenkins.
• The Pilots women's cross country team has also added two athletes to their roster for the upcoming 2022 season.
• In the preseason rankings, both the Pilots men and the Pilots women were ranked third in the WCC. For the women, Laura Pellicoro and Emma Jenkins were selected for the preseason team, while Zak Kirk and Cathal Doyle were selected for the preseason team for the men.
• Laura Pellicoro was named WCC Freshman of the Year in cross country for 2021 as a result of her 11th place finish. She later finished 16th at regionals - the second highest finish for the Pilot women. During track, Laura set school records in the mile (4:34.45) and 800m (2:03.17) disciplines on her way to qualifying for the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships where she finished 11th and 20th, respectively. She also ranks No. 2 All-time in the 1500m (4:15.30)
• Emma Jenkins finished 19th in the 2021 WCC Championships, and then finished 50th in the NCAA West Regional Championships. Jenkins ranks No. 8 in the 10,000m (34:15.67) and No. 9 (4:24.23) in the 1500 in school history. Jenkins was an NCAA West Regional qualifier on the track in the Spring of 2022.
• Zak Kirk was the top finisher for the Pilots in 2021 cross country, finishing ninth at WCC, 10th at the NCAA West Regional Championships, and 52nd at the NCAA National Championships.
• Cathal Doyle excelled on the track in both the 2021 and 2022 track seasons. Doyle ranks No. 2 all-time in the 5,000m (13:38.01) and is the school record holder in the 1500m (3:38.05). In both 2021 and 2022, Doyle qualified for the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in track placing 13th and 19th respectively.

LAST SEASON
• 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 Pilot men defeated Portland State in the team scores while the Portland women finished second only to No. 22 Oregon State.
• The Pilots later finished 16th for the men and 17th for the women at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational. Our highest finisher on the men's side was Bradley Peloquin who finished 56th. In the women's race, the Pilot's top finisher was Anna Pataki who finished 30th overall.
• Both the men and the women finished third at the WCC Cross Country Championships. Four pilots men received All-WCC honors - Zak Kirk (ninth) and Stan Niesten (10th) each claiming All-WCC First Team honors, and Bradley Peloquin (12th-place) and George Duggan (15th) nabbing spots on the All-WCC Second Team. For the Pilot women, Anna Pataki received First-team honors (sixth), while Laura Pellicoro (11th) received Second-team honors.
• At NCAA West Regionals, the Pilot men placed third overall earning themselves an NCAA National Championship berth. The Pilot women finished in fifth. Anna Pataki (13th), Laura Pellicoro (16th) and Veerle Bakker (19th) all received All-Regional Honors. For the men, Zak Kirk (10th), Jonas Gertsen (11th), Stan Niesten (16th) and Jacob Klemz (25th) finished with All-Regional honors.
• The Pilots men would finish off their 2021 season with a 16th place finish at the NCAA championships, beating 14 teams ranked ahead of them in the previous coach's poll. The team was led by Zak Kirk, who finished in 52nd.

PILOTS IN THE POLLS
• The Pilot men maintain their No. 15 national ranking in the Week 1 coaches poll. The Pilot men and women currently sit at 4th and 8th in the NCAA West Regional poll, respectively.
• In the preseason coaches poll, the Pilot men were ranked 15th, their highest preseason ranking since 2019. For reference, the Pilots were ranked 14th in 2017 - the year they went on to finish second at nationals. Portland men were also ranked 4th in the NCAA West Regional poll. For the women, the Pilots were ranked seventh in the NCAA West Regional poll.

PILOT HISTORY
•The Pilot men have qualified for the NCAA Cross Country National Championships 22 times, 18 of which have been top-20 finishes under head coach Rob Conner. In 2017, the team finished an astounding second and in 2018, the team finished in a respectable third.
•The Pilot women have qualified for the NCAA Cross Country National Championship three times, with a highest finish of 12th under coach Ian Solof.