Griz head west for Dellinger Invitational

OREGON BILL DELLINGER CROSS COUNTRY INVITATIONAL
Friday, Sept. 22 / Watch ($) / Live Results
Pine Ridge Golf Club (Springfield, Ore.)
Men's Race – 12:00 p.m. (8K)
Women's Race – 12:45 p.m. (6K)

The Montana cross country team will head west to participate in the Oregon Bill Dellinger Cross Country Invitational on Friday afternoon. The third race of the season for the Grizzlies will feature the second consecutive 8K for the men while the women will jump up to 6K for the first time this season.

It should be a deep, and fast, field of runners at the Oregon event. The host Ducks are nationally ranked on the men's and women's side, and they are joined by three other ranked programs in the event. Portland (#9) and Oregon (#15) are the top teams in the men's field. BYU (#6), Oregon (#7), and Oregon State (#17) highlight the women's field.

In addition, the field will also feature Cal and UCLA to bring the Pac-12 total up to four. The caliber of runners will be high, but it will be a good dry run at a Big Sky Championship-level event.

"It's an opportunity for our men and women to go out and run fast for their distances, and to do that under the pressure of a fast pace because of the quality of teams that will be there," head coach Doug Fraley said. "It really is a simulation of the type of pace that we will see at the Big Sky Championships, and that's really why we wanted a meet like this."

Gallery: (9-15-2023) XC: Montana Invitational (9.15.23)

Montana won't be the only Big Sky competitors in the event, either. They ran against Montana State, Eastern Washington and Weber State (women) already this year at the Montana Invitational. The Dellinger will provide them a look at Idaho and Sacramento State as well, which should be a good measuring stick.

The Grizzlies will run seven men and five women in the event that comes just a week following the Montana Invitational. It makes for a busy stretch of the season, but on a flatter course and against an improved field it should also give Montana's runners a chance for fast finishing times.

"We wanted to pick a trip midseason about the third race to really test ourselves and see where we are at," Fraley said. "We made good progress through the first two meets and now we feel like we need a stout test to be able to get a true indication of where we are at on a really fast course against a lot of very good teams. It's why we chose the Dellinger. It's in our region, it's a fast course, and there will be a lot of great teams."

There was improvement in times from the opening race in Bozeman to last weekend at the Montana Invitational. The women saw improved times from all 10 runners that competed at both events, and while a drop in elevation can contribute to that the course in Missoula has much more elevation to conquer.

The men ran a longer distance in Missoula, but still had several runners clock their best-ever times at the 8K distance that will be run at the Big Sky Championships. Maxwell Scott ran his first sub-25 minute time in the event to pace Montana.

Friday in Oregon should be an ideal day for even faster times not just because of the great course and the high-caliber competition, but also because of the elevation difference. The race will take place in Springfield, Ore. with an elevation close to sea level.

"It's an opportunity to race good teams at sea-level, essentially," Fraley said. "You always want to provide your athlete, especially when they train and run most races at some altitude, the opportunity to drop down to sea level on a fast course and really run some good times. It creates a lot of confidence midseason, and it can really springboard you into the second half of the season."

Fraley knows that the high-level competition can be a bit daunting, but said that his team can benefit whether they exceed expectations or learn some tough lessons in Eugene. There is only a single event left on the regular season calendar following the Dellinger Invitational.

The Grizzlies wrap up the regular season at the Lewis-Clark Invitational in Lewiston, Idaho on Oct. 14 before hosting the Big Sky Championships in Missoula on Oct. 27.

"We've progressed from meet one to meet two," Fraley said. "Now we need to make another progression into week three to stay on course for where we ultimately want to be at the Big Sky Championships."

THE FIELD
Oregon
BYU (w)
Cal
Cal Poly
CS Fullerton
Idaho
Lewis & Clark
Montana
Oregon State (w)
Portland
Sacramento State
San Diego State (w)
St. Mary's (m)
UC Davis
UC Riverside
UC Santa Barbara
UCLA

STREAMING OPTIONS
The races will be broadcast via RunnerSpace.com. The broadcast requires a RunnerSpace +PLUS account.

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Players Mentioned

Maxwell Scott

University of Montana Athletics