Freshman Rises To No. 4 On Ducks' All-Time 5,000 List With Collegiate Debut At OSU High Performance Meet

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 

RESULTS/VIDEOS

CORVALLIS - Oregon distance coaches Jerry Schumacher and Shalane Flanagan know the poetry of movement as well as anyone when it comes to 5,000-meter runners. 

They both appreciated what they saw Friday night in Corvallis: Freshman Diana Cherotich, a prized addition from Bungoma County, Kenya, breezed through her first collegiate 5,000 meters at the OSU High Performance Meet in 15:23.42, lapping every runner in the field and breaking the facility record by 10 seconds. 

Cherotich clicked off 73s and 74s, fired off a mid-race 71, and made it look easy.

"Her mechanics," Schumacher said. "She runs very clean. She's beautiful to watch run."

WATCH THE OSU HIGH PERFORMANCE MEET LIVE SATURDAY ON RUNNERSPACE+

Cherotich, 19, previously broke Oregon's 10,000 meters record when she ran that for the first time a month ago at Stanford. 

Oregon is working Cherotich into the season slowly. She came to Oregon already owning a personal best of 15:01.80. 

"We're not rushing it, we're taking our time," Schumacher said. "She's special."

Teammate Allura Markow paced Cherotich for four laps but the rest was solo on a chilly, windy evening. 

Riley Buese of Lewis & Clark College ran the eighth-fastest Division 3 time of the season for second place in 16:36.64. 

In the women's 1,500 invitational meters, Rylee Penn of the new post-collegiate group based in Corvallis, Pacific Athletics, ran a season-opening time of 4:14.01 to win.

Penn moved to Corvallis in January and entered a firefighters' apprenticeship program while continuing to pursure track. 

Washington's Julia-David Smith finished second in a season's-best 4:15.89. Oregon State's Sydney Partyka ran a personal best 4:20.86 for third. 

In the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Idaho's Katja Pattis ran a personal best for the first time in two years with 10:04.33. And Washington's Maddie Liebich, making her steeplechase debut, was second in 10:10.53.

Freshman Nathan Neil of Washington, running unattached, won the men's invitational 5,000 meters with his debut running the distance on the track, with 13:50.78. Portland's Anthony Giesch ran a personal best 14:12.30 for second.

Washington's Isaac Briggs won the 3,000-meter steeplechase 8:55.30 and Portland's Giuliano Scasso was second in 9:02.34. 

Yet another Husky, Leo Daschbach, won the men's 1,500 meters in 3:43.01. 

Oregon senior Anika Thompson, running unattached, won the women's 10,000 meters in 33:35.01, which should secure her spot in the Ireland U23 team this summer. 

Earlier, Jada Hurley led a 1-2-3 Oregon State sweep in the women's 200 meters with 23.95w. 

Shelby Moran won the women's hammer 224-4 (68.38m).

OSU's Katelynn Gelston threw 172-5 (52.56m) to win the discus. 

Dede Norman and Delaney Bahn were first and second for Oregon State in the long jump, at 19-1.25 (5.82m) and 19-0.50w (5.80m), respectively.