Oregon State's Improving Cross Country Team Makes First NCAA Final

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Less than a month ago, the biggest news on the Oregon State campus in Corvallis regarding running or track and field was that a statue of Dick Fosbury was being dedicated 50 years after introducing the world to his "flop" at the 1968 Mexico City Games. 

Now, there's something new. The women's cross country team has qualified for the NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championships for the first time in school history. 

The Oregon State women finished sixth Friday at the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento and secured one of 13 at-large spots Saturday in the 31-team field that will compete this coming Saturday in Madison, Wis. 

The Beavers, as well as the women from Southern Utah, are making their first NCAA championship appearances. 

"It is so exciting," OSU senior Juliana Mount said. "To be able to get to nationals, in my senior year, after dreaming about making it for four years, is a dream come true. It feels like such a priviledge, such a gift."

Oregon State's history with the NCAA meet exists, but it is more ancient than Fosbury's original flop. In 1961, a barefooted Dale Story led the team to a national championship in East Lansing, Mich. That achievement stood alone as the Beavers' only NCAA title in any sport until a recent run of success in baseball brought championships in 2006, 2007 and 2018. 

After track and cross country was cut by the athletic department in 1988, the sport became an afterthought on the campus 45 miles north of Eugene and the University of Oregon. In 2004, a women's-only track and cross country program was re-born. 

From then until now, Oregon State was never in the picture for an NCAA berth. The best regional finishes of the past 14 years were a pair of ninths in 2008 and 2009. 

But in September, second-year coach Louie Quintana announced to the team that NCAAs was an achievable goal. 

"From Day One, coach Louie said we're making it to nationals this year," Mount said. "He believed in us so hard that we had to believe in ourselves, too."

At Arizona State, Quintana led the women's cross country team to nationals 12 times in 16 years. 

He knew that he had a trio of talented freshmen -- Haley Wolf from Arizona, Mari Friedman from California and Grace Fetherstonhaugh from British Columbia -- coming into the program with confidence. 

He also knew that Mount, a senior, was ready to show what she could do after an injury-plagued spring. 

Oregon State went to the Sundodger Invitational in September in Seattle and beat a Washington team that was still putting the pieces together after a coaching change. The Beavers went to the Nuttycombe Invitational in Wisconsin and beat good teams like Air Force and Northern Arizona. 

At Pac-12s, OSU placed a program-best sixth with a less-than-optimal performance. 

And at regionals, the team performed well and did what it needed to advance.

"We knew that we needed to run our hearts out," Mount said. "We told each other on the starting line that we're running for each other, we're in this together. We also knew the harder we run, the likelier it is that we'll make it to nationals. There's one shot at this, and it's today."

Quintana was plugged into the online calculor and figuring out what the team needed in order to make the nationals field. Princeton's surprise second-place finish in the Mid-Atlantic Regional, ahead of Penn State, told him that OSU needed sixth (instead of seventh) to secure a spot at nationals. 

"It's a big deal for us and helps our profile nationally, especially in the Northwest and in Oregon," Quintana said. "The optics is good making the championships and for the women in the trenches every day, it's validation."

Mount, who placed 12th at regionals, has given the team a valuable boost up front.  

"This season I've been a happier human being in general because our team is really, really positive and loving toward each other," she said. "Everyone is always very supportive and I feel more bonded, more connected."

With Mount hunting for a top spot up among the leaders, Oregon State has an improving pack that consists of Wolf, Lexi Reed, Audrey Lookner and Friedman. 

Suddenly, women's cross country at Oregon State feels more relevant than it ever has. 

"We really appreciate Dick Fosbury and his contribution to track and field being recognized (last month)," Mount said. "That's what we've been wanting to do as a cross country team. We're never recognized (in Corvallis). No one knows when our meets are. We want to change that. We want people to be as excited about cross country as they are for a football game.

"We're finally getting that credit, finally making it to nationals."