COMING UP: Friday at Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank – LC State Cross Country Trail (Lewiston, Idaho) – Men's 8,000-meters, 10 a.m.; Women's 6,000-meters, 11 a.m.
LIVE TIMING: Live Results will be available online through
Athletic Timing.
WHAT'S AT STAKE: The team champion of both the men's 8,000-meter and women's 6,000-meter races will earn automatic bids to the NAIA Cross Country National Championships in Vancouver, Wash. (Fort Vancouver National Historic Site). In addition, the Top-6 runners finishing inside the Top-20 not on a team that qualifies for the national meet, will earn an at-large entry to the NAIA Championships. It marks the fourth time the women's race will be conducted at the 6,000-meter distance.
HISTORY AT THE MEET: The Oregon Tech men have finished inside the Top-5 at the CCC Championships in 11 of the past 14 seasons – including a second-place effort in 2020 and third-place finishes in 2016, 2019 and 2021. The OIT women won the 2017 and 2018 CCC titles, while finishing third overall in 2015, 2016, 2020 and 2021. Last season, the Lady Owls finished fifth overall, with the Hustlin' Owls placing seventh – with women's runner,
Saundra Parsons earning an at-large bid to the NAIA Championships.
MEN'S FIELD: Nine of the 15 All-CCC performers are back from last season, where 14 points separated the team champ (Eastern Oregon) and fourth-place (College of Idaho). The men's 8,000-meter race is expected to be a good one as No. 3 ranked Southern Oregon, No. 8 ranked C of I, No. 16 ranked Eastern and No. 23 ranked Northwest will push the pace. Jack Gladfelter of Corban and Justin Kiplagat of Trinity Western each finished in the Top-3 last year, while SOU's Carter Stedman and Mason Weisgerber are poised for big efforts. For the Hustlin' Owls, the team has the potential to crack the Top-5 and earn an at-large bid to Nationals, paced by front-runner
Kai Miles, who has had a tremendous season. Veteran runners
Bryce Worrell and
Braedan Doherty, along with sophomores
Daxton Wilson,
Elijah Zavala and
Ethan Krieger, will all be in the mix to score for Tech.
WOMEN'S FIELD: A deep women's field that features 10 returning All-CCC runners will be chasing Evergreen's Alauna Carstens, who posted the top 6,000-meter time in the NAIA twice this season – both at the Willamette Invite and the George Oja invite. Seven-time defending champ, College of Idaho, returns five All-CCC runners (Julia Gilbert, Kylee Quinton, Rozzlyn Cazier, Paiten Braseth and Josie Patton), Southern Oregon returns ace Alyssa Johnson, with LC State featuring top runner Damaris Kibiwot. The Lady Owls have improved throughout the season, hoping that a fifth-place finish in the event could earn a bid to Nationals – as freshmen
Anika Jenson and
Leona Higgins have been impressive, with seniors
Charis Childers and
Corinne Childers looking to make a mark in their final CCC meet.
THE VENUE: For the third time, the event will be held at LC State Cross Country Trail in Lewiston – featuring a small and a large loop traversing rolling grass hills. Teams have competed at the venue multiple times, as it is the site of the annual LC Invitational.
UP NEXT: Teams and individuals who qualify will compete at the NAIA Championships, set for Nov. 20, in Vancouver, Wash.
