COMING UP: at Simpson Invitational (Cottonwood, Calif. – West Valley HS), Saturday, 9 a.m.
 
LAST SEASON: Both OIT teams raced well throughout the 2025 season, culminating with the women's squad placing fifth and the men's side placing seventh at the highly-competitive Cascade Conference Championships. Each team was among the first left out of the NAIA Championship at-large picture. The Hustlin' Owls will return each of the 10 runners from the CCC meet, while the Lady Owls must replace seniors Saundra Parsons, Chloe Crawford and Raleena Maxson, with Parsons Tech's lone All-CCC pick and placed 54th as an at-large entry to the NAIA Championships.
 
WOMEN'S PREVIEW: The Lady Owls were picked seventh in the CCC Preseason Poll, with the squad returning six of the 10 runners from last season. Anchoring the group are seniors Charis Childers and Corinne Childers, as the twin-sisters from Roseburg finished in the Top-30 at the CCC Championships. Both runners have clocked sub-24:00 6,000-meter times, with Charis Childers recording a stellar 22:33 time at the George Oja Invite. The success of the team will be the development of both returning sophomores and incoming athletes. Sophomores Diana Olsen-Adams, Andrea Cook and Ava Shackleford made solid debuts in 2025 and look to take their training to a new level this season. Transfer Gabby Crosswhite from College of the Redwoods, along with freshmen Leona Higgins (Klamath Union) and Anika Jenson (Molalla) will be looked upon to be in the scoring seven. "We have great leadership in our senior twins," said fifth-year head coach Mike Anderson. "They have shaped our team over the last four years. We have a talented group of freshmen and I am expecting a big jump from our sophomore group."
 
MEN'S PREVIEW: The Hustlin' Owls return their entire scoring crew from a season ago and hope to improve on the seventh-place rating in the CCC Preseason Poll. Tech is looking for Kai Miles to anchor the group, as the junior broke the 25-minute barrier a season ago, posting an 8,000-meter time of 24:52 at the George Oja Invite. Just off his hip was sophomore Elijah Zavala (25:09) and senior Bryce Worrell (25:13), giving the squad a quality pack. Senior Braedan Doherty is coming off a tremendous track season and has the ability to be a front-runner, as does fellow senior Tucker Piper. The development of sophomore Daxton Wilson and Ethan Kreiger will be key for the Owls team scoring. Three freshmen look to make an impact – as Blake Franke (Hermiston), Otto Terry (Molalla) and Julio Quevedo Coria (South Salem) each had outstanding high school seasons. "Our men's team is super exciting," Anderson said. "Kai has developed into one of the best runners in the CCC. Our seniors are extremely strong leaders as well as a great group of sophomores. Our freshmen class is talented and our future is bright."
 
SCHEDULE: The Owls will compete in four events – the Simpson Invitational (Cottonwood, Calif.), the Jim Hunt Invitational (McKinleyville, Calif.), the Charles Bowles Classic (Salem) and the George Oja Invitational (Independence), prior to the CCC Championships, held this season in Lewiston, Idaho. The NAIA Championships will be hosted by the CCC at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash.