COMING UP: NAIA Cross Country National Championships, Vancouver, Wash. (Fort Vancouver National Historical Site), Saturday – Men's 8,000-meters at 10:30 p.m. (PT), Women's 5,000-meters at 11:30 a.m. (PT)
LIVE LINKS: Results from the NAIA Championships will be posted immediately after the race through the
NAIA Results portal, while the
NAIA Network will carry a live broadcast of the post-race awards ceremony.
MEN'S HISTORY AT NATIONALS: The Coyotes make their 12th trip to the NAIA Championships, including every season since 2007. C of I has recorded three Top-10 finishes, taking fourth last season, seventh in 2015 and tenth in 2009, with four student-athletes earning All-America honors – Billy Godfrey, Dominic Bolin, Max Hampton and four-time All-American Greg Montgomery.
WOMEN'S HISTORY AT NATIONALS: The Lady Yotes head to Nationals for the tenth-straight year as a team, looking for a repeat of their last trip to Vancouver in 2012, where Hillary Holt won the individual title, leading C of I to their first of two national runner-up finishes. The Yotes have eight Top-10 finishes at the NAIA Meet, finishing second in both 2012 and 2013; sixth in 2016; seventh in both 2009 and 2011; eighth in 2008 and 2015 and ninth in 2008. Five C of I athletes have earned All-America honors – Stephanie Helm, Hillary Holt, Sora Klopfenstein, Sarah Johnson, Lila Klopfenstein and Amy Pfaff.
ABOUT THE MEN'S RACE: The Coyotes join 35 other teams and 87 other individuals in the 8,000-meter race for the NAIA red banner. A total of 25 teams earned automatic bids to the meet (British Columbia, Columbia (Mo.), Dickinson State (N.D.), Edward Waters (Fla.), Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Indiana Tech, Indiana Wesleyan, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Missouri Valley, Mount Mercy (Iowa), Northwestern (Iowa), Ohio Christian, Oklahoma City, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Our Lady of the Lake (Texas), Point Park (Pa.), Reinhardt (Ga.), SCAD-Savannah (Ga.), Shawnee State (Ohio), Southern Oregon, St. Francis (Ill.), St. Mary (Kan.), The Masters (Calif.), William Carey (Miss.), York (Neb.)), 10 teams earned at-large spots (Aquinas (Mich.), Bacone (Okla.), College of Idaho, Cornerstone (Mich.), Eastern Oregon, Northwest Christian (Ore.), Oregon Tech, Taylor (Ind.), Wayland Baptist (Texas), Westmont (Calif.)), with Northwest (Wash.) earning the Cascade Conference's host berth. It is the fifth time the CCC has played host to the event (2009-12).
ABOUT THE WOMEN'S RACE: The Lady Yotes join 35 other teams and 92 other individuals in the 5,000-meter race on Saturday to determine the NAIA Championship. A total of 27 teams earned automatic bids to the meet (Aquinas (Mich.), Blue Mountain (Miss.), British Columbia, Carroll (Mont.), Columbia (Mo.), Dickinson State (N.D.), Dordt (Iowa), Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Milligan (Tenn.), Missouri Baptist, Missouri Valley, Ohio Christian, Oklahoma City, Oregon Tech, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas), Point Park (Pa.), SCAD-Atlanta (Ga.), Shawnee State (Ohio), Southeastern (Fla.), Southwestern (Kan.), St. Ambrose (Iowa), St. Francis (Ill.), St. Mary (Kan.), Taylor (Ind.), The Masters (Calif.), Xavier (La.)), eight teams earned at-large spots (College of Idaho, Corban (Ore.), Indiana Wesleyan, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Madonna (Mich.), Northwestern (Iowa), Southern Oregon, Wayland Baptist (Texas)), with Northwest (Wash.) earning the CCC's host bid.
MEN'S TEAMS TO BEAT: Northwest teams are expected to dominate on Saturday, as four of the top five ranked teams in the NAIA hail from our geographic region. Perennial power British Columbia looks to unseat CCC and defending NAIA champ, Southern Oregon, while Lewis-Clark State, the Frontier Conference champion, races both teams for the first time this season. C of I finished just six points behind SOU at the Warrior Invite and just three points behind LCSC at the CCC Preview. St. Francis (Ill.) and Oklahoma City are other squads in the mix.
WOMEN'S TEAMS TO BEAT: The Cascade Conference has proven to be one of the top league's in the NAIA every season in women's cross country – with C of I, Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon all capable to crack the podium. Sooner Athletic Conference champ, Oklahoma City and Association of Independent Institutions and defending NAIA champ British Columbia, are the favorites heading into the meet – along with Wayland Baptist (Texas) , Taylor (Ind.) and Aquinas (Mich.).
THIS SEASON: The Coyote men vaulted to No. 4 in the NAIA poll late in the season and will take a No. 5 ranking to Nationals on the strength of a second-place finish at the CCC Championships. Sophomore
Alex Martin and junior
Andrew Sutton have been the top finishers throughout the season for the Yotes – both earning All-CCC honors at the conference meet. If the C of I pack runners – freshmen
Cole Campbell, sophomores
Marcos Cervantes and
Josh Frey, junior
Jerry Celestino and senior
Quinn Radbourne – can keep a tight grouping, the Coyotes have the potential for a podium finish. The Lady Yotes head into nationals ranked No. 7 in the NAIA – coming off a second-place finish at the CCC Championships in La Grande, Ore. C of I is paced by sophomore
Molly Vitale-Sullivan, with the success of the team dependent on the gap between her and the No. 2/3/4/5 runners in freshman
Erin Moyer, sophomore
Abigail Craig and juniors
Ashtyn Ellis,
Tamika Russell and
Kaitlyn Schut. If the pack can remain within 45 seconds of Vitale-Sullivan, the Lady Yotes have the potential for their third all-time podium finish.
