COMING UP: Cascade Conference Championships, La Grande, Ore. (Lane Farms), Saturday – Men's 8,000-meters, 11 a.m. (PT); Women's 5,000-meters, Noon (PT)
C OF I'S HISTORY AT THE MEET: Since C of I restarted their cross country program in 2004, the men's program has finished in fourth-place or better in all 13 CCC Championships – including four second-place finishes (including 2016). The women's team has won five league titles (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013) – with Greg Montgomery, Hillary Holt and Stephanie Helm all winning individual CCC titles.
RANKINGS: Both Coyote teams head into the meet ranked in the Top-5 of the NAIA National Poll – the men's team at No. 4 and the women's team at No. 5 – and have been ranked among the top five teams in the nation for the past three polling periods. The CCC boasts some of the premier cross country teams in the NAIA, as five teams are ranked in the Top-25 on the men's side (No. 2 Southern Oregon, No. 4 C of I, No. 8 Eastern Oregon, No. 17 Northwest Christian, No. 25 Oregon Tech) and four teams are ranked in the Top-20 on the women's side (No. 4 C of I, No. 7 Oregon Tech, No. 10 Southern Oregon, No. 19 Corban).
C OF I'S SEASON SO FAR: The Yotes had a slow start to the season, thanks to wildfires across the west that forced the cancellation of C of I's opening race in September. Since then, the squad has competed in three meets, with the men taking second at both the CCC Preview Meet (losing only to Lewis-Clark State) and the Warrior Invite (losing only to Southern Oregon), and the women winning the team titles at both the CCC Preview and the Warrior Invite. The Coyotes have used an extremely tight pack to their advantage – with their No. 1-5 runners separated by just 44 seconds at the CCC Preview and just 19 seconds at the Warrior Invite. The Lady Yotes have been paced by track All-American
Molly Vitale-Sullivan, who won the CCC Preview, while their No. 2-5 runners have been packed tightly throughout the season.
SURVEYING THE FIELD: A total of nine teams will compete on Saturday, with the Lady Yotes a narrow favorite to win the title. Oregon Tech narrowly lost to C of I at the Warrior Invite and has a three runners in the lead pack, including junior Danielle DeCastro; Southern Oregon features race favorite Jessa Perkinson; Corban is much improved, thanks to freshman Sydney Nichol; while two-time defending champion, Northwest Christian, can't be counted out. The men's race is defending NAIA champ Southern Oregon's to lose, as the front-running dueo of Kevin Poteracke and Ryan Alexander lead an extremely deep squad. The Yotes will look to contend with the Raiders – having run their best race of the season against SOU at the Warrior Invite - yet still losing by six place points. Eastern Oregon has battled injuries this season, but if healthy, can contend for a title behind senior Nic Maszk; Northwest Christian just won their final tune-up race with a solid performance by senior T.J. Wright; while Oregon Tech has a chance to surprise if healthy, as they have one of the front-runners to win the individual title in sophomore Mark French.
WHAT'S AT STAKE: The winning team will receive the CCC's automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships, set for Nov. 17 in Vancouver, Wash. The Top-12 individuals in the final meet standings will earn All-CCC honors.
