Concordia's Eric Burck, the top CCC finisher at last year's NAIA Region I meet, leads the 22nd-ranked Cavaliers into the 2008 season. CU opens Friday at the Summer's End Invitational in Monmouth, Ore.
CCC '08 Cross Country Gets Underway Friday
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Click here for NAIA men's preseason Top 25 poll.
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Click here for the composite CCC cross country schedule.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Concordia will be the first CCC cross country program off the starting line this season, as the Cavaliers participate in the Western Oregon University Summer’s End Invitational at Monmouth Friday evening. Among those in the field include NCAA members WOU, Portland, Portland State, Linfield and Lewis & Clark. The women’s 5K race begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men’s 8K race at 6 p.m. Concordia’s men's team is ranked 22nd nationally in the NAIA’s preseason Top 25 poll.
Fiver other CCC programs -- College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon, Evergreen, Northwest and Oregon Tech -- open their respective seasons Saturday, Sept. 6.
Notes on each of this year's CCC teams:
Cascade: Second-year coach Bryant Howard has young rosters but feels the pieces are in place for an improved 2008 season … on the men’s side, the T-Birds are led by Eric Lagerstrom, who is coming off a terrific spring track season and who continued to blossom in the summer … Lagerstrom, who won the Hagg Lake and University of Oregon triathlons over the summer, will compete in the national triathlon championships this fall after a second-place finish in 2007.
College of Idaho: High expectations in Caldwell, Idaho, as the women are ranked 11th nationally and the men are picked to finish second in the CCC … the men must replace the top two runners from 2007 but will have outstanding depth … the women return four All-CCC performers from last year’s league runner-up squad, including individual champion Stephanie Helm.
Concordia: The Cavalier men’s team was tabbed 22nd nationally in the NAIA’s preseason Top 25 poll … the leading returnee is Eric Burck, the top CCC runner at the NAIA Region I meet in 2007 … Burck heads a strong returning corps, and coach Randy Dalzell has brought in a number of transfers to strengthen the squad and will have a number of redshirts from last year available … CU also had a strong recruiting class on the women’s side, including Linsie Michels, a transfer from Concordia-Irvine who was the Oregon state high school champion in 2006.
Corban: On the women’s side, Corban was ranked tied for 27th in the preseason NAIA poll, marking the seventh straight poll the Warriors have been in the nation’s top 40 … junior Carli Moller, who has competed as an individual at the last two national championships, leads a women’s squad that was picked third in the preseason CCC poll … the men’s team returns everyone from 2007.
Eastern Oregon: The Mountaineers are listed in the NAIA Top 25 on both the men’s (eighth) and women’s (13th) sides … EOU swept the CCC league titles last year for the sixth time since ’94 … 2007 CCC runner-up Marcella Bosch, who has run at nationals each of the last three years, leads the women’s team … head coach Ben Welch feels he has the depth to have an even stronger men’s team than in 2007.
Evergreen: The Geoducks return four on the men’s side, including All-CCC performer Brian Rakestraw … the women’s team is shaping up to be the strongest in Evergreen history, led by All-CCC performer Emily Uhlig.
Northwest: Both the men’s and women’s teams are picked in the middle of the CCC pack … the women are led by returnees Katie Campbell, Bailey Granstrom and Joy Gebhart … the men are paced by Tyler Hart (27th at the 2007 NAIA Championships), Alex Croutworst and Sam Ade.
Northwest Christian: The Beacons, under the direction of third-year coach Heike McNeil, open their 2008 season Sept. 13 at the Lewis & Clark Invitational in Portland … the Beacons will host the NCU Invitational a week later at Dorris Ranch in Springfield.
Oregon Tech: The Owls are picked sixth in both the men’s and women’s CCC preseason polls … the top returnee for the men is sophomore Korey Humberston, who won the individual crown at the ’07 CCC championship meet and was named CCC Runner of the Year … the women return a pair of top 25 finishers from last year’s league meet – Rachel Novak and Statia Smith.
Southern Oregon: The Raiders are under the direction of new head coach Brent Ericksen, who was named SOU’s head cross country and track coach in mid-August … Ericksen comes to SOU from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, where he has served as associate head coach of both the track and cross country programs … Ericksen will take over a men’s program that is picked to finish third in the CCC this season.
Warner Pacific: Head coach Dave Lee’s men squad is comprised of three seniors, one junior, three sophomore and three freshmen … the women’s team is dominated by freshmen, with four first-year collegians on the eight-person roster … the Knights open their season Sept. 12 at the West Coast Preview in Portland.