GRESHAM, Ore. – A sunny Earl Klapstein Stadium at Mt. Hood Community College provided the perfect setting for day 2 of the Cascade Collegiate Conference track and field championships.

Concordia’s Lauren Moran started the day with a top finish and a new meet record in the 3k steeplechase with a time of 11:14.59, breaking the old mark of 11:26.37 that EOU’s Stephanie Windle set just last year. Moran was followed by The College of Idaho’s Molly Lee-Painter (11:27.96) and Kristine Smith (11:57.58).

The men’s 3k steeplechase meet record fell moments later as Eastern Oregon’s Cam Starner clocked in at 9:17.28, which bested the 2005 mark of 9:19.35 by C of I’s David Fluckinger. The battle for second and third was very close as Warner Pacific’s Jonathan Graves (9:35.06) edged Chris Paterson from Southern Oregon (9:35.08).

Curtis Fisher gave Warner Pacific its first individual title of the weekend with a first place finish in the men’s long jump (22 feet 3 inches). A pair of Oregon Tech athletes finished second and third; Matt Estes at 20-11 ¼, and Matt Schubert at 20-10 ½.

Concordia continued its dominance of throwing events with a first place in the women’s hammer by Sharayah Kenady (158-8). Greg Schultz of Concordia won the men’s hammer throw for the fourth year in a row with a hurl of 191 feet 11 inches. Eastern Oregon teammates Trisha Harshberger (146-1) and Marybeth Nash (131-9) scored second and third finishes on the women’s side for the Mountaineers, and EOU’s Chris Dilley (187-10), and CU’s discus champ Nik Kay (165-8)scored a third place for the men.

Eastern Oregon garnered an event win as Cayla Weissert repeated her 2008 championship in the pole vault with a clearance of 11 feet 7 inches. Southern Oregon scored well in the event with a two-three finish by Jamie Wells (11-5), and JoLena Boatsman (10-11).

A quality field in the women’s 1500 meter run saw 5 competitors break the previous meet record (4:40.61) set by Tiffany Stillwater of Northwest University in 2005. Marcella Bosch ran to her fourth straight CCC championship in the event with the new meet record time of 4:34.73. She was followed by Concordia’s Andrea Scheese (4:35.88), and Sara Bates of Eastern Oregon (4:36.73). Stephanie Helm of College of Idaho (4:36.73) and Alice Taylor of Concordia (4:37.52) also bested the previous meet record.   

On the men’s side, Cameron Kreuz of Southern Oregon broke away from three Concordia runners to win the event with a time of 3:53.50. Cavalier teammates Eric Burck (3:55.02) and Jessy Brown (3:58.01) were right behind.

Warner Pacific scored an upset in the always exciting men’s 4x100m relay. The team of Cody Moore, Curtis Fisher, Cameron Hamilton, and Bobby Baskett outran the field in a time of 42.83 seconds. Eastern Oregon finished second in 43.39, and Concordia crossed in third at 43.74.

Concordia’s team of Sabrina Hoffman, Joyce Oniah, Stephanie Persaud, and Kaley Jamison paced the women’s relay field, registering a winning time of 48.34. Eastern Oregon finished second in 49.68, and Oregon Tech crossed in third with a time of 49.82.    

The CCC has a new meet record in the men’s 100m dash as Southern Oregon’s Antwun Baker blistered the track while winning his heat. His 10.75 seconds bested the previous mark of 10.82 set by Jason Gillette of Cascade College in 2002. Haley Ricker registered Warner Pacific’s first ever women’s 100 meter championship with a time of 12.53. Joyce Oniah of Concordia leaned in ahead of Eastern’s Orie Gamez by .01 seconds to earn a second place finish.    

Eastern Oregon scored big by posting a 1-2-3 sweep of the 400 meter dash. Andrew Wise ran to the win with a 49.44 time, just beating out his fellow Mounties Andrew Perri (49.51), and Fernando Morales (50.21). In the women’s 400 meters, CU’s Stephanie Persaud added another CCC championship win (she won the 100m and 200m in 2008) as she sprinted to a winning time of 57.48.

In the short hurdle events, Nikki Smith of Oregon Tech powered to a win in the 100 meters in 14.81 seconds, while Chris Wilson triumphed in the men’s 110m by sprinting to a time of 15.12.

Joyce Oniah regained the women’s long jump title for Concordia with the top mark 17 feet 4 ¾ inches. (Oniah won the event in 2006 and 2007.) Adriana Ricks (SOU) and Bianca Davis (Northwest) tied for second as each jumped 16 feet 5 ¾ inches.   

College of Idaho’s Emily McCutchan extended her first day lead in the women’s heptathlon and bested a talented field with 4014 points. Northwest’s Shayna Prause used a top javelin throw and strong overall second day to climb into second place at 3854 points. CU’s Dominique Jacoy remained in third at 3832 points.

Chris Hoppie won the decathlon title with 6324 points, leading a talented group at the end of the day by earning top finishes in the 110 hurdles and discus, plus a second in the javelin. He fended off strong competition from first day leader Ivan Staeheli of Eastern Oregon (6240 points), and Alex Waroff of Southern Oregon (6130 points).

Concordia leads the team scoring for both the men’s and women’s competition. On the men’s side the Cavaliers sit at 110 points, followed by Eastern Oregon with 81.5. The CU women have racked up 156 points, with Eastern in second at 113.

Day 3 begins tomorrow at 10:00 am starting with women’s high jump and javelin, and men’s triple jump and shot put.