4 CCC Schools Break Into the Top 40 in Latest Directors’ Cup Standings
COMPLETE STANDINGS
Cleveland, Ohio – At the conclusion of the winter season, four Cascade Collegiate Conference schools came in ranked inside the top 40 in the final winter NAIA Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings.
Concordia University led the league with 311 total points for a No. 17 ranking, down five spots from the previous release, while College of Idaho (No. 21, 291 points), Eastern Oregon (No. 34, 227.75 points) and Southern Oregon (T37th, 217.66 points) joined the Cavaliers inside the top 40.
The first spring NAIA standings will be released Thursday, June 3, 2010 and will include golf, tennis, outdoor track & field and softball. The final standings will be released on June 23 and will include the final sport in competition, baseball.
New sports added to the point tally for the final winter edition were indoor track, swimming and wrestling. Concordia added 123 points to its haul after finishing in 11th place in women’s indoor track and field and 17th on the men’s side. C of I garnered 72 points with top 20 finishes in both swimming national championships. Eastern Oregon scored in both men’s and women’s indoor track & field with the Mountaineer men concluding the season in 18th place for 55 points and the women ending the year in 31th place for 40.75 points.
Other CCC schools represented were: Oregon Tech (T117th, 53 points), Warner Pacific (T127th, 50 points) and Evergreen State (T148th, 25 points).
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) claims the top seed in the final standings with 663 points. The Cougars recorded a winter-high 432 points after finishing in the top-10 for five sports: men’s and women’s Division I basketball, men’s and women’s track and field and women’s swimming.
Simon Fraser (B.C.) drops to second place with 583.50 points. The Clan placed third in women’s track & field, fifth in women’s swimming, sixth in men’s swimming, 22nd in wrestling and 33rd in men’s track and field for a total of 323.50 winter points.
The nine winter NAIA championships have been completed with the following institutions capturing titles: Union (Tenn.) (women’s Division I basketball); Northwestern (Iowa) (women’s Division II basketball); St. Francis (Ind.) (men’s Division II basketball); Savannah Art & Design (Ga.) (women’s swimming); Fresno Pacific (Calif.) (men’s swimming); Oklahoma Baptist (women’s track & field and men’s Division I basketball); Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (men’s track & field); and Notre Dame (Ohio) (men’s wrestling).
The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 12 sports – six women’s and six men’s.