Southern Oregon Picked to Rule Conference Men's Cross Country
LA GRANDE, Ore. –The Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s cross country coaches unanimously selected Southern Oregon University to win the CCC title for 2012.
The Raiders earned a perfect 100 points to secure the number one spot and were followed by The College of Idaho with 86 points. Concordia University and Eastern Oregon rounded out the top four with 79 and 75 points respectively. Oregon Tech (54), Corban (50), and Northwest Christian (40) were slated fifth through seventh with Warner Pacific (31), Northwest (25), and Evergreen (10) filling the final three spots.
Southern Oregon is coached by Grier Gatlin. Gatlin enters his second season after having the interim head coach tag removed this summer after a national search. The Raiders ended last season ranked No. 3 in the national post season poll after a strong third place finish at the NAIA National Cross Country meet. The defending 2010 National Champions came into the 2011 meet ranked No. 4 in the country. Southern Oregon will look to defend their Cascade Conference title and extend their streak of consecutive championships to five.
The College of Idaho may prove to be the team to dethrone Southern Oregon. Head Coach Pat McCurry welcomes a talented group of returners and newcomers to fall camp. Three time NAIA All-American and defending CCC champion, Greg Montgomery returns for his senior season after recording the highest finish by any CCC runner at the 2011 NAIA championships at 7
th place overall.
The Cascade Conference Championships will be held at Lents Park in Portland, Oregon on November 3rd. Warner Pacific College will serve as the host school. The winner of the meet will earn the automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships will be held in Vancouver, Washington on November 17
th.
|
Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll |
|
Team |
Points |
|
1. Southern Oregon (10) |
100 |
|
2. College of Idaho |
86 |
|
3. Concordia |
79 |
|
4. Eastern Oregon |
75 |
|
5. Oregon Tech |
54 |
|
6. Corban |
50 |
|
7. Northwest Christian |
40 |
|
8. Warner Pacific |
31 |
|
9. Northwest |
25 |
|
10. Evergreen |
10 |
|
Firsts place votes in parentheses |
|