SOU won its eighth-straight CCC Championship in men's cross country. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
SALEM, Ore. – The Southern Oregon University men’s cross country team continued its dominance of the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) by winning its eighth-consecutive CCC Championship on a rainy Saturday at Corban University. While boasting the top overall individual in the race in Ray Schireman, the Raiders scored 29 team points in an exciting finish to the CCC Championship race.
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Schireman came from behind to defeat College of Idaho’s Max Hampton, who led for much of the race, but Schireman ultimately crossed the finish line in a championship time of 25:27.7, finishing eight seconds ahead of Hampton who took second overall. For Schireman, it was a big race for him after finishing in 12th place overall at last year’s CCC Championships.
Along with Schireman’s effort, performing well for the Raiders was Connor Cushman who took fourth overall with a time of 26:03.8, while Jared Hixon clocked a time of 26:06.8 to take sixth overall.
With the CCC Championship, the Raiders garner the automatic berth to the NAIA Championships.
The Yotes of College of Idaho put forth a fantastic effort, taking second as a team with Hampton (25:35) as the second individual, fifth with Austin Fred (26:05.2), and eighth overall with Billy Godfrey crossing the finish line in a time of 25:25.6. As a team, C of I totaled 48 points, just 19 points behind the Raiders.
Rounding out the team finishes was Northwest Christian University in third place with 102 points, marking the highest the Beacons have ever finished. In fourth was Eastern Oregon University, as the Mountaineers really came on strong at the championships with 113 total team points. Oregon Tech finished fifth (125 points), Corban University sixth (136 points), Northwest University seventh (175 points), and Warner Pacific College eighth (255 points).
All-Conference Honorees:
1. Ray Schireman (SOU)
2. Max Hampton (COI)
3. Garrett Kraal (NCU)
4. Connor Cushman (SOU)
5. Austin Fred (COI)
6. Jared Hixon (SOU)
7. Trevor Lynn (SOU)
8. Billy Godfrey (COI)
9. Kody Shriver (EOU)
10. Jack Howard (EOU)
11. Eli Stillman (SOU)
12. Zach Boyd-Helm (SOU)
CCC Runner of the Year: Ray Schireman (SOU)
CCC Coach of the Year: Grier Gatlin (SOU)