Southern Oregon Edges Eastern Oregon by Two Points to Win CCC Title
CCC Sports Information
RESULTS
HERMISTON, Ore. - A 23-point performance by Southern Oregon (SOU) in 5000m run propelled the Raiders past Eastern Oregon (EOU) in the rankings, and the Raiders held that advantage en route to collecting the 2016 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Championships presented by U.S. Bank.
SOU's 23 points in the 5000m provided a six-point (177-171) cushion, and the Raiders kept the edge until defeating EOU for the title, 189-187. College of Idaho (COI) took third with 166 points, while Corban (99) rounded out the top four. Oregon Tech (OIT) came in fifth with 81 points, while Northwest Christian (NCU) (41), Evergreen (20), Warner Pacific (WPC) (17), and Northwest (NU) (17) finalized the rankings.
Fourth-year head coach Grier Gatlin was named the CCC Men’s Track & Field Coach of the Year, as the Raiders snatched their third championship in the last four years. Meanwhile, Jared Hixon garnered track athlete of the meet honors. A senior out of California, Hixon notched two conference titles in the 1500m and 5000m. EOU's Eric England carded field athlete of the meet honors after he broke the meet record in the triple jump.
Trailing by 18 with 18 events scored, the Raiders simply dominated the 5000m run, placing four runners in the top eight. Hixon mustered the NAIA “A” standard time of 14:30.42 to take first overall, while Dylan Alexander took second with a “B” standard mark of 14:45.42. In addition, Ryan Alexander and Connor Cushman finished fifth and eighth, respectively,
Earlier in the day, EOU passed SOU for second in the rankings after the completion of the javelin throw, as Pancho Saldana and Austin Kilcup went 1-3 with NAIA “A” standard marks of 61.01m and 57.33m, respectively.
Shortly after, England set a new meet record in the triple jump, leaping 15.87m (52-1) followed by a fellow Mountaineer in Hakeem Belle (14.58m).
NU’s Jonathan Ferguson collected 10 points for the Eagles after finishing first in the 800m run with a time of 1:55.01, while SOU’s Gary Fanelli and Matt Williams took second and third, respectively.
With 15 events scored, the Mountaineers led by 14 (140-126) over SOU after Jebarri Cumberbatch sprinted his way to a conference title in the 100m dash with a time of 11.14, while three Raiders went 2-3-4 to tack on 19 points.
The Warriors of Corban tossed 1-2 finishes in the discus, with Dane Walker taking first with a “B” standard hurl of 47.30m. Meanwhile, Jason Bracken edged COI’s Andrew Galloway with a top mark of 45.22m to take second overall.
EOU kept a double-digit advantage (159-146) over SOU after the 400m hurdles, as Ryan Rosenau captured first place with a “A” standard mark of 52.82. Corban’s Christian Bohuslavizki clocked second, notching the “B” standard time (54.37) in the process.
A wild 200m dash saw EOU’s Jebarri Cumberbatch (21.89) direct the pack for most of the way until the very end, as Corban’s Nathan Martin (21.80) sped to the front in the final 10m just before the finish line.
In the pole vault, COI’s Joseph Bolin (4.45m) and Tyler Amrhein went 1-2, while SOU’s Joe Dotson tacked on a critical four points late for the Raiders.
To cap the meet, EOU’s 4x400m relay team downed SOU with a winning time of 3:20.30, however, the eight points for the Raiders paid huge dividends for the final count.