SOU comes back to win 9th men's title at CCC Championships
Final Meet Results (PDF)
ASHLAND – Despite facing a deficit after Day 1, the Southern Oregon men were primed on paper for a big finale at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships presented by U.S. Bank and delivered on Saturday to win their fourth title in five years and ninth overall on Saturday at Raider Stadium.
After trailing College of Idaho 97-88.5 after Friday’s action, the Raiders dominated in the sprints and jumps to total 189.5 points to second-place C of I’s 144 in the final standings. They had double-winners in Matt East (200, 400) and Zach Beltz (long jump, triple jump), swept the relays and got a record-setting performance from Dwight Shaw in the 100. When it was all said and done, 92 of their points came from the 100, 200, 400 and relays. Grier Gatlin was named Coach of the Year.
Northwest (Wash.) junior TJ Randle was voted Track Athlete of the Meet after winning the 110-meter hurdles Friday and setting a 400-hurdle meet record on Saturday. Corban junior Jason Bracken – the high jump champion and third-place finisher in the discus and decathlon, responsible for 30 points overall – was the Field Athlete of the Meet.
C of I finished second for the first time in team history, beating out third-place Eastern Oregon (139.5) and fourth-place Corban (126).
Below is a recap of Saturday’s events in the order they unfolded.
Javelin: EOU ran up the score with four of the top six, and Mounties senior Pancho Saldana defended his title with a mark of 207-7 on his final throw – a season best by one inch for last year’s NAIA runner-up. NCU junior Christian Hackney went 199-9 for runner-up status, and EOU sophomore Kolton Cobb earned All-CCC accolades with a throw of 180-6 for third place.
Triple Jump: With a best of 46 feet 5 ¼ inches on his first attempt, SOU sophomore Zach Beltz became the first individual to ever win the triple and the long jump at the same CCC Championship meet. Corban scored 19 points in the event and had the other two All-CCC performers, freshman Regan Shira (44-2) and senior Timothy Yee (42-11).
Pole Vault: After defending his decathlon title a few weeks ago in Hermiston, OIT’s Seth Gretz scored the Owls’ first pole vault win since 2001 by clearing 15-5 on his first attempt. EOU freshman Lucas Hidalgo cleared the same height but did so on his second attempt, giving him second place, and another Mountaineer freshman, Porter Cline (14-7 ¼), took placed third.
Discus: C of I had three top-five finishers, led by champion Josh Brown (160-5) and second place Juston Lindsley (160-3), who both established new season bests. In third place, Corban’s Jason Bracken (145-3) was All-CCC for the second year in a row.
100 Meters: The most loaded field in the history of the CCC Championships did not disappoint. The old meet record of 10.75 was cleared by each of the top three seeds: SOU’s Dwight Shaw (10.55) and Matt East (10.56) and EOU’s Jebarri Cumberbatch (10.58), who are all automatic qualifiers for the NAIA Championships. The Raiders also took fourth and fifth place with Cameron Bremner (10.76) and Eli Chapman (10.88), totaling 28 points in the event. Seven different Raiders have won the 100 in the last nine years.
800 Meters: EOU freshman Thomas Morrell III earned the Mountaineers’ second 800 win in three years with a time of 1:54.30, and SOU’s Gary Fanelli was the runner-up for the second straight season in 1:55.04. NCU’s Luke Sparks (1:55.25) edged OIT’s Paul Wyatt (1:55.36) for third. EOU picked up 17 points in the race.
400-Meter Hurdles: Northwest’s TJ Randle, the Track Athlete of the Meet, earned his second victory of the meet and the Eagles’ first-ever in the 400 hurdles with a new personal best of 52.45 that ranks second in the NAIA and broke the meet record. Corban freshman Michael Schmidt (56.07) placed second and NCU’s Micah Jury (56.25) was third.
200 Meters: In another spring filled with Raiders, SOU tacked on 26 more points and Matt East earned his second individual title of the meet in 21.65 seconds. SOU’s Cameron Bremner was the runner-up in 21.94 and EOU’s Jebarri Cumberbatch (22.07) was third – both repeating as All-CCC performers in the event.
5,000 Meters: After coming in with the No. 9 seed, NCU’s Garrett Kraal cruised in for the upset win in 14:54.77 for the Beacons’ first 5K title and an NAIA provisional-qualifying mark. Runner-up Noah Oberriter (14:57.25) also improved his ‘B’ standard, and EOU’s Nic Maszk (15:01.56) placed third as the No. 7 seed.
4x400-Meter Relay: With its first NAIA ‘A’ time of the season, SOU won by nearly three seconds in 3:15.84 for its first 4x4 title since 2005 and a relay sweep behind All-CCC runners Matt East, Gary Fanelli, Cameron Bremner and Cedric Quartey. EOU (3:18.70) was second, well ahead of third-place Corban (3:21.71).
Men's Team Scores: 1. Southern Oregon 189.5, 2. College of Idaho 144, 3. Eastern Oregon 139.5, 4. Corban 126, 5. Oregon Tech 100, 6. Northwest Christian 72, 7. Northwest (Wash.) 22, 8. Warner Pacific 12, 9. Evergreen 10, 10. Multnomah 3
Men's Coach of the Year: Grier Gatlin, SOU
Men's Field Athlete of the Meet: Jason Bracken, Corban
Men's Track Athlete of the Meet: TJ Randle, Northwest (Wash.)