Menlo Predicted to Win First-Ever CCC Championship
CORVALLIS, Ore. – In the first-ever Cascade Collegiate Conference Women’s Wrestling Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Menlo College was the unanimous choice to win the team title.
The Oaks made history by winning the first-ever NAIA Invitational last year and went undefeated in dual competition. Menlo produced a dominant 12 All-Americans and five champions, with eight grapplers in the NAIA Invitational finals.
Southern Oregon University – which was predicted to take second in the CCC this year with 42 points – finished eighth as a team at the Invite, while Eastern Oregon – picked fourth with 24 points – placed 13
th. University of Providence, which grabbed 35 points to sit in third place in the preseason poll, took 16
th as a team at the championship meet.
Life Pacific University earned 16 points in the poll to sit in fifth place, while Simpson University and Warner Pacific sit tied for sixth with 15 points.
Women’s wrestling became the eighth official sport in the CCC, with 2019-20 being the first year the conference sponsors the sport. Seven teams will compete in the first-ever CCC Championship Meet, held March 1, 2020, in Ashland, Ore. The 2020 NAIA Invitational will follow on March 13-14 at a site yet to be announced.
The NAIA has recognized the sport as an offering at the national level and must remain in the Invitational status for a minimum of three years. After the three years have passed, and if a minimum of forty institutions in the NAIA sponsor – there are currently 30 – it will be considered for Championship status.
2019-20 CCC Women’s Wrestling Coaches’ Preseason Poll
Team (First-place Votes) Points
1. Menlo College (7) 49 pts
2. Southern Oregon University 42 pts
3. University of Providence 35 pts
4. Eastern Oregon University 24 pts
5. Life Pacific University 16 pts
T-6. Simpson University 15 pts
T-6. Warner Pacific University 15 pts
The NAIA women’s wrestling preseason poll will be released Oct. 24.