CORVALLIS, Ore. – After winning its first-ever Cascade Collegiate Conference Men’s Cross Country Championship, presented by U.S. Bank, Lewis-Clark State College was picked to defend its crown in a tough conference. The Warriors grabbed eight of 10 first-place votes for 97 points to sit in the top spot of the 2021 CCC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll, released Wednesday by the conference office.
LC State looks to build on its successful season where it took eighth at NAIA nationals and returns its core group of runners, including Cole Olsen. Olsen won every race he ran leading up to nationals, including securing the CCC individual championship in the spring.
Oregon Tech picked up 83 points to sit in second, just one point in front of Southern Oregon University. The Hustlin’ Owls also return some key runners, including All-American Mark French, who led all CCC runners with a top-10 finish at nationals.
The Raiders – who opted out of the 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns – return to competition and grabbed one first-place vote and 82 points to grab the No. 3 spot.
College of Idaho follows in fourth, also grabbing a first-place vote, with 68 points, while Northwest University rounds out the top-five with 60 points. Both the Coyotes and the Eagles grabbed at-large berths to the NAIA National Championship, finishing 15
th and 17
th, respectively.
Eastern Oregon University (52 points), Corban University (39 points), and Bushnell University (30 points) fill in the next three respective spots. Multnomah University
(23 points) and Walla Walla University (10 points) close out the list at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
The 2021 CCC Men’s Cross Country Championship takes place Nov. 5, hosted by Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls, Ore. Last year, the CCC saw four teams place in the top-20 at the NAIA Championship.
2021 CCC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll
| Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. LC State (8) |
97 |
| 2. Oregon Tech |
83 |
| 3. Southern Oregon (1) |
82 |
| 4. College of Idaho (1) |
68 |
| 5. Northwest |
60 |
| 6. Eastern Oregon |
52 |
| 7. Corban |
39 |
| 8. Bushnell |
30 |
| 9. Multnomah |
23 |
| 10. Walla Walla |
10 |
