CORVALLIS, Ore. – After taking the 2023 CCC Cross Country Championships, presented by U.S. Bank, Nov. 6-ranked Eastern Oregon University Men’s and No. 1-ranked College of Idaho Women’s Cross-Country were named the Co-Under Armour Teams of the Week for Oct. 30 – Nov. 5, the CCC announced Sunday.
After a 16-year drought Eastern Oregon men claimed its 13th championship victory, the first one since 2007, on Friday. With only one runner placing in the top eight, it was a total team effort, resulting in 48 total points and six Mounties earning All-CCC honors. Justin Ash paved the way with an impressive third place finish, completing the 8K course in a time of 24 minutes and 35.1 seconds.
Cristian Mendoza followed in ninth place with a time of 24 minutes and 58.4 seconds. It was a tight finish with the next EOU runners as Hunter Nichols (25:00.6), Thomas Ogden (25:00.9), and Winston Telford (25:04.2) all placed 11th, 12th, and 13th, respectively. Teammate Johnny Wind (25:18.7) rounded out the all-conference honors in 15th. Longtime head coach Ben Welch was voted the CCC Men’s Coach of the Year, collecting his 20th honor.
The Yotes claimed their fifth consecutive championship victory, and 10th all-time, in their hometown on Friday. For the third straight year, Ellyse Tingelstad defended her individual championship at Fairview Golf Course, finishing the 6K course in 20 minutes 51.5 seconds. Teammate Sage Martin (21:06.4) was also her runner-up for the third consecutive season while C of I's Abbey Shirts (21:16.4) and Kahea Figeuira (21:48.3) joined them as repeat All-CCC performers while occupying the third and fifth spots on the leaderboard, respectfully.
The Yotes amassed just 18 points and added three more All-CCC runners with Molly Connor (22:20.4) in seventh-place, Charlie Duff (22:27.7) in 10th by .04 seconds, and Julia Gilbert (22:35.9) in 13th. In his second year, head coach Dominic Bolin was voted the CCC Women's Coach of the Year for the second-straight year.
Both teams earned an automatic berth in the NAIA Championships, which the CCC is hosting in Vancouver Wash., on Nov. 17. The rest of the field, including at-large bids, will be announced next week.