CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Bushnell University baseball team and the Northwest University volleyball team were honored with the 2023-24 Cascade Collegiate Conference Teams of Character/Sportsmanship Award, as announced by the conference office.
The award, which recognizes one male and one female team, is voted on by the conference athletic directors after schools submit their nominations.
The third-year Beacon Baseball program has established itself as a team of strong character, gaining a high reputation on campus. Their character-related focus includes team bible studies and book clubs and as a result of their hard work in the classroom, the group has a 3.33 combined GPA. The team has been involved in numerous community service projects including volunteering for Food for Lane County at their Grassroots Garden and contributing to a FOOD For Lane County canned food drive. Their efforts to help those in need expanded to four other separate projects preparing Weekend food boxes for Springfield High School and the Eugene School District, Thanksgiving boxes for Hamilin Middle School, and buying Christmas presents as part of the athletic department’s Adopt-a-Family program. While sharing a complex with Springfield High School, the Beacon players routinely hit alongside the younger players, giving pointers, feeding the pitching machine, and throwing soft toss. This season the Baseball team was named the CCC Team Sportsmanship Award winner and won the Conference Tournament, qualifying for their first trip to the NAIA National Championship. Baseball was also named Bushnell’s Co-Team of the Year, an honor earned for a team with success in athletics and for being an example to other teams.
“This group of young men have all come together as one with a strong belief in their coaches and brotherhood. It has been a pleasure to watch them compete and celebrate their accomplishments, but more importantly finding a way to stay focused and grind during times of adversity,” stated Bushnell University Athletic Director, Corey Anderson.
Other Male Team Nominees: University of British Columbia baseball, College of Idaho golf, Corban University cross country, Lewis-Clark State College golf, Multnomah track and field
The Northwest volleyball team was given the opportunity to travel to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, during spring break of 2024 to serve alongside its mission partner and host, Yucatan Helping Hands. Members of the team partnered with Rolling Bay Presbyterian to complete the construction of a water plant for the Chalmuch Pueblo. The water plant project provides a sustainable supply of clean water, impacting the lives of 600 residents of Chalmuch and hundreds of surrounding families. Daily blogs and interviews on the trip can be found here. The team also hosted a sports camp for children and teenagers of Chalmuch. In the classroom, the team led the CCC with 10 NAIA Scholar-Athletes. This season they were also named the CCC Team Sportsmanship Award winner.
Other Female Team Nominees: University of British Columbia softball, Bushnell University beach volleyball, College of Idaho softball, Corban University volleyball, Eastern Oregon University volleyball, Lewis-Clark State College basketball, Multnomah soccer