PORTLAND, Ore. – The men’s and women’s programs at Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho are favored to lead the pack during the upcoming Cascade Collegiate Conference cross country season, according to a poll of the league’s head coaches.
On the men’s side, EOU and the C of I were voted to finish 1-2 in the conference race, while on the women’s side the balloting for the top two positions was reversed, with the Yotes expected to nab their first league crown and the Mountaineers tabbed for a runner-up finish. Southern Oregon, Concordia and Corban rounded out the top five on the men’s side; Corban, Concordia and Northwest rounded out the top five in the women’s balloting.
Under the guidance of veteran coach Ben Welch, Eastern Oregon has been the CCC’s dominant program, winning 11 of 14 men’s titles and seven of 14 women’s crowns since the first championship in 1994. Last year, the Mounties swept the CCC’s league championship meets for the sixth time. In 17 seasons as head coach, Welch has led EOU teams to the national championships 23 times – 14 for the men, nine for the women.
In 2008, the Mountaineer men are expected to be led by returnees Doug Benson, Justin Dean, Zach Heath and Cam Starner. Welch also brought in a strong recruiting class, and will gain depth with the return of a pair of redshirts from 2007. The EOU women will be led by three-time NAIA national championship participant Marcella Bosch (42nd at nationals in 2007).
College of Idaho coach Pat McCurry, who ran for and coached with Welch at Eastern Oregon, has made dramatic progress in developing national-quality men’s and women’s programs since reviving the Yotes’ program in 2004. The C of I men have advanced to the national championships two of the past three seasons, while the women’s program just narrowly missed an at-large bid a year ago.
On the women’s side, the Lady Yotes return four All-CCC performers from 2007, including CCC Athlete of the Year Stephanie Helm, who won the league’s individual crown and placed 31st at the NAIA Championships. The addition of newcomers Maggie Miller and Kayloni Jones should not only make the Yotes a force in the CCC, but also a possible Top 10 team. On the men’s side, the Yotes must replace their top two runners from a year ago, but Geoff Williams, Sam Hardy and Paul Sartin are expected to step up, while newcomer Zeke Wilson was the top cross country recruit in the state of Idaho in 2008.
Says McCurry: “This women's group has all the makings you look for minus one -- experience. But we are good up front, deep, and they are racers, so hopefully our lack of experience won't catch up to us as much with those cards in our hand. With our men, we lost our up-front power with Jesse Chlebeck and Tyler Hopper, but we had a strong recruiting year and we have Sam Hardy back healthy. Our depth should actually be the best we've had since I've been here.”
The 2008 CCC Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 8 at Lincoln Park in Seattle. Under the NAIA’s new conference-direct qualification plan, in which regional postseason qualifying events have been eliminated, the CCC men’s and women’s champions will earn the league’s automatic bids to the NAIA Championships. The national championships will be Nov. 22 in Kenosha, Wis.
2008 CCC Preseason Cross Country Polls
| Men’s Cross Country |
Pts |
| 1. Eastern Oregon (10) |
119 |
| 2. College of Idaho |
100 |
| 3. Southern Oregon |
99 |
| 4. Concordia (1) |
85 |
| 5. Corban |
69 |
| 6. Northwest |
60 |
| 6. Oregon Tech |
60 |
| 8. Evergreen |
54 |
| 9. Warner Pacific |
39 |
| 10. Cascade |
27 |
| 11. Northwest Christian |
14 |
Women’s Cross Country |
Pts |
| 1. College of Idaho (7) |
117 |
| 2. Eastern Oregon (4) |
113 |
| 3. Corban |
96 |
| 4. Concordia |
80 |
| 5. Northwest |
66 |
| 6. Oregon Tech |
64 |
| 7. Evergreen |
61 |
| 8. Cascade |
39 |
| 9. Southern Oregon |
33 |
| 10. Northwest Christian |
31 |
| 11. Warner Pacific |
26 |
| First place votes in parentheses |