ASHLAND -- University of British Columbia's Rebecca Dutchak and Lewis-Clark State College's Christian Bothwell became first-time Cascade Collegiate Conference champions as the CCC Multi-Event Championships presented by U.S. Bank concluded Friday afternoon at Raider Stadium.
Dutchak logged the second-highest women’s heptathlon score in CCC Championships history to win her title, heading a field in which nine athletes met the NAIA Outdoor Championships provisional-qualifying standard. Six of seven athletes competing in the men’s decathlon met the standard, and a strong finish propelled Bothwell to the top of the standings as he improved upon the third-place effort he turned in a year ago.
Dutchak, a junior making her second appearance at the meet, placed fifth in 2022 (before going on to also take fifth in the NAIA) but upped her score by nearly 400 points this time around to amass 4,845. She was the top scorer in three different disciplines – the 100-meter hurdles (14.79 seconds), the high jump (1.47 meters) and the long jump (5.48 meters) – and was top-two in five of seven. Her total stands as the best in the NAIA this season.
She edged out Southern Oregon six-time All-American Abi Stevens, a sophomore who repeated as an All-CCC performer in second place with a personal-best 4,720 points. Eastern Oregon’s Lizzy Grandle claimed the final All-CCC spot in third with 4,445 points, another PR.
EOU and SOU both accumulated 11 CCC Championship points, as the Mountaineers added a fourth-place finish from Sammy Conley (4,295) and the Raiders got a sixth-place showing from Jenna Hodges (4,265).
Bothwell, a senior who stands at No. 7 on the NAIA performance list, totaled 6,271 points in the meet – making up 332 on teammate Justin Krabbenhoft, the leader after Day 1, in the second half of the competition. Oregon Tech freshman Eli Stevens – the brother of the aforementioned Abi Stevens – climbed from fourth to second place with 6,139 points, scoring 841 more than his first decathlon attempt of the season.
Krabbenhoft took third place for All-CCC honors with 6,111 points. LCSC racked up 20 CCC Championship points as a team, also getting a fifth-place finish from Caleb Moore (6,002).
Bothwell didn’t post the highest score in any single event, but was second in five of them. In the 1,500-meter finale, his time of 4 minutes 52.06 seconds made him the runner-up behind Stevens (4:48.53), who’d also topped the field in the pole vault (4.40 meters) and the 400 meters (51.07).
Neither UBC nor LCSC had ever previously produced a CCC Multi-Events winner.
The remainder of the CCC Track and Field Championships will unfold May 12-13 in La Grande.
WOMEN’S HEPTATHLON (CCC Championship points in parentheses)
1. Rebecca Dutchak, UBC, 4,845 (10)
2. Abi Stevens, SOU, 4,720 (8)
3. Lizzy Grandle, EOU, 4,445 (6)
4. Sammy Conley, EOU, 4,296 (5)
5. Ally Odell, OIT, 4,282 (4)
6. Jenna Hodges, SOU, 4,265 (3)
7. Roby Young, CI, 4,209 (2)
8. Corona Parker, ESC, 4,096 (1)
9. Karli Bedard, EOU, 3,992
10. Sarah Pimblett, UBC, 3,548
11. Graycee Litton, CI, 3,259
12. Rachel Pletcher, CI, 2,490
MEN’S DECATHLON (CCC Championship points in parentheses)
1. Christian Bothwell, LCSC, 6,271 (10)
2. Eli Stevens, OIT, 6,139 (8)
3. Justin Krabbenhoft, LCSC, 6,111 (6)
4. Israel Miles, EOU, 6,027 (5)
5. Caleb Moore, LCSC, 6,002 (4)
6. Judson Mansfield, EOU, 5,812 (3)
7. Dean Ciarniello, UBC, 3,297 (2)