MEN’S CCC CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM SCORES – RESULTS | 1. Eastern Oregon University (205), 2. Lewis Clark State College (130), 3. University of British Columbia (102), 4. Multnomah (96), 5. Southern Oregon University (86), 6. College of Idaho (77), 7. Oregon Tech (42), 7. Bushnell University (42), 9. Corban University (24), 10. Evergreen State College (2)
FINAL AWARDS
Field Athlete of the Meet – Allexander Kosel (EOU)
Track Athlete of the Meet – Donte Sol (MU)
Coach of the Year – Ben Welch (EOU)
Sportsmanship Award – Eastern Oregon University
LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University clinched their third straight CCC Championship at the 2023 Cascade Collegiate Conference Track and Field Championships presented by U.S. Bank. The Mountaineers put together a dominant team performance scoring 205 points, 75 points ahead of runner-up College of Idaho.
EOU Head Coach Ben Welch was named Coach of the Year after leading the Mounties to their third straight title and the Mounties were also awarded the Team Sportsmanship Award on the men’s side.
Adding to EOU’s lists of awards, Allex Kosel was named the Field Athlete of the Meet for EOU. The senior placed in the top five of three events in the jumps winning the long jump, taking fourth in the triple jump, and fifth in the high jump.
Multnomah’s Donte Sol was named the CCC Track Athlete of the Meet for his historic day in the sprints. Sol ran two of the fastest times in the nation in the 100 meter and 200 meter shattering the facility record in both events. He also added two more wins in the relays running anchor in both the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays.
A chronological recap of Saturday’s events is below:
JAVELIN: Corban picked up the first win of the day with Evan Olson’s 60.70-meter throw. In second, UBC’s Cameron Kuziak unleashed a throw of 59.98 meters. Both of the top two throws met “A” Standard qualifications. Taking the last All-CCC spot, EOU’s Moses McAninch recorded a mark of 54.23 meters.
TRIPLE JUMP: A pair of newcomers claimed the top two spots on the podium in the triple jump. Bushnell’s Nathan Fields, a freshman, posted a career high mark of 14.58 good for an “A” Standard. In second, posting a “B” Standard was Lewis-Clark State’s Trenton Johnson with a jump of 14.41 meters. EOU swept the spots three through five led by DJ Wilson with a jump of 13.61 meters.
100 METERS: Multnomah dominated the 100 sweeping the top three spots led by a blazing performance by Donte Sol. The sophomore finished with a time of 10.10 seconds to crush the CCC Championship record. It was also a facility record and registers as the second fastest time in the nation. His teammate Freider Fornasari-Banguera was right behind in second place with an “A” Standard time of 10.28 seconds. Daniel Dixon completed the clean sweep for Multnomah with a “B” Standard time of 10.56 seconds.
800 METERS: The Warriors of LCSC finished with the top two spots in the 800. Carter Gordon topped the podium with a time of 1:53.58 followed by Griffen Parsells with a time of 1:54.37. EOU’s Hunter Nichols earned the third spot with a time of 1:54.61 seconds.
DISCUS: UBC’s William Kizell was crowned the CCC Champion in the discus with an NAIA “B”” Standard throw of 48.80 Meters. EOU’s Mark Church took second with a “B” Standard throw of 47.60 meters. Both Kizell and Church set season highs with their first qualifying marks. In third was EOU’s Tanner Nett earning another All-CCC award with a throw of 45.36 meters.
400-METER HURDLES: LCSC’s Ike Hopper earned the title of CCC Champion in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.95 seconds. SOU’s Cade O’Connor was the runner up with a time of 55.30 seconds. Coming in third was Bryson Spears with a time of 56.70 seconds.
200 METERS: Multnomah’s Donte Sol made his case as the fastest man in the NAIA Saturday afternoon in the 200 after a dominant 100 performance. The sophomore ran the fastest time in the nation this season at 20.37 seconds (“A” Standard) also setting a facility record at Banner Bank Track. His teammate Freider Fornasari-Banguera wasn’t far behind, also breaking the facility record with a time of 20.83 seconds. LCSC’s London Kirk denied Multnomah a sweep in the 200 finishing third with a time of 21.21 seconds (“A” Standard).
5,000 METERS: EOU controlled the 5,000 meter-run finishing in the top two spots. Justin Ash won the race with a time of 15:20.45. His Mountie teammate Cristian Mendoza finished right behind him with a time of 15:22.17. In third the College of Idaho’s Braden Heath finished on the heels of Mendoza with a time of 15:22.67.
POLE VAULT: OIT wrapped up a strong day of performances with a win in the pole vault. Chris Martinez cleared an NAIA “B” Standard height of 4.70 meters for the first time this season. In second SOU’s Keith Sorenson cleared 4.50 meters. A third-place tie between Cody Le Bel (SOU), Eli Stevens (OIT), and Nik Bertling (LCSC) wrapped up the event and All-CCC selections.
4x400-METER RELAY: Multnomah finished a dominant day on the track with a victory in the 4x400-meter relay. The lions’ squad consisting of Donte Sol, Daniel Dixon, Freider Fornasari-Banguera, and Roderick Soto eclipsed Lewis-Clark State in the final lap clinching the win with a time of 3:16.17 (“B” Standard). LC State also earned a “B” Standard with time of 3:16.17. In third, College of Idaho earned All-CCC honors with a time of 3:21.48.
The NAIA Track and Field Championships will take place May 24-26 at Indiana Wesleyan University in
Marion, Indiana.