CASCADE CONFERENCE XC CHAMPIONSHIPS

Oak Knoll Golf Course | Independence, Oregon | Live Results

10 a.m. – Women's 6K | 11 a.m. Friday – Men's 8K

ASHLAND — The cross country postseason begins Friday as Southern Oregon University travels to Independence, Oregon, for the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships presented by U.S. Bank at Oak Knoll Golf Course. 

The women's 6,000-meter race features four NAIA Top 25 teams with No. 5 College of Idaho eyeing a seventh consecutive title. The men's 8,000-meter race boasts five Top 25 teams with No. 12 College of Idaho – the reigning NAIA champions – looking to defend its CCC title. The women's 6K kicks off at 10 a.m. and the men's 8K follows at 11 a.m.

Format: The first five finishers for each team contribute to their team's score, and the team champion gets an automatic spot at the NAIA Championships on Nov. 21 in Tallahassee, Fla. The remaining squads will have to secure at-large bids, which will likely be awarded to teams included in next week's final Top 25 polls. The top-15 overall placers are considered All-Cascade Conference on both sides, and the top-four All-CCC runners on teams that don't qualify for the NAIA Championships (automatic or at-large) will get automatic individual berths in the national meet.

SOU WOMEN AT A GLANCE

Lineup (previous CCC Championship finishes in parentheses): Alaina Casady, Alyssa Johnson (14th, 2023; 2nd, 2024), Izzie Calingasan, Ashley Jentzsch (46th, 2023; 37th, 2024), Emily Picard, Kayla Gorchels, Mercedes Harms (41st, 2023; 34th, 2024), Natalie Sandeen, Sophia Stubblefield

NAIA Rankings: No. 5 College of Idaho, No. 16 Eastern Oregon, No. 18 Southern Oregon, No. 22 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), RV Oregon Tech, RV Corban

History: The Raiders are still searching for their first conference title after consistently finishing runner-up since the 2018 season. In their 2024 performance, they took second with 83 points – beating out Lewis-Clark State in a tiebreaker – to C of I's 25 points. The Raiders have produced one individual CCC champion in team history: Jessa Perkinson, who won the 2017 race.

Outlook: Although the Raiders return a three-time NAIA All-American in Alyssa Johnson, it still may not be enough to disrupt No. 5 College of Idaho's reign of dominance, as they're projected to place all five scorers in the top-15. In SOU's last head-to-head with conference teams at the Charles Bowles Invite, College of Idaho emerged ahead, placing sixth with 172 points. The Raiders placed 10th with 334 points to edge out 11th place Oregon Tech's 357 points but didn't do enough to pass 9th place Eastern Oregon who scored 287 points. 

Johnson is the returning runner-up and looks to upset one of the NAIA's top runners in Evergreen State's Alauna Carstens. She's backed by Sophie Stubblefield who can potentially secure a top-five finish. Freshman Alaina Casady will also be looking to sneak into the top-15 to earn All-Conference honors. 

Individual Notes

• This season, Alyssa Johnson has two race victories, establishing the course record at the Simpson University Invitational (24:00.7) and clearing second place by 30 seconds at the Jim Hunt Humboldt Invitational (23:33.03), coming up eight seconds short of the course record there. At the Highlander Invitational, she ran a 36-second personal best to set a new SOU program record (21:05.8) and also ranks No. 2 on the SOU cross country all-time 5K list after running 17:45.2 at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational. She's a two-time All-Conference runner and was runner-up in last year's championship. 

• In just her first 6K as a Raider, Sophia Stubblefield landed No. 5 on the SOU All-Time 6K list with a time of 21:51. It was a 67-second personal best for the sophomore transfer from Oregon State, as she's finished second for the Raiders in her two outings this season. In her SOU debut, she ran a collegiate personal best of 18:41 at the Charles Bowles Invite. 

• Alaina Casady turned in the fifth fastest time for an SOU freshman over 6,000 meters after running 22:43 at the Highlander Invitational. She finished third overall at the Jim Hunt Humboldt Invitational (23:17) and was SOU's third scorer in the last two meets. 

• Another freshman, Emily Picard, has improved in every 6K so far this season, culminating with a personal best of 23:18 at the Highlander Invitational. 

• Ashley Jentzsch ran a 40-second 6K personal best of 23:41 at SOU's last outing. The junior from La Pine has scored in every meet for the Raiders this year.

Top 15 Times in the Cascade Conference

1	Alauna Carstens	20:15	Jr		Evergreen State
2	Alyssa Johnson	21:05	Jr		Southern Oregon
3	Riley Morris	21:30	Sr		Eastern Oregon
4	Rozzlyn Cazier	21:37	Jr		College of Idaho
5	Abigail Oosterhout	21:42	Sr		Corban
6	Sophia Stubblefield	21:51	So		Southern Oregon
7	Damaris Kibiwot	21:54	So		Lewis-Clark
8	Julia Gilbert	21:59	Jr		College of Idaho
9	Saundra Parsons	22:00	Jr		Oregon Tech
10	Ainsley Bowen	22:05	Fr		College of Idaho
11	Kylee Quinton	22:07	Jr		College of Idaho
12	Kaleah Hines	22:18	Jr		Eastern Oregon
13	Rachel Elliott	22:27	Jr		Northwest
14	Paiten Braseth	22:30	Fr		College of Idaho
15	Charis Childers	22:33	Jr		Oregon Tech

SOU MEN AT A GLANCE

Lineup (previous CCC Championship finishes in parentheses): Carter Stedman, Dominic Vaughn-Luma, Gus Blank, Hayden Roth (58th, 2024), Josh Hepner, Logan Huffman (49th, 2024), Mason Weisgerber (8th, 2023; 21st, 2024), Trenton Abraham (55th, 2024)

NAIA Rankings: No. 9 Southern Oregon, No. 10 Eastern Oregon, No. 12 College of Idaho, No. 15 Trinity Western, No. 20 Corban, RV Northwest

History: The Raiders last won the CCC title in 2022, but have failed to advance a team to the NAIA Championships in the two years following. Last year, they finished fifth with 148 points while the eventual NAIA Champions in College of Idaho, finished first with 24 points. Over the previous 12 years, they produced three individual champions: Eric Avila (2013), Ray Schireman (2015) and Isaac Fernandez (2022).

Outlook: Truth be told, the Cascade Conference is an NAIA powerhouse, and this year's conference title is really up for grabs. On paper, Southern Oregon is the top team to beat, but they have yet to surpass College of Idaho in head-to-head racing since 2022, including this year's Charles Bowles Invite where the Yotes placed third with 129 points and the Raiders sixth with 210 points. The CCC also features six of the current top-10 athletes in the NAIA with Trinity Western's Yemane Mulugeta topping the list (23:34). 

The Raiders can win their first title since 2022 and 14th overall, but they'll need to be close to perfect. Luckily, they have two runners who can take legitimate stabs at the individual title in both Carter Stedman and Mason Weisgerber. They're two of seven athletes in the NAIA that have cracked the 24 minute mark for 8K, and Weisgerber is one of the top returners from the CCC after being the only returning All-American in the 5K from last spring's track season. Josh Hepner has exceeded expectations for his freshman season and will be vying for a top-10 finish. Even if Stedman, Weisgerber, and Hepner secure All-Conference honors, Trenton Abraham and Hayden Roth will need great days as SOU's fourth and fifth runners for any chance at a team title.   

Individual Notes: 

• Carter Stedman's inaugural season as a Raider has been one to remember. The junior transfer from Northwest Nazarene secured a top-10 finish at the highly competitive Highlander Invitational, finishing eighth in a program record time of 23:47.9 for 8,000 meters. He won the Simpson University Invitational (26:32), placed second at the Jim Hunt Humboldt Invite (24:45), and took 19th (24:22) at the Charles Bowles Invite. He's run the third fastest time in the NAIA this year. 

• In Mason Weisgerber's last two outings, he placed ninth in both the Charles Bowles Invitational (24:03) and the Highlander Invitational (23:49), the latter being the second fastest 8K time in SOU history and under the previous program record. His new personal best of 23:49 is over one minute faster than any time he ran last season. It's also the fifth best mark in the NAIA. Weisgerber earned All-Conference in 2023 after an eighth place finish. 

• Josh Hepner ran the second fastest 8K time for a freshman in Raider history after running 24:40 at the Highlander Invitational. It's also the sixth fastest time for a freshman in the NAIA and makes him the top ranked freshman in the Cascade Conference. He placed third at the Simpson University Invitational (26:58), fourth at the Humboldt Invite (25:43), 37th at the Charles Bowles Invite (24:51) and 57th at the Highlander Invitational. 

• Hayden Roth and Trenton Abraham both dipped into the 25-minute range for 8K this year, running 25:43 and 25:45, respectively. Roth's new personal best is a minute improvement and Abraham's is over 75 seconds compared to last year's bests.

Top 15 Times in the Cascade Conference

1	Yemane Mulugeta	23:34	So		Trinity Western
2	Justin Kiplagat	23:47	Jr		Trinity Western
3	Carter Stedman	23:47	Jr		Southern Oregon
4	Mason Weisgerber	23:49	Jr		Southern Oregon
5	Jack Gladfelter	23:49	Jr		Corban
6	Thomas Ogden	24:07	Sr		Eastern Oregon
7	Zander Moha	24:12	Sr		Corban
8	David Mutai	24:17	Jr		Trinity Western
9	Grady Greenwood	24:18	So		Eastern Oregon
10	Collin De Julio	24:19	Jr		College of Idaho
11	Isaac Anttonen	24:21	So		College of Idaho
12	Oclan Ryan	24:33	Jr		College of Idaho
13	William Lanser	24:36	So		Northwest
14	Josh Hepner	24:40	Fr		Southern Oregon
15	Max Baeder	24:41	Jr		Evergreen State