INDEPENDENCE – In one of the most competitive fields in conference history, the Southern Oregon men's cross country team put three runners in the top-seven and placed second at the Cascade Conference Championships presented by U.S. Bank on Friday morning at Oak Knoll Golf Course.  

Carter Stedman took fourth and paced the Raiders over the 8,000-meter course, finishing in 24 minutes 20.3 seconds. Mason Weisgerber placed fifth in 24:31 and freshman Josh Hepner came in seventh with a time of 24:41 — finishing as the top freshman in the circuit. All three runners earned All-CCC honors.

Eastern Oregon won the men's title, posting 71 points to claim its second trophy over the past three years. The battle for second was tight as just four points separated second and fourth place. SOU scored 89 points to edge out third-place College of Idaho's 91, fourth-place Trinity Western's (B.C.) 93, and fifth-place Corban's 108 points.

Gus Blank (25:50) finished 33rd and Logan Huffman (26:06.2) placed 41st, cracking the Raider top-5 for the first time this year. Both runners were also two of 13 runners in the entire field to set personal bests.  

The Raiders were in fourth with 99 points at the 6K mark, trailing Eastern Oregon (73), College of Idaho (83), and Trinity Western (99), but Blank managed to pass 11 competitors over the final 2,000 meters to swing the score and secure the second-place finish for SOU.

"The men's team competed really well," said head coach Grier Gatlin. "Roth and Abraham weren't at their best, but Huffman and Blank really stepped up. Hepner ran a fantastic race as well."

Three more Raiders finished after Huffman: Trenton Abraham (44th, 26:12), Hayden Roth (55th, 26:42), and Dominic Vaughn-Luma (74th, 27:51).

Despite the runner-up finish, the Raiders still posted the fastest team time of the day at 2:05:29 with a 1:45 spread.

Weisgerber's All-CCC nod is his second after an eighth-place showing in 2023.

Trinity Western's Yemane Mulugeta (24:03) and Justin Kiplagat (24:10) went one and two, while Corban's Jack Gladfelter (24:15) took third. 

The Raiders will have two weeks to prepare for the Nov. 21 NAIA Championships in Tallahassee, Fla.
 
MEN'S TEAM SCORES – 1. Eastern Oregon 71, 2. Southern Oregon 89, 3. College of Idaho 91, 4. Trinity Western (B.C.) 93, 5. Corban 108, 6. Northwest (Wash.) 148, 7. Oregon Tech 174, 8. Lewis-Clark (Idaho) 180, 9. Evergreen State (Wash) 253, 10. Walla Walla (Wash.) 263, 11. Warner Pacific 300, 12 Bushnell 357
 
SOU MEN'S 8K RESULTS (of 103 total entries)
4. Carter Stedman, 24:20.3
5. Mason Weisgerber, 24:31
7. Josh Hepner, 24:41.9
33. Gus Blank, 25:50.5
41. Logan Huffman, 26:06.2
44. Trenton Abraham, 26:12.6
55. Hayden Roth, 26:42.5
74. Dominic Vaughn-Luma, 27:51