SCHEDULE | LIVE RESULTS | TICKETS | ENTRIES

By Isaac Fernandez, Assistant SID

ASHLAND – Southern Oregon University hosts the Cascade Conference Track and Field Championships presented by U.S. Bank this weekend, with events beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday and 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at Raider Stadium.

The Raider men's and women's teams lack numbers to put themselves in contention for the team titles, but they boast a handful of top performers in the nation and program history. They're ranked in the top-15 across 11 events in the NAIA, and seven current Raiders are top-three performers on the SOU all-time list. They return seven All-CCC athletes from last year.

A look at what to watch this weekend:

SOU MEN'S GLANCE:
SPRINTS/HURDLES: Freshman Rogue Newton is SOU's top-seeded sprinter, sitting at No. 7 in the 400-meter hurdles (57.04). Coleton Urquhart – who earned his second All-CCC honor in the decathlon this year – is seeded No. 8 in the 110H (16.61). Trey Lucas, another freshman, is entered in the 200 (22.33) as well as the 400 (49.27) alongside Dylan Heath (50.14). The No. 5-seeded 4x400 relay team, comprising Heath, Rafe Blandini, Newton, and Lucas, will attempt for All-CCC honors to cap off the meet.

DISTANCE: Frankie Maciel has been on a hot streak the past four weeks — claiming the No. 2 spots on SOU's all-time 5,000-meter list (14:14.98) and 10,000-meter list (30:26.18), becoming an NAIA qualifier in both races, and running an 800-meter personal best (1:55.10). After two runner-up finishes last spring, he returns as the top runner in the 5K and No. 4 seed in the 1,500. Considering his upward trajectory and that his 1,500 personal best of 3:52.62 was run at Raider Stadium, pulling off the double is a real possibility for the senior.  

Mason Weisgerber joins Maciel in the 1,500 and 5K as the Nos. 9 and 2 seeds. The true sophomore ran a 13-second personal best and SOU No. 3 time of 14:15.92 last weekend at the Oregon State High Performance meet.

The duo can be the first pair of Raiders to go one and two in the 5K since 2016, but they'll need to hold off College of Idaho's No. 3-seeded Daniel Butler (14:21.36) and the 2023 conference champion and 29:31 10K runner in Eastern Oregon's Justin Ash. Keep an eye on the clock; an honest pace from the front pack puts the meet record of 14:26.79 in danger.

JUMPS: After earning his second All-America honors at the NAIA Indoor Championships earlier this year, Carson Le Bel looks to defend his conference championship in pole vault. The Rogue Valley native is tied for third on the NAIA performance list, second on the Raiders' all-time list, and is the only vaulter in the Cascade Conference this year to clear 5 meters (16-4 ¾). He's joined by two-time All-CCC vaulter Keith Soreson, a No. 6 seed at 4.50 meters.

Away from the pole vault pit, Le Bel returns to high jump (1.90m) after a fifth-place finish last year. JaQuieze Holland is triple and long jumping for the Raiders.

THROWS: Kobe Johnson is the top thrower to watch, coming in as the No. 2 seed for shot put at 16.11 meters (52-10 ¼). The senior finished first in SOU's last three meets and threw a personal best and NAIA 'B' mark. Although this is his first conference championship for the Raiders, Johnson has previous championship experience, taking second in shot at the NWAC Championships in 2022 and 2023 while competing for Lane Community College. Coleton Urquhart is entered in discus and shot put, and Derrick Bennett is throwing hammer and shot put.

SOU MEN'S ENTRIES/SEEDS
200m — 13. Trey Lucas, 22.33
400m — 10. Trey Lucas, 49.27; 16. Dylan Heath, 50.14
800m —  18. Rafe Blandini, 1:57.01
1,500m — 4. Frankie Maciel, 3:54.16; 9. Mason Weisgerber, 3:56.77
5,000m — 1. Frankie Maciel, 14:14.98; 2. Mason Weisgerber, 14:15.92; 14. Jalen Griego, 15:07.12
10,000m — 13. Asher Tatsumi, 33:09.68
110m Hurdles — 8. Coleton Urquhart, 16.61
400m Hurdles — 7. Rogue Newton, 57.04
4x100m Relay — 7. SOU (Dylan Heath, Keith Sorenson, Isaiah Hidalgo, Trey Lucas), 43.01
4x400m Relay — 5. SOU (Dylan Heath, Rafe Blandini, Rogue Newton, Trey Lucas), 3:20.76
High Jump — 5. Carson Le Bel, 1.90m
Pole Vault — 1. Carson Le Bel, 5.00m; 6. Keith Sorenson, 4.50m
Long Jump — 9. JaQuieze Holland, 6.60m; 12. Coleton Urquhart, 6.47m
Triple Jump — 6. JaQuieze Holland, 12.88m
Discus — 8. Coleton Urquhart, 39.16m
Shot Put — 2. Kobe Johnson, 16.11m; 13. Derrick Bennett, 13.04m; 16. Coleton Urquhart, 12.53m
Hammer — 13. Derrick Bennett, 41.04m

SOU WOMEN'S GLANCE:
SPRINTS/HURDLES: Gracie Freudenthal is entered in the 400H (1:08.27) for the second consecutive year. The senior ran her best time of the year for the event last week at the Linfield Open and a personal best in the 400 (1:02.93) last month.

DISTANCE: Cammeo Ramirez and Alyssa Johnson return to run the 5K, but this time they're toeing the line as cross country All-Americans and the Nos. 2 and 3 women on SOU's all-time 5K list. Separated by just ticks of a second, Ramirez (17:02.64) and Johnson (17:02.83) were less than four seconds off of the 'A' standard last weekend at the Oregon State High Performance meet. The pair is seeded Nos. 2 and 3 behind Evergreen State's Alauna Carstens (16:55.87) and ahead of College of Idaho's Kahea Figueira (17:05.39). Ramirez and Johnson first take on the 1,500, where they're seeded Nos. 7 (4:39.87) and 9 (4:45.86), respectively. Mercedes Harms is entered in the 10K (41:25.34).

JUMPS: No. 2-seeded Katherine Martinez is the returning CCC runner-up and now, SOU record holder in pole vault at 3.75 meters (12-3 ½).  She's joined by newcomer Sydney Perkins, who's seeded No. 4, and senior Gabi Hansen.

THROWS: Ilyhia Greely represents SOU in discus and hammer for the second consecutive year. She's the No. 4 seed in discus (39.71m) and looks to replicate an All-CCC finish after placing second last year. Greely comes off a win at the Linfield Open, and her best of 43.17m comes from Raider Stadium. She's the No. 7 seed in hammer (45.46m).

ABI STEVENS: Perhaps it would be more fitting to dedicate a section of the Raiders' preview solely to Stevens. She's already given the women's team a 10-point head start in the scoring column after winning her first CCC title in the heptathlon at the Multi-Events Championship. She's already a nine-time All-CCC performer. And in her final competition at Raider Stadium, the NAIA West Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year can stand on the podium three more times.  She's the No. 2 seed and looks to secure her first CCC honors in the 100H after running a personal best time of 14.79 at the John Knight Twilight. She's seeded second in the high jump (1.71m) and has finished runner-up the past three years. And she's seeded third in the long jump (5.67m), an event she already has an All-Conference nod for.

SOU WOMEN'S ENTRIES/SEEDS
1,500m — 7. Cammeo Ramirez, 4:39.87; 9. Alyssa Johnson, 4:45.86
5,000m — 2. Cammeo Ramirez, 17:02.64, 3. Alyssa Johnson, 17:02.84
10,000m — 9. Mercedes Harms, 41:25.34
100m Hurdles — 2. Abi Stevens, 14.79
400m Hurdles — 8. Gracie Freudenthal, 1:08.27
High Jump — 2. Abi Stevens, 1.71m
Pole Vault — 2. Katherine Martinez, 3.75m; 4. Sydney Perkins, 3.60m; 11. Gabi Hansen 3.00m
Long Jump — 3. Abi Stevens, 5.67m
Discus — 4. Ilyhia Greely, 39.71m
Hammer — 7. Ilyhia Greely, 45.46m