ASHLAND — The Southern Oregon University's 10th-ranked women's cross country team will rely on veteran leadership to navigate the upcoming season. 

Last year, SOU finished second at the Cascade Conference Championships for the seventh consecutive time before turning in a 12th-place finish at the NAIA Championships. The efforts were largely fueled by multi-time All-American, Alyssa Johnson, who turned in second and 10th-place finishes, respectively.   

The Raiders are relying on Johnson to do much of the same this season while providing leadership to a relatively inexperienced group. "We're a young team," said head coach Grier Gatlin, "with six of our nine being frosh or soph". The other three women, Johnson included, are seniors

The Raiders' campaign starts at the Simpson Invitational in Cottonwood, Calif. The women's 6K will begin at 10 a.m., following the men's 8K at 9 a.m.

"We won't be at full team capacity until probably Willamette [on Oct. 3]," said Gatlin, "but most of the team will run this weekend."  Other teams in attendance include Oregon Tech, Simpson and Shasta C.C. 

"We're looking to see how Alyssa starts out," said Gatlin, "and now that Izzie [Calingasan] is healthy, I'm curious to see how much she's improved." Sophomore Calingasan only appeared in three races last season before setting multiple personal bests during track.  

The Cascade Conference Championships will be held in Lewiston, Idaho, on Nov. 6 and the NAIA Championships will be at Fort Vancouver, Wash., for the fifth time in nine years on Nov. 20. 

Other Top-25 teams in the Cascade Conference include No. 6 College of Idaho, No. 20 Eastern Oregon and No. 21 Lewis-Clark (Idaho). 

Defending champion Taylor (Ind.) is the top-ranked team.  

Top Returners: Now a six-time All-American, Alyssa Johnson returns for a final collegiate season before sending off after the fall. The senior from Veneta looks to improve upon a 10th-place finish at the NAIA Championships (21:35.70),  after building off a 32nd-place (21:41.80) finish the year prior. She's also seeking her fourth All-CCC honor and first CCC title following back-to-back second-place finishes at the Cascade Conference Championships.

Johnson finished 22nd of 258 at the Highland Invitational in a 6,000-meter program record time of 21:05.80. Before that, she earned a pair of wins at the Simpson Invite and Humboldt Invitational and set a cross country 5K personal best of 17:45.20 at the Willamette Invite. She carried that momentum into the track season, placing third in the 10K (35:32.23) and fourth in the 5K (17:23.28) at the Outdoor Championships. 

Alaina Casady finished three spots removed from All-CCC status and 84th at the NAIA Championships and Emily Picard placed 22nd and 115th, respectively. The sophomores were reliable third and fourth runners throughout the season. 

Runners to Watch: The Raiders expect freshman Ellieana Massey to make an immediate impact. While at North Bend High, she earned two top-15 finishes at the Oregon 4A Cross Country Championships and nine top-10 finishes at the track championships. With the Bulldogs, she won five cross country races throughout her career and ran a 5K personal best of 19:02.80 in a second-place effort at the Prefontaine Memorial Run. 

Izzie Calingasan appeared in three races last season, running a 6K best of 26:08.30 at the Highlander Invitational and placing 88th at the CCC Championships. During track, she set new personal bests in the 800 (2:23.36) and 1,500 (5:07.68). 

Another freshman, Meadow Baxter, ran a 5K personal best time of 19:10.70  while at Tigard High. She was a two-time OSAA 6A Cross Country State Championships qualifier, placing 46th (19:43.7) as a junior and 47th (19:45.2) as a senior 

Senior Mercedes Harms is back for her fourth season. She's competed in three consecutive NAIA Cross Country Championships and finished 260th last year. In the spring, she picked up a point in the 10K at the CCC Championships, placing eighth in 41:28.54.