Clackamas Continues Strong Running Tradition
Clackamas Women Look to Better
Last Year’s Performance
The team is looking strong with some new recruits to bring the squad to the forefront of the NWAACC. Mary Botsford, Laura Copenhagen, and Melanie Peters are coming off strong track seasons and look to carry that fitness over to the cross country season. Heidi Friesen and Crystal Spring look to have large fitness improvements over last year.
Clackamas has two NWAACC Championship teams the past seven years with second and third place finishes the other years (with exception of 2002). The Cougars also have the second best NWAACC finish record over the last ten years. The women’s distance crews have won four Southern Region Championships and runner-up five times the last eleven years.
Cross Country News
Check out the latest news on our 2009 season! View
Clackamas athletes have gone on to accomplish such results as sixth and eleventh place at the NCAA Division II National Championships in the women’s steeple chase, third place at the NAIA National Championships in the women’s 1500. Andria Scheese went on to Concordia University where she holds five school records in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
Men Look to Pack Up
The men’s team looks to be able to pack up and race together with similar talent levels. This group mentality will keep them mentally strong through a race. Paden Snell and Chris Olsen look to be the front runners for the team while Alex Seigal and Kyle Vuksich keep the middle of the pack strong.
Clackamas has finished in the top four at the NWAACC Championships over the last 11 years making them the third most consistently strong program in the NWAACC. Clackamas has also had two NWAACC Championships and two individual NWAACC Champions (Trevor Dodge and John Butkey) since 2000. CCC also won the Co-ed Combined Team Title in 2003 showing that year they were the best overall community college distance program in Oregon and Washington and were second and third for the Co-ed Combined titles in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Clackamas has the second most co-ed combined championships in the NWAACC since 1989 showing their strength among both genders.
Many Cougars compete at the the Next Level
Clackamas’ strong tradition has allowed the cross country and track and field programs to be a place that universities across the nation look to recruit. We have athletes transfer to universities such as Cal State-Long Beach, Western States College in Colorado (rated as high as the #10 collegiate cross country program in the US), University of Oregon, University of Georgia, Boise State, Western Oregon University and many others. We continually have athletes that top the national lists for USA Track and Field, NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II. Paul Kezes competed on the USA Cross Country National team joining the likes of Adam Goucher and Jorge Torres. Clackamas continues to put out highly recruited athletes due to their reputation.
The winning tradition is based on dedication and teamwork. Dedication to academics and running are keys. It is believed that success in the classroom leads to success in running. An athlete is much more motivated if they know they are going to be eligible to compete and not distressed by their academics. P.J. Martineau is our academic advisor that helps athletes plan their academics as well as transfer plans. She is a big reason for our academic success.
Please feel free to contact head coach Keoni McHone if you are interested in learning more about Clackamas and its distance program (See contacts page). If you would like to receive e-mail updates on the cross country and track programs please leave your name and e-mail address at keonim@clackamas.edu.
Academic Success
The winning tradition is based on dedication and teamwork. Dedication to academics as well as running is key. It is believed that success in the classroom leads to success in running. An athlete is much more motivated if they know they are going to be eligible to compete and not distressed by their academics. P.J. Martineau is our academic advisor that helps athletes plan their academics as well as transfer plans. She is a big reason for our academic success.
The dedication to running and teamwork is based on the philosophy that positive actions are cyclical. Positive actions keep a strong bond and everyone keeps getting better for their teammates and themselves.
Cougar Cross Country News
Follow the Cougars during 2009 season. Visit Cross Country News for the latest on Cougar Cross Country. Alternatively, you can also receive sports updates via email by contacting CCC Sports Information Director, Tracy Swisher . Please indicate which sport(s) you would like updates for.
Please feel free to contact Head Coach Keoni McHone if you are interested in learning more about Clackamas and its distance program (See contacts page). If you would like to receive e-mail updates on the cross country and track programs please leave your name and e-mail address at keonim@clackamas.edu.
