 Building a Tradition of Success
The Cougars had a great season in 2004 with a second place finish at the NWAACC Championships. This is the second year in a row the men finished second. Clackamas has finished in the top 3 in the last 6 years with 2 NWAACC Championships and 2 individual NWAACC Champions (Trevor Dodge and John Butkey). 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 last
year for the Co-ed Combined title. Clackamas now owns 53% of the co-ed combined titles since 1989. The men were also Southern Region Champions last fall for the second year in a row.
John Butkey highlighted much of the cross country season. He was second at the Idaho Invite while competing against Washington State, U. of Idaho and Gonzaga. Butkey also won PLU, Southerns and NWAACC’s. Butkey set two course records while competing at CCC. He also ran 24:55 for 8000 meters at the NWAACC Championships making him the only athlete to break the 25:00 barrier in the NWAACC Championship meet. The men’s team also had the 6 th and 9 th place finishes at NWAACC’s thus placing three men in the top ten.
This strong tradition has made Clackamas’ cross country and track and field programs 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 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 as good people and runners.
Academic Preformance!
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
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
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