CASCADE COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY U.S. BANK
COMPLETE SCHEDULE | STARTING LISTS | MEET PROGRAM (PDF) | LIVE RESULTS

ASHLAND – For the fifth time in meet history, the 23rd annual Cascade Collegiate Conference Track and Field Championships presented by U.S. Bank return to Raider Stadium on the campus of Southern Oregon University this weekend.

Friday's events begin at 2 p.m. and Saturday's at 10 a.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and free for SOU students and kids ages 12 and under. At approximately 10:50 a.m. Saturday, SOU Sports Hall-of Famer Dan Bulkley – who coached at SOU from 1950-79 and turned 100 years old on May 4 – will kick off the day by attempting the 100-meter dash.

College of Idaho has won the last four women's titles and is the favorite to win its fifth. SOU finished fourth in the team standings last year and third the three previous seasons. If the Raiders can sneak into a top-three spot, it'd be the first time since 2005.

Below is an event-by-event look at what to watch on the women's side:

2016 Team Scores
1. College of Idaho, 203
2. Eastern Oregon, 164
3. Corban, 107.5
4. Northwest Christian, 106
5. Southern Oregon, 101
6. Oregon Tech, 48
7. Northwest, 40.5
8. Evergreen, 29
9. Warner Pacific, 18

100 METERS: C of I has claimed four straight titles, but top-seeded Rakayla Tyler (12.13) will try to win SOU's first since 2007 after clocking the CCC's fastest time since 2013 this year. The Raiders will be represented by four of the top-seven runners – freshman Arianna Daniel (12.32) is the No. 2 seed – while EOU's Kendall Current (12.41) will go for her fourth career All-CCC performance in the event.

200 METERS: After setting a school record earlier this season, OIT sophomore Amber Von Essen (25.45) has the top seed and is vying for the team's first 200 title in 17 years. EOU's Kendall (25.84) was the runner-up in 2016, but SOU's Daniel (25.60) and Tyler (25.66) have the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds.

400 METERS: While last year's top five finishers were seniors, 10 of this year's top 11 seeds are underclassmen. SOU's Daniel (57.20) owns an NAIA 'B' mark and had the top regular-season time by 1.3 ticks, while EOU freshman Elizabeth Herbes (58.49) leads three Mounties in the top eight.

800 METERS: Three runners will attempt to become repeat All-CCC performers in the event: C of I's Mishal Cotugno (2:17.74) was the runner-up in 2016, SOU's top-seeded Aspen Abbott (2:15.01) placed third (and broke her own school record this year), and OIT's Susie Garza (2:17.02) was third in 2015. Directly behind Abbott on the list, Northwest's Lily Engelbrekt (2:15.48) is also a provisional qualifier for the NAIA Championships. C of I has won the race four years in a row.

1,500 METERS: Packed with seven individuals who have been indoor, outdoor and/or cross-country All-Americans and four of last year's top-five finishers, the 1,500 has been claimed by C of I six years in a row. SOU's top-seeded Jessa Perkinson (4:30.11), a seven-time All-American and the 2016 CCC runner-up, headlines a group that also includes NCU's Sierra Brown (4:40.41), last year's third-place finisher in the conference and seventh-place finisher in the NAIA; OIT sophomore record-holder Danielle De Castro (4:35.10), who was fourth as a freshman; Northwest auto-qualifier Lily Engelbrekt (4:35.54); and C of I seven-time All-American Lila Klopfenstein (4:39.55).

5,000 METERS: The long-distance battles – which will be more loaded than at any other conference meet in the NAIA – peak with the 5K, which is slated to feature four of the top-nine times in the country. SOU's Perkinson (16:46.09) – last year's NAIA 10K champ who also won the CCC 5K and took third at nationals – tops the list ahead of C of I freshman Molly Vitale-Sullivan (17:05.91), who placed third in the 3K at the NAIA Indoor Championships and was a cross-country All-American. NCU's Sierra Brown (17:07.81), a two-time CCC XC champ, will go for the Beacons' fourth win since 2012 after placing second in the conference and fifth in the NAIA last year. SOU's Kayle Blackmore (17:20.66), another XC and indoor All-American, is the No. 4 seed.

10,000 METERS: Defending champion Rosa Schmidt of NCU is out with an injury, but the Beacons, aiming for their sixth 10K title in seven years, feature top-seeded and 2015 champ Shea Vallaire (36:14.50), who owns the No. 2 time in the NAIA and was fourth nationally two years ago. C of I has the Nos. 2 and 4 seeds in Ashtyn Ellis (37:39.70) and Emily Hawgood (39:30.10), who placed third in 2016.

100-METER HURDLES: OIT senior Kara Wood (15.24), the top seed, will look to improve on a runner-up finish a year ago. The next six seeds are underclassmen, led by EOU's Haley White (15.47) and OIT's Von Essen (15.55), both sophomores. Von Essen was fifth a year ago.

400-METER HURDLES: Following a common theme in the sprints and hurdles, the top seven times in the CCC this year were produced by sophomores. C of I's Kami Hawkins (1:02.90), attempting to follow in the footsteps of the Yotes' 2016 national champ Tiana Thomas, is an NAIA auto-qualifiers along with EOU's Katie Emerson (1:03.13). Emerson was fourth and Hawkins fifth last year.

3K STEEPLECHASE: NCU's Michelle Fletcher (10:51.64), who owns the No. 4 time nationally, hasn't run since getting a win in Ashland at the Raider Invitational on April 14 but will attempt to defend her title after capturing the Beacons' first in the steeple last year and placing fourth at the NAIA Championships. C of I's Tamika Russell (11:11.21), the No. 2 seed, placed third for All-CCC honors last year.

4x100-METER RELAY: EOU (48.35) is the defending champion and has the No. 2 seed, but SOU (47.74) clocked an NAIA 'A' time and school record during the regular season. The Raiders are the favorite to win their first title since 2006.

4x400-METER RELAY: SOU (3:54.34) hasn't won a 4x4 title since 2006 either but owns an NAIA 'A' time along with second-seeded EOU (3:54.52). C of I claimed the last two titles.

HIGH JUMP: EOU's Harley McBride (5-5) will attempt to become the first four-time high jump champion in CCC history. A five-time All-American (3X indoor, 2X outdoor), she took eighth at the NAIA Outdoor Championships in 2016. On her tail is teammate Paige Dodd (5-3 ¼), who is coming off a CCC heptathlon title.

POLE VAULT: Top-seeded Allison Cossins (10-6) will go for C of I's first pole vault title, but returning runner-up Lindsay Asplund (10-2) of Corban is back as the No. 2 seed. OIT will be represented by three of the top five.

LONG JUMP: Last year's runner-up, EOU's Morgan Reddington (17-11 ½), and last-year's third-place finisher, is back as a sophomore. But so is top-seeded Lauren McGowne (18-3 ¾) of SOU, an NAIA volleyball All-American who won the 2014 title but did not compete on the track in 2016.

TRIPLE JUMP: OIT freshman Jasmine James (35-3) will take the top seed into the weekend with Northwest's CarrieAnna Steele (35-4 ½) gone on a trip to China with the school's business program.

SHOT PUT: C of I's expected dominance in the throws starts in the shot put, where the Yotes have six top-seven marks. That includes defending champ Hayley Morse (43-7 ¾), who earned C of I's first title in 2016. Also looking to repeat as All-CCC, Corban's Crystal Lynch (38-10 ¼) placed third last year.

DISCUS: The Yotes also have four of the top-five marks in the discus, highlighted by top-seeded Brooklyn Daylong (144-3) and defending champion Claire Otero (141-6). Corban's Lynch (134-10) and SOU's Hannah Lambert (125-6) took second and third in 2016.

HAMMER: C of I's Morse (157-1) – attempting to improve on last year's runner-up showing – has another top mark here, and teammates Otero (149-7) and Daylong (146-3) are the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds behind WPC's Jordan Hunter (156-6).

JAVELIN: Slated to be the cream of the field's crop, the javelin features four automatic qualifiers for the NAIA Championships. The headliner is NCU's defending champ, Bailey Dell (162-6) – a two-time National Field Athlete of the Week, a third-place finisher at the NAIA Championships in 2016, and a Big East champion at DePaul University as a freshman. Her teammate, Madeleine Nelson (136-10), is the No. 2 seed after placing second last year, while Northwest's Anna Miller (136-8) hit the 'A' mark three times this year and broke a 14-year-old school record.