THE CLAC K A M A S PRINT
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N O V. 5, 2 01 4
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V O L. 48 ISSUE 4
“I’m hoping to place in the top ten or five,” freshman
Jocelyn Barber said. “I think we can hopefully be in
the top three. A lot of girls have come back from
being injured and were getting really strong.”
According to the Clackamas athletics site, the cross
country teams are “always ones to contend for a top
three finish at the NWAC Championships.” They
have the third best co-ed conference finishes over
the last decade. The team has been peaking at the
right time; in their last big event, the Southern Re
gional Championships, the men’s and women’s team
finished second and third, respectively.
“Our women ran exceptional,” coach Drew Was
mund said. “From our top women to our last, I real
ly don’t think I could have asked for more. The men
came within a point of beating a very good Lane
team. A couple of kids could have ran better, but
that’s the nature of the sport. O ur two sophomores,
Pake Benthin and Alan Ekanger, ran very, very well,
which was great to see.”
In order for the Cougars to finish where they expect,
they’ll have to continue to run exceptionally. Was-
m und has high expectations.
Pake Benthin, left, and Alan Ekanger practice fo r upcomming championships on the CCC track on Oct. 21.
Cross country team aims
to finish strong
by Blake Thomason
nee again, the Clackamas Cougars
cross country team will be head
ing to Lewisville Park in Battle
ground, Wash. This time around,
the stakes are much higher
The Cougars return for the NWAC Championship
two months from their last visit. The first visit was
unimpressive, and the Cougars hope to rebound as
a team.
Back in late September the Cougars competed in
the NWAC Preview at Lewisville Park. Both Cougar
“I expect them to run up to their potential,” Was-
mund said. “That always has to be the goal. You can’t
outrace your fitness level and you can’t control what
other teams do. I expect both squads to get out intel
ligently, have their eyes up and pass people one at a
time. If they do that and finish hard, I’ll be content.”
This is the last and most important event of the
season. Unlike other sports, the events before the
championship don’t really matter. The season is es
sentially defined by the NWAC.
teams underwhelmed at the meet, finishing near
“Both genders have trained for one meet and one
the bottom in their respective groups.
meet only
and that’s the NWAC,” Wasmund said.
The mens team didn’t have anyone finish higher “My job is to get these kids ready for this one par
than 19th, and as a team they placed second to last ticular meet. What place we are is less important
out of eight teams. The womens team didn’t have than running up to our potential. Like I said before,
anyone finish higher than 24th and the team placed we can’t outrace what we are. But the results of [the
NWAC Championship] will be completely indic
last out of six teams.
ative of how intelligent and courageous we are on
Granted, it was just a warm-up for the season. The Nov. 8. It will be exciting to see what they can do
Cougars have improved thrdughout the season, and finally rested. We’ve taken some lumps throughout
one of the top performers expects a different result the season. [But] it’s all about performing well on
one weekend.”
this time around.