INDEPENDENCE, Ore. - The Northwest University cross country teams closed out their conference seasons at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships at Oak Knoll Golf Course. Both the women and men faced tough competition as four CCC teams on the women's side are nationally ranked while five on the men's side are ranked. 
 
The day kicked off with the women racing at 10:00 AM. Rachel Elliott led the Eagles as she came across the finish line 23rd with a time of 23:17.9. Freshman Hannah Capusan followed Elliott as she finished in 37th with a time of 24.09.8. Marissa Guthrie, Emri Butcher, Emma Hill, Emma Stangl, Emma DeCleene, and Ela Woods rounded out the finishing order for the Eagles. 
 
The women finished 9th on the day with an average time of 24:44.2 and a 2:49.2 spread. 
 
On the men's side, Josiah Jaquith led the charge for Northwest and came across the finish line 8th with a time of 24:50.3. Freshman, Andres Bustamante, followed Jaquith as he finished 23rd with a time 25:37.0. Right behind Bustamante was transfer student Will Lanser in 28th place. Levi Nichols, Sam Knight, Christian Chi, Brennan Koontz, Jarron Ransford, Kai Ushikubo, and Caleb Caldwell completed the order for the Eagles. 
 
Josiah Jaquith also received All-conference honors for his stellar 8th place performance for the second year in a row. The men put up a strong showing, finishing 6th place overall with an average time of 25:44.8 and a 1:37.5 spread. 
 
"Tough conference to compete in and the course was really soggy from all of the rainfall but I thought our team managed it well," said NU Head Coach Mark Mandi. "When things weren't going well for some people, they had teammates to help cover for them. A big highlight of the meet was Josiah finishing 8^th in the men's race, helping the men's team finish 6th. He looked strong and poised throughout the race. Andres finishing 23^rd as a true freshmen was amazing and he has been clutch for us all season. On the women's side, I thought they worked extremely well throughout the first part of the race to set each other up for a strong finish. Love seeing how this team supports each other."
 
"Both programs have improved tremendously since last year and that's in big part to their attitude and commitment to Coach Corban's training plan," said Mandi. "While we will have several key seniors graduated after the season is complete, the future looks bright with a lot of young athletes who are Christ-focused and gifted."