Men's and Women's Cross Country
Cougars Impress at NCCAA, Pasque Honored with Wheeler Award
November 16, 2009 – The CCU men’s and women’s cross country teams capped one of their best seasons in recent memory with three invites to the NCCAA National Championships in Cedarville, Ohio.
Representing the Cougars was senior Cooper Pasque, who joined freshman Anthony Melia and junior Nicole Wachendorf in the highly anticipated year-end extravaganza.
Nursing an injury for the duration of the event, Wachendorf still managed to finish a personal-best 20:06 on the 5K and rank a solid 38 out of 134 runners.
Not to be outdone, Melia logged a personal-best 27:33 on the 8K, good enough for 28 out of 162, while Pasque beat his previous best by more than 45 seconds with a 27:13 to notch a 23rd place finish.
The biggest highlight of the event came off of the course however, as Pasque was named by the selection committee as recipient of the 2009-2010 NCCAA Wheeler Award.
Established to recognize excellence in Christian cross country competition, The Wheeler Award honors one male and one female athlete who is a top-flight runner, possesses a vital Christian testimony on and off the course, exhibits outstanding leadership qualities and is a junior or senior in good academic standing.
Cougar Men Place Tenth at RMAC Championships
October 24, 2009—The CCU men’s cross country team earned a 10th place overall finish Saturday afternoon at the RMAC Championships hosted by Metro State.
The Cougars were led by Cooper Pasque, who notched a team-finish of 47 with a time of 28:30 on the 8K event.
Anthony Melia earned a second place finish for CCU and a team-finish of 52, while turning in a respectable 28:51.
The CCU men’s and women’s cross country teams will now set their sights on the NCCA National Championships which will be held on November 14.
Cougar Men Place Second at Colorado College
September 21, 2009—Under the firm guidance of new head coach, Ryan Long, the CCU men’s cross country team pulled in an impressive second place finish this past weekend at the Colorado College invite in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Anthony Melia led the way for the Cougars, placing 14th overall with a time of 28:05 on the 8k extravaganza.
Cooper Pasque landed a second place finish for the Cougars with a 16th place finish and an overall time of 28:12.
Colorado College placed first in the event with a team score of 16, followed by CCU (46), Oklahoma Panhandle State (98), Johnson and Wales (102) and Denver University (105).
The Cougars are back in action on October 3, as they travel to Boulder, Colorado for the Rocky Mountain Showdown hosted by the University of Colorado.
Wachendorf, Pasque Pace Cougars at Rust Buster
September 7, 2009—Nicole Wachendorf (17:42) placed 44th and Cooper Pasque (20:56) finished 42nd overall as the CCU cross country team put on a strong showing this past weekend at the UCCS Rust Buster Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
As a team, the Cougar women finished a stellar seventh place overall, a full 19 points in front of number eight, Crown College.
Equally as impressive, the CCU men’s team nabbed a sixth place finish, narrowly trailing host UCCS and edging out Johnson and Wales University.
Anthony Melia placed second for the cougars with a respectable 20:56.73 on the 6k, while Lauren Dameron logged second on the women’s side with a 17:57 showing over the 4k.
The Cougars are back in action on September 19 when they return to Colorado Springs for the illustrious Colorado College Invite.
Pasque Earns RMAC All-Academic Second Team
December 22, 2008—The CCU Cross Country Department is proud to announce that Cooper Pasque has been named to the RMAC All-Academic Second Team.
Pasque was CCU’s number one runner all season, and currently holds a 4.0 GPA in History and Biology.
Recently, Cooper finished an impressive 46th at the NCCAA National Championships, posting a 28:43 in the 8k, while being named an 2008-09 NCCAA Scholar Athlete.
To qualify for Academic All-RMAC, student-athletes must have a GPA of 3.20 or better, be a starter or key reserve, and completed two consecutive semesters or three quarters at their current institution. Their GPA is what they had earned prior to cross country season beginning. RMAC Sports Information Directors at schools that sponsor the sport of men’s cross country selected First and Second Team Academic All-RMAC.
Hogan Named CCU’s First-Ever NCCAA All-American for Cross Country
November 20, 2008—Bethany Hogan of the CCU women’s Cross Country Team, put an exclamation point on another outstanding season when she was the first-ever Cougar in her sport to be named NCCAA All-American.
Hogan has been a consistent top finisher for the Cougars for the past two years and recently finished 14th overall among an elite group of runners at the NCCAA National Championships.
Bethany competed from the front of the pack for the majority of the race and logged a season-best 19:11 in the 5k extravaganza, en-route to her history making recognition.
Congratulations to Bethany Hogan for her outstanding and unprecedented accomplishments this year!
Pasque, Hogan Impress at NCCAA’s
November 18, 2008—Cooper Pasque and Bethany Hogan capped off a strong season with an impressive showing at the NCCAA National Championships this past weekend.
Pasque braved some windy running conditions to post a 46th place finish with a time of 28:43 in the 8K. In addition to his top-50 finish, Cooper was also named an NCCAA Scholar Athlete for the 2008-09 season.
Not to be outdone, Hogan logged a 14th place finish, running from near the front for the entire race and finishing with a season best time of 19:11 over the 5K event.
Congratulations to Cooper Pasque and Bethany Hogan for their hard work and tremendous success this fall!
Derek Rivoli
Men's Cross Country
Why CCU?
I initially chose to go to CCU for snowboarding and Jesus, but then I quickly realized that God chose me to come here. He placed me here to help me develop Christ-centered relationships, grow in my knowledge of the Word, ...
