OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Evergreen State College men's cross country team is ranked ninth in the 2026 Cascade Collegiate Conference Preseason Poll. Southern Oregon University sits at the top of the poll with eight of the 12 first place votes and 139 points.
Last season, the Geoducks placed ninth at the 2025 CCC Championships. Head Coach Joel Person is heading into his fourth year as the leader of Evergreen's cross country and track and field teams.
The Geoducks are set to open the season on Friday, Sept. 4 at the Linfield Harrier Classic at Joe Dancer Park in McMinnville, Oregon. The 2026 CCC Championships will be held on Friday, Nov. 6 at the Lewis-Clark State College Cross Country Trail in Lewiston, Idaho.
Corban was followed in the men's CCC Preseason Poll by College of Idaho, which received 121 points. Corban University was listed third with 117 points and two first place votes.
Trinity Western University (Langley, BC, Canada) was fourth in the poll with 112 points, while Eastern Oregon University was fifth with 109 points and two first place votes. Northwest University was ranked sixth with 84 points, Oregon Tech was seventh at 70, Lewis-Clark State was eighth at 61, and Evergreen was ninth with 44 points.
Bushnell University held the 10th spot in the poll with 28 points, just in front of Walla Walla University in 11th with 27 points. Warner Pacific University was 12th with 24 points.
All of Evergreen's top five finishers at last year's CCC Championships are back for the Geoducks. They are
Max Baeder (Sr.),
Jaydon Blackburn (Sr.),
Jackson Rye (Sr.),
Luis Esquivel (Jr.), and
Osvaldo Calderon (Jr.). Baeder took 15th place in the CCC with a time of 25:12.00 to earn All-Conference honors and advance to the 2025 NAIA Cross Country Championships.
