The 2010 cross country season signaled Southern Oregon’s continued growth over a short span of just three years.
Before the season had even begun, the Raiders were being billed as a top competitor.
The cross country men started the season ranked as second in the nation while the women found themselves in the rankings as well at the No. 25 spot.
As the season started, the Raiders only solidified their claims for a national title thanks to some impressive performances at the University of Washington Sundodger Invitational and the Charles Bowles Invitational.
Following Bowles, the men found themselves ranked No. 1 in the nation for the second time in as many seasons.
Yet while the men were always in contention for the No.1 slot, it was the women who made the biggest leaps of the season as they rose from No.25 to No. 11 in the country following their performance at Washington.
The Raiders simply went from strength as both teams continued their dominating performances as the Hodges Invite and the OSU Beaver Invitational.
At both events, the men and women managed to claim the titles beating out some top competitors.
Heading into the Cascade Conference Championships, the men still retained their No. 1 national ranking while the women improved to No. 8.
Senior runner David Laney added to his impressive Southern Oregon credentials with four straight Runner of the Week honors.
At the Cascade Championships, the men claimed their third straight title while the women also managed to qualify at nationals thanks to a second place finish.
After coming so close to capturing a national title in 2009, the Raiders finally did just that as the men easily claimed top spot while the women finished a program-best seventh to hand Southern Oregon it’s first combined championship.
It signaled the end of a historic season for the Southern Oregon cross country team who under the guidance of coach Brent Ericksen has become a national powerhouse.
The cross country men also finished the 2010 season by being named one of the teams of the year in Oregon at the Oregon Sports Awards while the team overall had Kristen Juveland, Ryan Ghelfi, Dennis McCaffrey, Josh Seitz and Laney named as Datronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes for 2010.
