EOU Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field Team Finishes at No. 11 in Program of the Year Standings
By Garrett Christensen on Monday, June 12th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from Eastern Oregon University) The USTFCCCA (U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association) released the final standings for the NAIA’s 2022-23 Jack Hazen Program of the Year Award. On the men’s side, Eastern Oregon finished at No. 11 in the national standings. This year’s placement marks a two-spot jump up from No. 13 last year.
“It was an impressive year for the guys,” Head Coach Ben Welch said.
The USTFCCCA Program of the Year Award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution’s finish at the NAIA Championships.
“The program of the Year competition is tough as it takes success in all three seasons and that can take quite a toll on everyone. It is nice to see them finish high up in the standings and we look forward to next year,” Welch said.
In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NAIA Championships. Scoring is based on the team’s finish at each NAIA Championship in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points … 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.
Eastern’s best performance came in cross country where they finished 12th in the nation. A big jump in the outdoor season to finish at 24th overall marked the team’s second-best finish. Then rounding out scoring was the indoor season where EOU finished at No. 39 in the country. With a total of 78 points, EOU was just six points from a top-10 appearance.
Dordt University (Iowa) was this year’s Jack Hazen Program of the Year after posting a score of nine points thanks to top-five finishes in all three seasons.
