KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Eastern Oregon University men's cross country team came in at No. 9 in the Final Edition of the Regular Season NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced on Sunday.
Damion Flores led the Mountaineers to a second place finish in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Flores ran with the lead pack for the majority of the 8K race, held at Fernhill Park in Portland, Ore. At the halfway point of the race, Flores made his move and passed the leader and he never gave up the lead and became the Men's Cross Country Champion. Flores finished the 8K race in a time of 24:18; 19 seconds faster than second place.
The Mountaineers men's team compiled 57 points on the afternoon. Eastern Oregon continued to run well after Flores' finish.
Lucas Updike was the second Mountaineer to finish the race. Updike finished in a time of 25:07, seventh place on the team score.
Kody Shriver finished third for Eastern Oregon as he ran a time of 25:26.
Finishing 11 seconds behind Shriver was
Hans Roelle, 16th, with a time of 25:37.
Nic Maszk rounded out the scoring for the Mountaineers with a 19th place finish and a time of 25:52.
The men's team averaged over a minute and four seconds faster per person compared to the CCC Preview. With the first place finish, Flores earned All-Conference honors and was named CCC Runner of the Year. Updike also earned All-Conference honors for the men.
The Mountaineers return to action on Nov. 22 when they travel to Lawrence, Kan. to participate in the NAIA Cross Country National Championships.
2014 NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Final (Nov. 4)| RANK | LAST^ | SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES) | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Oklahoma City (19) | 620 |
| 2 | 2 | Southern Oregon (2) | 603 |
| 3 | 8 | St. Francis (Ill.) (1) | 571 |
| 4 | 4 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 560 |
| 5 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 533 |
| 6 | 3 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 525 |
| 7 | 6 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | 491 |
| 8 | 10 | Cal State San Marcos | 485 |
| 9 | 9 | Eastern Oregon | 479 |
| 10 | 6 | British Columbia | 444 |
| 11 | 11 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 438 |
| 12 | 12 | Morningside (Iowa) | 397 |
| 13 | 14 | Carroll (Mont.) | 384 |
| 14 | 13 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 346 |
| 15 | 17 | Taylor (Ind.) | 338 |
| 16 | 18 | Saint Mary (Kan.) | 297 |
| 17 | RV | Concordia (Ore.) | 282 |
| 18 | 21 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 251 |
| 19 | 19 | The Master's (Calif.) | 242 |
| 20 | 21 | Goshen (Ind.) | 231 |
| 21 | 16 | College of Idaho | 215 |
| 21 | 24 | Indiana Tech | 214 |
| 23 | 23 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 194 |
| 24 | 15 | Marian (Ind.) | 170 |
| 25 | RV | Shawnee State (Ohio) | 122 |
| | | | |
Others Receiving Votes: Oregon Tech, 117; SCAD Savannah (Ga.), 100; Dordt (Iowa), 83; William Carey (Miss.), 68; Northwest Christian (Ore.), 48; Dalton State (Ga.), 38; Oklahoma Baptist, 27; Columbia (Mo.), 11; Milligan (Tenn.), 8; Vanguard (Calif.), 6.
^ 2014 NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll – No. 7 (Oct. 29)
