Jan. 24, 2008

Eugene, OR  - The Northwest Christian College athletic department announced this week the launch of a men's and women's distance track program, to begin competition this spring. Current NCC Cross Country coach Heike McNeil has been tabbed to head up the program, which will be eligible this season to participate in both the Cascade Collegiate Conference championship and, upon individual qualifications, the NAIA National Championship.

"To be a good distance runner for cross country, a person needs to train all year," said coach McNeil. "The track program offers an opportunity for our athletes to compete at a collegiate level during the spring. Many high school distance runners have in the past chosen not to join our program because track wasn't offered as an official sport. Additionally, this will give us the opportunity to publicly recognize the achievements of our athletes during the spring semester, which otherwise wouldn't be the case during a simple off-season training program for cross country."

The beginning of the men's and women's track programs increases the number of sport offerings at Northwest Christian College to twelve. The Beacon athletic department, which sponsored just three sports during the 2005-2006 season, has grown dramatically, as the school prepares for a name change to Northwest Christian University on July1, 2008.

The Beacon track teams will first take to the track on March 15th, when they travel to McMinnville to take part in the Linfield Icebreaker. The schedule for the first season of action has seven pre-season events, which include the Oregon Relays, Willamette Invitational, and the Eugene Marathon. The Cascade Conference Championship takes place on May 8th and is followed by the NAIA National Championships, which begin on May 22nd.