Columbia Gorge Community College’s first cross country team: From left to right are Saul Coyazo-Vega, Victor Luna, Lyric Hammond-Toole, Peggi Zukin, Andrew Wring, Trish Linebeck and Blanca Aunger.
Columbia Gorge Community College’s first cross country team: From left to right are Saul Coyazo-Vega, Victor Luna, Lyric Hammond-Toole, Peggi Zukin, Andrew Wring, Trish Linebeck and Blanca Aunger.
THE DALLES — Columbia Gorge Community College’s (CGCC) first cross country team finished its first season September 2024 and is getting ready for the start of their second.
The team got off to a late start last year, but “making it through the season was a huge success,” said Head Coach Peggi Zukin. “My athletes finished each interval, long training run and race they attempted.” Cross country runs from August to mid-November — and one obstacle the team overcame was getting the program established and finding runners to participate.
For the team to be established, they had to be approved by the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), which is a community college level sports association in Oregon, Washington, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. It took CGCC a couple years to establish the team after their initial request, but CGCC now competes with other teams within the NWAC.
The team has opportunities to travel in the next couple of years and spends their time practicing at Sorosis Park. Zukin believes that CGCC has plans for more sports teams. “They’d like to add track, golf, soccer, and softball, but we share our fields and track with the high school at the moment,” Zukin said.
If you want to support the college’s cross country team, you can at the Northwest Cherry Festival Fun Run in downtown The Dalles on April 26.
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Lexus Williams is in her first term at CGCC and is a Columbia Gorge News intern.
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