Cross Country
Distance Tradition
The teams have been known to contend for a top three finish at the NWAC Championships and has the number three best co-ed conference finishes over the last decade. The men's team was third the last three years at the NWAC Championships and won the Southern Region Championships in 2013 with a convincing 26 to 53 point victory. The Cougars are often one of the top teams in the Southern Region, and in 2011 they were the co-ed champions. Clackamas is the home of Lisa Ondieki who was the 1998 silver medalist in the marathon and is said to be the best female distance runner in Australia's history. She is the former World Record Holder in the women's marathon when she ran 2:24:40. Brian Abshire went on to be the US National Champion in the steeple chase where he went on to compete in the 1988 Olympics. Paul Kezes ran 14:12 while training at Clackamas and went on to compete on the US National Cross Country team and ran a personal best of 13:50.
Our alumni have been successful at the university level after leaving Clackamas. Kennedy Rufener placed fourth at the NCAA Division II National Championships in the 10,000 meters running 35:05 and has a personal best time of 16:49 in the 5,000 meters. These are astronomical accomplishments for Kennedy considering she ran 22:22 for 5,000 meters in high school cross country. Andria Scheese went on to be a 5-time NAIA All-American and has a personal bests of 16:58 and 4:28. Jessica Harper and Lyndsey McKillip went 6th and 7th at the NCAA Division II National Championships in the steeple. John Butkey and Patrick Searing were on the NCAA Division II National Championship cross country team in 2005. Chris Olsen earned All-American status in the indoor 800 at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. Badane Sultessa ran 1:47 in the 2015 track and field season, which was the 37th fastest time in the country for all levels. Jose Macias ran 14:44 for 5,000 meters in 2016 to show our continued success in the distances.
Academic Success
Clackamas works hard to achieve success in the classroom as well as the athletic field. There is academic tracking and communication with instructors to help ensure solid performance in classes. It is the belief that athletes perform better knowing their athletic future at Clackamas depends upon doing well in the classroom in order to stay eligible as well as having an attractive transcript for four-year institutions to look at.
Team Atmosphere
It is the philosophy that distance running is a team sport much like the great Arkansas coach John McDonnell believed. It is the responsibility of each member to help others get better not just themselves. Strength in numbers is key with all members working together toward a common goal.
If you're interested in joining the distance athletics program, contact Keoni McHone at 503-594-3273.
Cross-Country Staff List
Michelle Rose
503-594-3273
Coach Rose is in her third year as the distance coach for Clackamas. She recently coached the men’s cross country team to third place at the 2019 NWAC Championships led by Abdi Ibrahim who placed second. Two of her athletes have been voted NWAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week. Her first year was highlighted by Devin Sellers winning the NWAC Championship in the steeplechase. She also had nine conference scoring performances in the distance events during the track and field seasons. Her women’s team placed fifth at the 2018 NWAC Cross Country Championship moving them up three spots from where they finished the year before.
Rose has spent her life being an avid runner. She began competing at 10 years old and never looked back. She attended Linfield College and participated in both the cross country and track & field programs.
Rose graduated in 2009 with a BA in Exercise Science and a focus in coaching. She began her career in the health and wellness industry upon graduation. In 2009, she was the assistant coach at Sunset High School and obtained her personal training certification as an Exercise Physiologist. In 2015, Rose became a certified Nutrition Coach.
Rose spent 5 years training at RiverPlace Athletic Club before starting her own personal training business which she still owns today. She focuses on instilling the passion of fitness in all those she works with.
Michelle continues to compete in various races ranging from the 1500m to 1/2 marathon. Her and her husband, Tyler, reside in Oregon City with their daughters, Sophie & Jadyn
Keoni McHone
503-594-3273 | keonim@clackamas.edu
Coach McHone is in his fourteenth season as the Head Track and Field Coach/Director of Cross Country at Clackamas. He spent six years as the Head Cross Country Coach and seven years as an assistant track and field coach before becoming the head track and field coach. Since McHone took over as the head track and field coach, he has built the team into a program that finishes in the top three at the NWAC Championships each year.
Track and Field Success at Clackamas:
Coach McHone has had 228 NWAC All-American performances while the head track and field coach. He personally coached or was the head coach for 197 of the current outdoor top ten all-time performances and 53 of the indoor top five all-time performances. He personally coached or was the head coach for 14 of the current outdoor school records and 14 of the indoor school records. Sixty-two NWAC Champions have competed for Clackamas since he has been the head coach. He personally coached the NWAC Championship meet record holders in the women’s 200 and men’s hammer as well as the second best men’s discus thrower and heptathlete to come out of the NWAC. McHone has coached the NWAC Women’s High Point Scorer the last three years showing he can produce the top athletes in the conference. He has had twenty-seven athletes compete at a collegiate national championship or NCAA Division I regional championship. He has also produced some of the top heptathletes to come out of the NWAC recently, where one went on to win the Big Sky Conference three years ago.
Success in Cross Country:
Coach McHone coached two women’s NWAACC Championship teams during the six years he was the Head Cross Country Coach. His 2004 program earned the Co-ed Combined Team title at the NWAACC Championships. His men’s teams finished second or third at the NWAACC Championships for five straight years. There were three individual NWAACC Champions and eighteen All-American performances by his athletes. He personally coached nine athletes onto the Clackamas Cross Country Top 20 list which includes both current record holders. McHone was voted NWAACC Women’s Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2004 as well as a six-time Southern Region Cross Country Coach of the Year.
Success Before Clackamas:
McHone got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant sprints/relays coach at Western Oregon University from 1999-1997. He coached the school record team that ran 40.90 in the 4 x 100 relay which placed fourth at the NAIA National Championships. He also coached the women’s 4 x 100 relay that ran 47.72 for a fourth place finish at the NAIA National Championships which was a school record at the time.
Personal Success:
Coach McHone was a sprinter at Western Oregon State College (now Western Oregon University) where he was an All-American in the 4 x 100 relay. He was a four-time conference champion in the 4 x 100 relay and won both relays, 100 and 200 at the Cascade Conference Championships his junior year. Coach McHone ran 11.51 in the 100 and 23.50 in the 200 at age 35. He is currently a class II short track mountain bike racer. He earned his Masters degree at age twenty-three where he did his thesis on Unilateral Versus Bilateral Squat Training Effects on Squat Strength, Counter-movement Jumps and Sprinting.