August 22, 2023
Warriors Make Big Move, Join the CCC
Westcliff Athletics Women's Wrestling joins the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
By Francisco Claudio
The Westcliff women's wrestling program is on the rise and has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the newest member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
"We are incredibly excited to join the Cascade Collegiate Conference under the esteemed leadership of Commissioner, Robert Cashell," Westcliff Dean of Athletics Shawn Harris said. "My only desire is to be a game-changer in the story of all my student-athletes. Being an associate member of CCC makes this possible for our women's wrestling team."
The CCC has been around since the 1970s and over the years has evolved into one of the most prominent conferences in the NAIA.
The CCC became affiliated with the NAIA in 1993 and has established championship competitions for men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, track & field, and wrestling. It also includes baseball for men and softball and volleyball for women.
"Being able to join the CCC is a huge step and shows that we are headed in the right direction," said head coach D'Rell Gist. "The Cascade Conference has been around for decades and has some very established teams in its conference.
"We are excited to be joining one of the best conferences in the NAIA and look forward to putting Westcliff on the map."
The Warriors will join an established conference whose members include: Menlo College, Eastern Oregon University, University of Providence, Simpson University, Vanguard University, and Southern Oregon University.
"Women's wrestling has been growing tremendously and adding Westcliff to the CCC just adds to the growth," Gist said. "We have seen a number of universities add women's wrestling over the past couple of years and we look forward to seeing the sport continue to grow."
With this transition, the Warriors will be able to create a schedule around the conference opponents and look ahead to a postseason tournament.
Women's wrestling will begin competition in the winter with all seven members of the conference meeting in the postseason Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament presented by U.S. Bank, which will be hosted this year by Menlo College, on February 25th.
The postseason consists of the CCC Tournament which qualifies athletes to the National Championships.
"I would like to thank our AD staff for making this happen," Gist said. "I would also like to thank the Cascade Conference for allowing us to join the CCC.
"This is great for everyone involved and we look forward to competing in this amazing conference."