PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots men's cross country team produced another remarkable podium finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships, placing third overall as a team for the second straight year. Ranked as one of the top-three teams in the nation for the majority of the season Portland once again secured the individual and team title at the 2018 West Regional meet, before producing another historic NCAA finish.
 
The team also had three Pilots earn All-American honors for the second year in a row, and four earn All-West Region honors. Head coach Rob Conner earned his sixth West Region coach of the year honor at the conclusion of the West Region meet, and Portland is only one of three teams to finish in the top-three in the past five years (Others: NAU, Stanford).
 
"I'm really proud of the fact that at the start of the year we were ranked third and we ended up finishing up to expectation. That's not an easy task to do with the ups and downs of the season," said head coach Rob Conner. "We knew we had a good team, but to go out and prove it on the day is very gratifying as a coach. With all of the pressures and expectation, it would have been easy to give less than the best on the day, but everyone ran hard and for the team. The last few years our emphasis on the team culture and mentality has really benefited our performance on and off the course.
 
"Our goal this year was to win, and that would have taken some help from the winning team by running less than their best on the day, but I think we performed to the best of our abilities. Three All- Americans is something special too, and we've done that two years in a row now. We have a great nucleus returning, and we're pumped already for next year. "
 
Highlights
• The Portland men's cross country team finished third at the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships to mark the third time in five years that the Pilots have finished third or better and on the podium.
• Three Pilots earned All-America honors, tying the program record set last season. Roudolff-Levisse placed 21st to garner his second cross country All-America award. Orndorff crossed the line in 25th place for his first All-America honor, and Hauger placed 40th for his second All-America award.
• The performance at the National meet marked the 19th NCAA Championships appearance for the Pilots and ninth Top 10 team finish. Portland has had 21 All-America performances at the NCAA meet.
• Then - #4 Portland defended their West Region titles at the 2018 meet, with Hauger claiming the Pilot's second straight individual title to lead the team to their third team West Region title.
• Hauger, Orndorf, Somers, and Schutte each earned All-West Region honors for their first, 13^th, 20^th, and 21st place finishes, respectively.
• After the conclusion of the West Regional meet, Conner earned his sixth West Region Coach of the Year honor, and Hauger was named the West Region Runner of the Year.
• The team took second at the WCC Championships, led by the individual champion Nick Hauger who pulled away in the final moments of the race to take first. Hauger and Osen were named All-WCC first team for their first and 10^th place finish, respectively. Caleb Webb and Reuben Kiprono placed 12^th and 14^th to earn All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Hauger was named U.S Bank Student-Athlete of the Month for October after his first place performance at the WCC Championships and a sixth place finish at the NCAA Pre-National meet.
• Orndorf was named the U.S Bank Student-Athlete of the Month for November after placing 13^th at the West Regional meet and 25^th at the NCAA Championships.
• Both Hauger and Roudolff-levisse  were ranked in the top 25  as individuals throughout the season.
• Hauger was named USTFCCCA Pre-season All-American before the first collegiate competitions.
• After the conclusion of the collegiate XC season, Michael Somers was selected to compete for the Belgium men at the 2018 SPAR European XC Championships. The Pilot placed 22^nd overall.