PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots men's cross country team and head coach Rob Conner were honored at the 2018 Oregon Sports awards held at Nike Headquarters on Wednesday evening. Conner was one of two recipients of the Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year award, and the men's cross country team was awarded the George Pasero Team of the Year. Thorns head coach Mark Parsons was the other recipient of the Slats Gill award.
 
"It is a tremendous honor and I am very proud of it, but I certainly want to give all the credit to the team," said Conner. "This group of men has been the most motivated, dedicated and inclusive that I have ever coached. It is a special time for our program. It's a time when we feel that anything is possible."
 
Conner led the Pilots to a runner up finish at the 2017 NCAA XC Championships and coached three individual Pilots to All-American honors at the 2018 Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He was also named West Regional Coach of the year and is the second coach in Pilot history to receive the award. The first was Clive Charles who received the award in 1995 and 2002 after leading UP Women's Soccer team to their first ever national title. Other Slats Gill winners with University of Portland ties include former men's basketball player Erik Spoelstra in 2012 after leading the Miami HEAT to the NBA Championship and Pilot Baseball Hall of Famer Pat Casey is a four-time winner as coach of the Oregon State Beavers. Check out the complete list of past winners in the category.
 
Not only did the men's cross country team post their best ever team finish at the championship in the fall, but Portland received their highest ever team rankings in the USTFCCA polls at No.3. The Pilots also won their second program West Region title, with sophomore Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse claiming Portland's second West Individual title. Roudolff-Levisse (11th), senior Jeff Thies (14th), and junior Nick Hauger (26th) earned All-American honors at the national meet, while senior Matt Welch and sophomore Caleb Webb rounded out the top- five runners finishing 46th and 54th, respectivelhy. The men's cross country team was also named the USTFCCCA Division 1 Scholar Team of the Year. 

The Portland men's cross country team shared the 2018 George Pasero Team of the Year Award with George Fox women's track & field NCAA Division III championship team and the Portland Thorns. The award was established in 2007 and this is the first Pilot team to be recognized. Here is the complete list of past winners of the team of the year category.