Complete women's results
Complete men's results
SAN FRANCISCO -- Now, that's the kind of 1-2 punch any team would like -- the kind that Jessica Pixler and Jane Larson delivered for the Seattle Pacific women's cross country team on Friday afternoon.
The two Falcon seniors ran to a 1-2 finish at the San Francisco State Invitational in Golden Gate Park, which will be the site of next month's NCAA Division II West Regional championships.
Pixler (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake HS) covered the 6-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 36 seconds. Larson (Fall City, Wash./Cedar Park Christian HS) came across the line in 21:37.
They weren't the only Falcons flying up front. SPU senior Chad Meis (Renton, Wash./Seattle Christian HS) cracked the top 10 in the 8K men's race, crossing the line ninth in 25:48.
For Pixler, it was her third straight pre-regional victory. Two years ago in Boise, she won the Bob Firman Invitational, then went on to claim the regional crown. Last year, she went on a record-setting run at the Triton Cross Country Classic in La Jolla, Calif., then came back four weeks later and won regionals in yet another record time.
“Jessica was in control from start to finish, and Jane felt really good, and didn't feel like she even had to dig that deep,” SPU coach Erika Daligcon said. “And we had a solid week of training -- there was no backing down.”
Pixler, a Falcon senior, is the three-time defending regional champion and also has won the past two Division II national titles. Larson moved up three spots from her fifth-place finish in last year's pre-regional, the Triton Cross Country Classic in La Jolla, Calif.
“It was really exciting to watch them running out there,” Daligcon said. “They were enjoying the course.”
Meis followed up his strong run at last weekend's Charles Bowles Invite in Salem, Ore., with Friday's performance in San Francisco. Junior teammate Jordan Lance (Mill Creek, Wash./Jackson HS) checked in 63rd in 27:39.
Meis was coming off of his first career run below the 25-minute mark, as he clocked a 24:54.89 at the Bowles.
“That was solid today, especially considering these guys raced last weekend and raced pretty hard,” Daligcon said. “Even gauging off the times of (Alaska Anchorage's Marko) Cheseto (who won in 24:52), the times that Chad and Jordan ran were solid.”
While Pixler, Larson, Meis and Lance will have the remainder of the weekend off, the rest of the Falcons will converge on Bellingham's Lake Padden Park for the Western Washington Invitational on Saturday morning. The 6K women's race begins at 10:30 a.m., followed by the 10K men's race at 11:15.
That will be the first 10K for the men this season. It will give SPU's men a chance to race against Saint Martin's, which is one of the teams they might have to beat out in two weeks for a top-four spot at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships and a chance to advance to regionals.
NCAA Women's Cross Country
San Francisco State Invitational
Friday, October 9, 2009
6K at Golden Gate Park/San Francisco
Team scores -- 1, Alaska Anchorage 15; 2, Chico State 81; 3, Santa Clara 116; 4, San Jose State 148; 5, Western Oregon 148 (San Jose State gets higher position on basis of 6th-runner tiebreaker); 6, Humboldt State 155; 7, Cal State Stanislaus 169; 8, UC Santa Cruz 175; 9, Sonoma State 233; 10, San Francisco State 241; 11, Academy of Art 377; 12, Pacific 390; 13, Cal State Monterey Bay 394; 14, Pacific Union College 407; 15, Notre Dame de Namur 454; 16, Menlo College 466; Seattle Pacific incomplete.
Top 10 -- 1, Jessica Pixler (SPU) 20:36.4; 2, Jane Larson (SPU) 21:37.9; 3, Ruth Keino (UAA) 21:38.7; 4, Hallidie Wilt (UAA) 21:57.1; 5, Shoshana Keegan (UAA) 22:02.8; 6, Laura Carr (UAA) 22:09.2; 7, Miriam Kipng'eno (UAA) 22:15.2; 8, Anna Bretan (Tamalpa) 22:26.5; Mikayla Murphy (Santa Cruz) 22:29.9; 10, Denali Foldager (Stanislaus) 22:31.2.
Other SPU placers -- No other SPU competitors.
NCAA Men's Cross Country
San Francisco State Invitational
Friday, October 9, 2009
8K at Golden Gate Park/San Francisco
Team scores -- 1, Alaska Anchorage 52; 2, Western Oregon 56; 3, Humboldt State 58; 4, Chico State 108; 5, Santa Cruz 131; 6, Cal State Stanislaus 162; 7, City College of San Francisco 178; 8, San Francisco State 179; 9, Notre Dame de Namur 267; 10, San Jose State 276; 11, Cal State Montery Bay 311; 12, Pacific Union Cllege 358; Seattle Pacific incomplete.
Top 10 -- 1, Marko Cheseto (UAA) 24:52.6; 2, Micah Chelimo (UAA) 24:55.0; 3, Chris Reed (WOU) 25:17.1; 4, David Kiplagat (Kenyalaska) 25:24.8; 5, Isaac Chavez (Unattached) 25:25.7; 6, Daveson Marindich (Acad. Art) 25:31.8; 7, Andrew Sylvester (Humboldt) 25:33.6; 8, Alfred Kangogo (UAA) 25:44.3; 9, Chad Meis (SPU) 25:48.2; 10, Luis Galicia (Humboldt) 25:52.2.
Other SPU placer -- 63, Jordan Lance (SPU) 27:39.2.
