THE SCHEDULE:             Seattle Pacific at Oregon Relays
                                           Friday, April 30, 3 p.m./Saturday, May 1, 10 a.m.
                                           Hayward Field/Eugene, Ore.
                                           No Webcast. Live results link on this link.
                                           Meet schedule

                                           Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's T&F Invitational
                                           Saturday, May 1, field 9 a.m.; running 11 a.m.
                                           Saint Martin's University/Lacey, Wash.
                                           No Webcast or live results.
                                           Meet information/schedule

                                           Seattle Pacific at GNAC Multi-Events
                                           Monday, May 3, 11 a.m. PDT
                                           Tuesday, May 4, 8:30 a.m. PDT
                                           Northwest Nazarene University/Nampa, Idaho
                                           No Webcast or live results
   
        Weekly release, with stats and postseason qualifying list (PDF)  

SEATTLE – A brand-new meet at a brand-new facility. And yet another brand-new opportunity for Seattle Pacific athletes to set themselves up for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference track and field championships.

The Falcons will take their talents a short way down Interstate 5 on Saturday morning to Lacey for the Saint Martin's Track & Field Invitational. It will be the first meet at the Saints' new track venue. Field events begin at 9 a.m. with the hammer throw, and track events get started at 11 with the 3,000-meters steeplechase.

The meet will give SPU yet another chance to match up against some of the competitors they'll see at Western Oregon University in Monmouth for the GNACs on May 14 and 15. Along with SPU and host Saint Martin's, the teams from Western Washington, Central Washington and Western Oregon are scheduled to compete.

Some of Seattle Pacific's biggest point scorers won't be in Lacey, but will be even farther south in Eugene at the Oregon Relays. The Falcons' premier distance runners, along with pole vaulter Melissa Peaslee, will take part in the two-day meet at Hayward Field.

MULTIPLE CHANCES FOR MULTIPLE POINTS
A handful of Falcons are taking the weekend off in preparation for the GNAC Multi-Event Championships, a two-day event at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, next Monday and Tuesday, May 3 and 4. The Falcons have six women and one man declared for the meet.

Leading the women is junior Crystal Sims (Portland, Ore.) Last spring while at Mount Hood CC, Sims won the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) heptathlon championship with 4,305 points. She heads to Nampa having scored 4,506 at the Cal Multi Meet on March 24-25 -- enough to make her a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Division II meet.

Also entered is sophomore Alison Worthen (Coos Bay, Ore.), winner of the heptathlon at the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational in Bellingham on April 8-9. Worthen won three events -- the high jump, 200 meters, and long jump -- at the Vernacchia.

Joining them will be sophomore Brittany Aanstad (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS), junior Jennifer Pike (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS), freshman Katy Gross (Everett, Wash./Cascade HS) and sophomore Brittany Tri (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS).

Sims (4,506), Aanstad (4,393), Pike (4,229) and Worthen (4,225) have the top four totals in the conference. Gross (3,935) and Tri (3,744) rank No. 6 and 7, respectively. The only person in between that group of six Falcons is Central Washington's Raquel Gonzalez at No. 5 with 4,097 points.

Freshman Nate Johnson (Boise, Idaho), will take a shot at the men's decathlon. In the Vernacchia, he moved up from sixth place after Day 1 to fourth place in the final standings, totaling 5,786 points, currently the second-highest total in the GNAC. Among the 14 competitors in Bellingham, Johnson was a steady performer, with one third-place finish, three fifth-places, three sixth-places, one seventh-place, and two eight-places.

The Falcon women, expected to contend with Western Washington for the overall conference crown in May, have a chance to get an early jump on the Vikings with some high finishes in the heptathlon. Team points will be awarded for the top eight final totals.

SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S INVITE
Senior Latasha Essien (Portland, Ore.), whose only race this outdoor season has been a solid 100 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 16, will take her first try of 2010 at the 200. Essien's 12.35 clocking in the 100 at Mt. SAC put her on the GNAC automatic list and within range of the 12.12 needed for NCAA provisional qualifying status. In the 200, it takes a 26.13 for GNAC automatic and 24.70 for NCAA provisional. Essien's career best is 25.33 in 2006.

Freshman Trinna Miranda (Tigard, Ore.) is in the long jump with a season- and career-best of 18 feet, 0½ inches. She needs another six inches for NCAA provisional. Brittany Aanstad (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS) is in the javelin at 140-7, needing another seven feet to jump from NCAA provisional to automatic status.

In the men's meet, senior javelin thrower Nate Wagner (Olympia, Wash./Northwest Christian HS) and junior jav colleague Jace Derwin (Snoqualmie, Wash./Mount Si HS) have climbed rapidly from not even being among GNAC qualifiers to contending for a place on the NCAA provisional list. They'll need at least a 193-7 to make it. Wagner comes in at 191-10; Derwin is at 189-6.

Freshman Ryan Endresen (Portland, Ore.), having won his last two 400-meter hurdles races (Spike Arlt Invite and WWU Twilite) will be back at it, hoping to get his PR of 54.86 down closer to the 54.00 for NCAA provisional.

SCOUTING THE OREGON RELAYS
The 800 meters is looming as the biggest race for the SPU women this weekend in Eugene. Senior Jessica Pixler (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake HS), with her 2:04.89 on April 17 at the Beach Invitational, has her sights set on the 2:03.50 that she needs for automatic qualification to this summer's USA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. She already has automatic marks in the 1,500 and 5,000.

Seniors Jane Larson (Fall City, Wash./Cedar Park Christian HS) and Lisa Anderberg (Edmonds, Wash./Kamiak HS) are taking aim at the NCAA Division II automatic standard of 2:10.00. Anderberg comes in at 2:10.98, Larson has a 2:11.19. Another Falcon senior, Kate Harline (Orem, Utah) will try to close in on the NCAA provisional standard of 2:14.50. She comes in at 2:16.83.

Sophomore Natty Plunkett (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) will take her second try of the year at the 5,000. She ran an NCAA provisional time of 17:27.11 on March 26 at the Stanford T&F Invitational. The automatic qual time is 16:57.00, and coming into this week, 19 women already have beaten that standard.

Junior pole vaulter Melissa Peaslee (Fox Island, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) cleared an outdoor school record 12-5½ in the pole vault on April 17 at the Beach Invitational in Cerritos, Calif. That currently is tied for eighth-best in all of Division II and is on the NCAA provisional list

Senior Chad Meis (Renton, Wash./Seattle Christian HS) is two seconds away from an NCAA provisional time in the steeplechase with his 9:26.99. He needs a 9:25.00. Meis also will go in the 1,500. Freshman

Freshman Nate Seely (Lynden, Wash./Lynden HS is entered in the 800, seeking to improve upon his NCAA provisional time of 1:52.90 -- which he ran on the same Hayward Field track in the Oregon Preview on March 20. That's currently 26th on the Division II list. But an improvement of even one full second would jump him all the way up to 10th. The automatic time is 1:50.00.

FALCON REPLAY
-- Freshman Ryan Endresen won the 400 meters hurdles for the second time in seven days, and javelin throwers Nate Wagner and Jace Derwin both set career bests with lots of room to spare at the Western Washington Twilite meet last Friday in Bellingham. Endresen won the hurdles by one one-hundredth of a second in 55.10. Wagner picked up an eye-popping 24-plus feet  in the jav, flinging it 191 feet, 7 inches to take second place. Derwin added nine feet to his previous best and was third at 189-6. Freshman Billy Martin (Edmonds, Wash./King's HS), who just started throwing the hammer this year, became a GNAC provisional qualifier at 137-11. And freshman AJ Baker (Au Gres, Mich.), in his first college 5,000, ran fourth in 15:14 to join the GNAC automatic qualifying list.
-- Sophomore Brittany Aanstad won the javelin, and freshman Katy Gross tied for first place in the high jump in the Western Washington Twilite last Friday. Aanstad threw the jav 135-4. Gross cleared 5-4¼ in the high jump. Sophomore Natty Plunkett shaved 23 seconds off her career-best time in the 3,000 meters, taking second in 10:14.12.

WHERE IN THE WORLD…?
Jessica Pixler's world-class performances in the 1,500 and 5,000 earlier this season are still world-class. In the latest rankings from IAAF, the world governing body of track and field, Pixler is No. 4 in the 1,500 with the 4:11.06 she ran on April 16 at the Mt. SAC Relays. Katie Follett from the University of Washington, who edged Pixler that night with a 4:10.66, ranks No. 2.

In the 5,000, Pixler's time of 15:44.07, which she ran on March 26 at the Stanford Track & Field Invitational, would rank No. 12. But while her name is on the 1,500 list, it does not officially appear on the 5,000.



WELCOME TO THE LIST
The Falcons have eight new GNAC qualifying marks this week. Of those, five are automatics: Katy

Gross, Kira Lewis (Yakima, Wash./West Valley HS) and Crystal Sims (all women's long jump), AJ Baker (men's 5,000) and Nate Wagner (men's javelin). The other three are on the provisional list: Jacquie Mattson (Odell, Ore./women's high  jump), Jennifer Pike (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS, women's javelin), and freshman Billy Martin (men's hammer). All three of the provisionals currently are above the top-16 cutoff line for entry into the meet.

BRINGING THE GNAC PICTURE INTO FOCUS
With the conference championships approaching on the calendar, Seattle Pacific has 34 automatic qualifying marks spread among 19 of its women, and nine automatic marks compiled by eight of its men.

In addition, SPU has 29 provisional qualifying marks for its women and 11 for its men. Heading into this week, 27 of those 40 provisional qualifiers are “above the line,” meaning they are among the top 16 for their respective events and thus would be allowed into the meet.

And in six instances, Falcon athletes are in the top 16, but have not yet made the GNAC provisional qualifying mark. They must make at least the provisional standard to be considered for the meet, regardless of where they rank in the conference.

LEADERS OF THE GNAC PACK
Seattle Pacific athletes among the top three in the GNAC coming into this week:
Women's 100 -- 1, Latasha Essien.
Women's 200 -- T2, Crystal Sims.
Women's 400 -- 3, Sims.
Men's 800 -- 2, Nate Seely.
Women's 800 -- 1, Jessica Pixler; 2, Lisa Anderberg; 3, Jane Larson.
Women's 1,500 -- 1, Pixler; 2, Larson.
Women's 5,000 -- 1, Jessica Pixler.
Men's 3,000 steeplechase -- 3, Chad Meis.
Men's 400 hurdles -- 3, Ryan Endresen.
Women's 4x100 relay -- 3, Seattle Pacific.
Women's 4x400 relay -- 3, Seattle Pacific.
Women's high jump -- 1, Brittany Aanstad; 2, (tie) Katy Gross and Alison Worthen.
Women's pole vault -- 1, Melissa Peaslee.
Women's long jump -- 1, Trinna Miranda.
Women's triple jump -- 2, Amanda Alvarez.
Men's javelin -- 2, Nate Wagner.
Men's decathlon -- 2, Nate Johnson.
Women's heptathlon -- 1, Sims; 2, Aanstad; 3, Jennifer Pike.

Click on this link for a complete look at GNAC leaders.

NATIONALLY SPEAKING
-- Jessica Pixler is the NCAA Division II leader in the 800, the 1,500 and the 5,000. Her 5K time of 15:44.07, set on March 26 at the Stanford T&F Invitational, is the best collegiate time this season at any level. The top Division I mark is 15:51.56 by Tennessee's Jackie Areson -- which she posted in that same 5K race at Stanford, as she finished second behind Pixler that night. For D2, Pixler has a lead of 19 seconds in the 5,000 (Tanya Zeferjahn of Queens (N.C.) is No. 2 at 16:03.51), and is nearly three seconds clear in the 800 with her 2:04.89. (Chanelle Caldwell of Grand Valley State is next at 2:07.68.) And in the 1,500? It's a 1-2 SPU tandem of Pixler (4:11.06) and Jane Larson (4:23.05). And Larson is way ahead of third-place Zeferjahn (4:28.76).
-- Melissa Peaslee is tied for eighth among D-2 pole vaulters at 12-5½.
-- Brittany Aanstad is 10th in the javelin at 140-7.
-- Amanda Alvarez (Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River HS) is 12th in the triple jump at 38-11.

EVERYONE INTO THE POLL
The successful performances of the SPU men are getting noticed. The Falcons joined the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association West Region rankings this week. SPU is in the No. 10 spot in the regional poll with 89.31 points.

SPEAKING OF THE POLLING PLACE …
The Seattle Pacific women remained at No. 6 in this week's USTFCCCA national poll. The Falcons have 119.66 points. Angelo State of Texas remains No. 1, totaling 257.76 points. Also from the GNAC, Western Washington fell three spots to No. 20 with 59.04. Alaska Anchorage, which had been No. 18 last week, dropped out.

The Falcon women stayed steady in the West Regional poll at No. 3 behind UC San Diego and Chico State.

ON THE HONOR ROLL
-- Jessica Pixler was named GNAC Athlete of the Week on April 19 for her two school and GNAC record-breaking runs in the 800 and 1,500 in California on April 16 and 17. It was her 29th career GNAC weekly award. Of those, seven have been for outdoor track. She also has 12 for cross country and 10 for indoor track.
-- The GNAC selected senior Jane Larson as its Female Athlete of the Week on March 22. At the Oregon Preview on March 20 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Larson went 2:11.75 in the 800 meters to take third place. It was an NCAA provisional qualifying time.
-- On March 8, freshman Amanda Alvarez was the GNAC Female Athlete of the Week for her triple jump performance at the UPS Outdoor Preview. Alvarez went 38 feet, 11 inches at Baker Stadium in Tacoma on March 6.

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for news and notes from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Click on this link for a look at the leading GNAC performers in all events.

UP NEXT
The Falcons make their one and only Seattle appearance when they take part in the annual Ken Foreman-Ken Shannon Invitational on Saturday, May 8, at Husky Stadium. The meet is named in honor of the two legendary track coaches: SPU's own Foreman, who was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame last December, and Ken Shannon, the longtime mentor at Washington. Competition begins at 10 a.m. This year's meet has been moved to a Saturday in order to facilitate having the requisite number of officials to work it. That meet will conclude the regular season.