THE SCHEDULE:        Seattle Pacific and NW Nazarene at Alaska Fairbanks
                                      Thursday and Saturday, Sept. 2 and 4, 2010
                                      West Ridge Ski Trails at UAF/Fairbanks, Alaska
                                      Thursday: Women (6K) 6 p.m.; men (8K) 6:45 p.m.
                                      Saturday: Women (4K) 11 a.m.; men (4K) 11:30 a.m.

                                      Seattle Pacific at Lake Padden Relays
                                      Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010
                                      East Lake Padden Park/Bellingham, Wash.
                                      2.6 miles (men and women), first races 10 a.m. 

       Complete weekly release (PDF)
       2010 GNAC preview (PDF)

SEATTLE -- A new era, with many new faces on the starting line, begins on the cross country trails for Seattle Pacific this week.

The Falcons, who graduated five of their top six women (including three-time NCAA champion Jessica Pixler) and their top man, make a rare trip to Alaska when they journey to Fairbanks to join the host Nanooks and Great Northwest Athletic Conference stablemate Northwest Nazarene for a pair of double-dual meets.

SPU, Fairbanks and NNU will run a long-course race (8 kilometers for men, 6K for women) on Thursday at 6 p.m., then return for a short-course race (4K for both) on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Those Falcon runners who don't make the trek to Alaska will take a somewhat shorter trip up north when they visit Bellingham on Saturday for the Lake Padden Relays. The non-scoring, low-key event begins at 10 a.m. at East Lake Padden Park -- which also will be the site of this year's Pre-Regional meet (Oct. 9) and NCAA West Regionals (Nov. 20).

This will be SPU's first trip to Alaska since 2004, when the Falcons also visited Fairbanks for long-course and short-course dual meets. Both Seattle Pacific teams won both of their meets.

The big local meet of the season for the Falcons is two weeks away with the Sundodger Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 18, at Lincoln Park in West Seattle, and has six of the 10 conference schools in the field: SPU, Central, Saint Martin's, Northwest Nazarene, Western Oregon, and newcomer Simon Fraser.

PATTON TAKES CHARGE
During the first few weeks of the season, the Falcons will be guided by assistant coach Letiwe Patton, a veteran of the Zimbabwe national teams for cross country and track. Patton, who served as a volunteer assistant coach during last spring's outdoor track season, has the reins while head coach Erika Daligcon is on maternity leave through mid October.

Daligcon and husband Nate Daligcon, an SPU assistant men's soccer coach, welcomed daughter Jordan Mae Daligcon into the world on Aug. 28.

Patton started running at age 13 and was representing her African country in world-caliber competition by age 15. She came to the United States in 1997 as part of a program that brought athletes from several countries together to bolster their chances of making their respective Olympic teams for the 2000 Sydney Games.

Patton didn't make it to those Games, but did finish her education in this country, graduating from the University of Idaho with a bachelor's degree in marketing and human resources, followed by a master's -- also from Idaho -- in sports and recreation management. She competed for the Vandals at the NCAA Division I championships in both cross country and track (steeplechase).

She came to Seattle in 2008, helping out first at Seattle University before coming across town to SPU. She and husband Kyle recently celebrated their first anniversary.

SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Although the team will have had just two weeks of practice prior to heading to Alaska, Seattle Pacific's runners already have been making their mark with assistant coach Letiwe Patton.

“The guys are very impressive. They're picking it up right away,” Patton said. “I think the mileage they put in over the summer is paying off. They definitely know they have to be in the top five (at GNACs) to get to regionals. They have to keep that goal in mind and keep working hard and do what they're doing, and they should be able to make it without a doubt.”

Patton is just as confident in the women's squad.

“We haven't had our whole group yet, but they're also looking very good,” she said. “They're (running) within a minute of each other.”

Patton will accompany a group of six men and five women to Alaska for this week's double-duals against Alaska Fairbanks and Northwest Nazarene.

“We definitely are looking forward to doing our best. NNU will be there, and that's one of the schools we want to beat,” Patton said. “That will give us a good chance to know where we'll place at conference.”

SCOUTING REPORT
Seattle Pacific will take six men and five women to Alaska for the double-duals against Alaska Fairbanks and Northwest Nazarene.

Included in the men's group are sophomores AJ Baker (AuGres, Mich) and Andrew Van Ness (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS), who were among the Falcons' five scorers at last fall's GNAC Championships. Sophomores Will Harrison (Tucson, Ariz.) and Gavin Brand (Suwanee, Ga.), who rounded out SPU's top seven at conference, also are heading to Alaska, as are junior veteran Daniel Hamilton (Missoula, Mont.) and freshman Evan Bradford (Santa Barbara, Calif.)

All of them will be in pursuit of their Northwest Nazarene counterparts who finished ahead of them at the 2009 GNACs.

Junior veteran Natty Plunkett (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) heads the SPU women's contingent. Plunkett was 11th at the GNAC meet last October, out-leaned at the finish line by Northwest Nazarene's Jacelyn Puga for the 10th and final spot on the all-conference team. Puga is back for her senior season.

Joining Plunkett will be fellow juniors Kelsey Brown (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Krysta Carrick (Tokyo, Japan) and freshmen Allison Cutting (Sequim, Wash./Sequim HS) and Robyn Zeidler (Plymouth, Minn.) Cutting won the Washington state high school Class 2A title as a Sequim jumior in 2008.

Northwest Nazarene will be a strong test for the Falcon men. In last year's GNAC championships, the Crusaders finished fourth with 99 points, one spot ahead of SPU (138 points). A top-four finish at conference would have guaranteed SPU a trip to regionals. Seattle Pacific finished well ahead of Fairbanks (eighth with 219).

On the women's side at conference, NNU was fourth (114) and Fairbanks was seventh (196). SPU, anchored by five now-graduated standouts, was second with 48.

The Lake Padden Relays in Bellingham is an informal, non-scoring event. The relays consist of four-runner teams – men, women or mixed – with each runner taking a single 2.6-mile lap around the lake.

RETRACING THEIR STEPS: THE 2009 SEASON
Given their quality at the top, it's no surprise the Seattle Pacific women did so well in 2009. The Falcons finished second to Alaska Anchorage at the GNAC Championships in Yakima, placed third behind Anchorage and Chico State at the West Regionals -- they beat both teams at NCAAs. Jessica Pixler, now at the University of Colorado doing post-graduate work and preparing for one final season of outdoor track, won an unprecedented fourth straight conference and regional title, then made it three straight NCAA crowns. With Suzie Strickler, Jane Larson and Natty Plunkett bunching in behind Pixler at 46th, 47th and 49th, SPU claimed the fourth-place trophy with 151 points. That beat out Anchorage (fifth with 158) and Chico (sixth with 172).

The Falcon men held their own while picking up valuable experience. Senior Chad Meis, as expected, set the pace up front, cracking the top 10 at the Sundodger Invitational (10th) and at the San Francisco State Invitational Pre-Regionals (ninth), then placing 11th at GNACs and 21st at West Regionals. As a team, SPU put together a second-place finish at the Central Washington/Apple Ridge Invite in September, placed 11th at Sundodger and fifth at conference.

POLLING PLACE
Even with many new names destined to fill in the varsity scoring spots, the Seattle Pacific women are getting some preseason attention, both regionally and nationally.

The Falcons are ranked No. 4 in the West Region poll and No. 14 in the national poll for NCAA Division II schools as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Seattle Pacific, boosted by five seniors in 2009, finished fourth in the NCAA Championship and wound up in that same spot in the final poll last fall.

“That's a very good ranking,” assistant coach Letiwe Patton said. “I just hope we can make it better than fourth. They could be surprising.”

Sitting ahead of Seattle Pacific on the West Region rankings list are No. 1 Alaska Anchorage (the defending GNAC and West Region champion), No. 2 Chico State, and No. 3 Western Washington.

Adams State of Colorado, and Grand Valley State of Michigan, who went 1-2 at NCAAs last November, are ranked in those respective spots in the preseason poll, with Anchorage at No. 3, Chico at No. 6 and Western Washington at No. 8.

Seattle Pacific is not ranked on the men's side. But with everyone back from 2009 except now-graduated front runner Chad Meis, the Falcons are aiming to break into the region's top 10 as the season progresses. Chico State is ranked No. 1 in the West, followed by three GNAC schools: No. 2 Western Washington, No. 3 Alaska Anchorage and No. 4 Western Oregon.

Nationally, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference owns the top three spots, with defending national champion Adams State at No. 1, Western State of Colorado at No. 2, and Colorado Mines at No. 3.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Their names became so much a part of Seattle Pacific cross country during their four years here. But now, the athletes who ran with the leaders while wearing Falcons maroon have moved on to other things.
Lisa Anderberg -- Left for Laos, where she will be teaching.
Kate Harline -- Preparing for a church mission in southern France.
Jane Larson -- Recently wrapped up a trip to Belgium with Athletes in Action.
Chad Meis -- Completing his electrical engineering degree at SPU. Just returned from an electrical engineering internship in Guatemala. Has one year of indoor track eligibility remaining and plans to run for the Falcons this coming winter.
Jessica Pixler -- Pursuing post-graduate work at the University of Colorado. She has one year of outdoor track eligibility remaining (Pixler missed her sophomore outdoor season at SPU because of a back injury) and is set to run for the Buffaloes next spring.
Suzie Strickler -- Interviewing for positions with Americorps.

ON THE HONOR ROLL
The Falcons earned multiple accolades, both on the course and in the classroom last fall.
-- Jessica Pixler was GNAC Athlete of the Year, USTFCCCA West Region Athlete of the Year, Division II Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, USTFCCCA All-American, CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year, and was the Honda Award nominee for NCAA Division II cross country.
-- Pixler and Jane Larson earned All-GNAC recognition.
-- Those two also were USTFCCCA All-Region picks.
-- Lisa Anderberg, Kate Harline, Larson, Pixler and Suzie Stricker were GNAC All-Academic honorees.
-- Anderberg, Larson, Pixler, Strickler and Natty Plunkett were CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selections.
-- Anderberg and Pixler went on to become CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
-- Strickler was named the first winner of the NCAA Elite 88 award for D-2 women's cross country by being the participant at nationals with the highest overall grade-point average (3.99).
-- Larson, Pixler and Strickler won NCAA post-graduate scholarships for cross country. Anderberg later earned one for track.
-- Chad Meis, Daniel Hamilton and Nate Sleight gained spots on the GNAC All-Academic team. Hamilton and Sleigh return to the Falcons this year.
-- Meis was a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District choice.

SEASON OUTLOOK
Without a doubt, Seattle Pacific cross country will have a new look in 2010, especially on the women's side. One thing that won't be new, however, is the Falcons' intent to make a run for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title and for yet another spot at nationals.

Gone from the team are the five women who were largely responsible for three consecutive NCAA trophies. That list starts with Jessica Pixler, who won four straight conference and West Regional championships and three consecutive NCAA crowns. Joining forces with her to help make all of the success possible were Jane Larson, Suzie Strickler, Lisa Anderberg and Kate Harline, all of whom collected their degrees last June.

Naturally, then, the question must be asked: Who will step into those very large shoes?

One prime candidate who already has proven her ability is junior Natty Plunkett. She was the GNAC's Freshman of the Year in 2008, and, after an injury delayed the start of her sophomore season, came on strong toward the end of 2009 to become one of SPU's regular top-five scorers. Plunkett also had a strong track season this past spring, posting NCAA provisional qualifying times in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.

Also expected to move up in the pack is junior veteran Mary Williams (Lake Jackson, Texas), who was a top-7 regular last year and has been part of Seattle Pacific's NCAA contingent the past two seasons. Other veterans expected to rise in the varsity ranks are sophomores Kelsey Brown and Krysta Carrick.

Heading a list of newcomers is freshman Allison Cutting. She won the Washington state high school Class 2A state title in 2008, and also ran at state as a sophomore and senior.

The SPU men also lost their front runner, as Chad Meis finished up his fourth and final year in 2009. But while replacing Meis, a two-time regional participant, won't be easy, the Falcons return everyone else from last year's squad, all with a valuable year of experience under their heels.

Among those returners are the four runners who factored into Seattle Pacific's scoring at the GNAC Championships: junior Nate Sleight (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS), sophomore Caleb Parker (Richland, Wash./Richland HS), sophomore AJ Baker (AuGres, Mich.) and sophomore Andrew Van Ness (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS).

Also figuring to contend for a spot at the front of the SPU pack are sophomores Gavin Brand (Swuanee, Ga.) and Will Harrison (Tucson, Ariz.). Expected to be back at full strength is senior veteran Jordan Lance (Mill Creek, Wash./Jackson HS).

COACH ERIKA DALIGCON
Beginning her third season of leading the Seattle Pacific cross country program, Erika Daligcon has established herself as one of the top coaches not only in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, but also regionally and nationally.

In her first two seasons at the helm, Daligcon's teams have captured a GNAC championship and two NCAA fourth-place trophies. The Falcons also have been stellar performers in the classroom, winning numerous conference, district and All-American academic honors.

Daligcon took over the program in 2008 when legendary coach Doris Heritage stepped down after 30 seasons. Prior to that, Daligcon served as Heritage's assistant coach for six years.

From 1995-97, Daligcon competed in both cross country and track for SPU. That included a scoring role on the 1995 cross country team that won a conference title and placed 14th at NCAAs.

Daligcon graduated from Seattle Pacific in 1998 and later taught English and performed mission work in western Japan. She is married to Nate Daligcon, a former All-American soccer midfielder for Falcons who now serves as an assistant men's soccer coach. They live in the Magnolia area of Seattle and just welcomed their first child, daughter Jordan Mae Daligcon, who was born on Aug. 28. Daligcon will be on maternity leave through mid October, with assistant coach Letiwe Patton guiding the team until then.

WELCOME ABOARD, NEIGHBOR
Simon Fraser University from Burnaby, B.C., joined the GNAC this year, becoming the first Canadian school in the NCAA.

The Clan boast strong cross country programs. Both teams earned at-large bids to last year's NAIA nationals in Vancouver, Wash. The women finished fourth among the 32 teams in the field, and the men were sixth out of 32.

Because Simon Fraser is not yet a full-fledged member of the NCAA, it will not compete in the GNAC Championships in November. But the Falcons and the Clan will share the course in two regular-season meets: Sundodger on Sept. 18 at Lincoln Park in West Seattle, and the Western Washington Invitational on Oct. 23 at Lake Padden in Bellingham.

Simon Fraser has its Nos. 2, 3 and 6 men from nationals returning. The Clan women bring back their Nos. 1, 3 and 5 runners from nationals.

UP NEXT
The Falcons will have another chance for an early-season look at GNAC competition next weekend when they head to Yakima for the Apple Ridge Run Invitational. Saint Martin's and perennial power Western Washington will join the Falcons and host Central Washington.