THE SCHEDULE:     UPS Outdoor Preview
                                  Saturday, March 5, 2011
                                  Baker Stadium (UPS)/Tacoma, Wash.
                                  Field and running events, 11 a.m.
                                  Meet schedule        Live results
                                  2011 Outdoor Track Quick Facts (PDF)

        Weekly release, with UPS entries and preseason prospectus (PDF)

SEATTLE – The calendar doesn't say spring yet. For that matter, neither does the weather.

But the outdoor track and field schedule says spring starts Saturday. And so it shall for the Seattle Pacific Falcons as they head to Tacoma for the UPS Outdoor Preview.

The four-way meet, which has become a traditional season opener for the Falcons, will include host University of Puget Sound, along with Lewis & Clark College, and Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Western Washington.

Field and running events both begin at 11 a.m. at Baker Stadium on the UPS campus.

AT LEAST IT WON'T SNOW
The forecast calls for a chance of showers with highs in the mid to upper 40s. That normally wouldn't be noteworthy except for this: Two years ago, this same meet was contested in a mixture of rain, wind and even snow flurries at various times during the day. So anything warmer and calmer than that is a welcome plus.





ON THE OUTDOOR ROAD AGAIN – BUT SOME NEARBY ACTION, TOO
Given that almost all meets are of the invitational variety, the Falcons will spend some weekends out of town this spring. But they also will have several meets that are just a short drive away, meaning less travel time for athletes and coaches – and for track fans who want to check out the action, too.

Saturday's meet is one of three that is scheduled for Tacoma. Seattle Pacific will participate in the PLU Invitational next Saturday, March 12, at Pacific Lutheran University, and will be back at UPS for the JD Shotwell Invitational on Saturday, April 2.

The Western Washington Twlight is set for Civic Stadium in Bellingham on Friday, April 22, and SPU also is set to take part in the Saint Martin's Invitational in Lacey on Saturday, April 30. The big finale is the Ken Foreman-Ken Shannon Invitational on Saturday, May 7 at Husky Stadium.

ON THE INDOOR ROAD TO ALBUQUERQUE
It's official: SPU senior Melissa Peaslee (Fox Island, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) will compete at the NCAA Division II indoor championships next weekend in New Mexico.

Peaslee cleared 12 feet, 2 ¾ inches (3.73 meters) in the pole vault at the SPU Last Chance meet on Feb. 26 in Seattle, boosting herself into eighth place in the national rankings. While that was just a provisional qualifying mark, it was far enough up the list to guarantee her a spot in the meet.

Peaslee will be the only Falcon competing in Albuquerque. The pole vault is scheduled for Friday, March 11. Peaslee will not compete at UPS this weekend.

SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Coach Karl Lerum is looking forward to an early-season glimpse at the potential of both of his teams.

“Our women are hoping to defend their GNAC title (come May), and it's a big challenge,” Lerum said. “It was a tight contest indoors, so we have our work cut out for us. We're hoping to send a healthy contingent to national outdoors.

“Our men are really trending in a positive way. We had a couple of (indoor) conference champions, and I think we have the ability to get a couple more (outdoors). I'm excited for our men's team to keep growing. Our relays are going to get stronger and stronger as the year goes on.”





SCOUTING THE UPS OUTDOOR PREVIEW
While getting acclimated to outdoor competition again after the winter indoor season, the Falcons plan on having some added fun in the process by trying some events in which they don't normally compete.

To be sure, some familiar faces will be in familiar places. For instance, junior Brittany Aanstad (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS), who was second in the javelin at last spring's GNAC Championships and placed fourth at nationals, is entered in that event.

Two more top-three GNAC finishers from 2010 – sophomore long jumper Trinna Miranda (Tigard, Ore.) and junior 400-meter hurdler Natalie Nobbs (Yakima, Wash./Riverside Christian HS) will be in those events, among others.

On the men's side, GNAC 400 hurdles runner-up Ryan Endresen (Portland, Ore.), conference javelin scorer Jace Derwin (Snoqualmie, Wash./Mount Si HS) and 1,500-meter scorer Jacob Wahlenmaier (Everett, Wash./Cascade HS) are entered in their specialties.

Some Falcon freshmen who delivered solid indoor track performances also will be in their specialties. Alli Cutting (Sequim, Wash./Sequim HS), third in the GNAC indoor mile, is entered in the 1,500 meters. Dusty Duncan (Lynden, Wash./Lynden HS), having come within three-tenths of the SPU indoor 400-meter record, will compete in the outdoor version.

But Duncan, a sprinter by nature, also will take a shot at the 800. Sophomore Nate Seely (Lynden, Wash./Lynden HS), coming of his second straight GNAC indoor 800-meter title, will trade that for the 400 and the 1,500 on Saturday.

Sophomore Kelsey Brown (Colorado Springs, Colo.), normally a distance runner for the SPU women, also will try the 400. Sprinters Kishia Mitchell (Puyallup, Wash./Rogers HS), BryAnne Wochnick (Portland, Ore.) and Emily Quatier (Portland, Ore.) – the latter having won the 400 meters at GNAC outdoors last spring – will stretch it out to 800 on Saturday.

Last year, the Seattle Pacific women finished second among the four teams, and the men were third. Western Washington won both meets. Nobbs won the 400 hurdles, Miranda took the long jump, Amanda Alvarez (who since then has transferred to Hawaii) took the triple jump, and the Falcons won both relays in the women's meet.

The SPU men had four winners in 2010: Nathanael Sleight (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) in the 800, Seely in the 1,500, AJ Baker (Au Gres, Mich.) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and now-graduated Justin Felt in the long jump. Seely and Baker both get a shot at defending their wins on Saturday.

2011 FALCONS IN A NUTSHELL
True, Seattle Pacific's women lost some of their top talent from last year to graduation or other reasons – talent that tallied 79 of its 224 points at the conference championships.

But if the 2011 indoor season is any indicator, the Falcons aren't so much rebuilding as they are reloading. They won the conference indoor crown with points from across the spectrum. And while 79 points are gone, that means 145 points are back.

Start with the three defending champions: senior Melissa Peaslee in the pole, sophomore Emily Quatier in the 400 and senior Crystal Sims (Portland, Ore.) in the heptathlon.

In fact, the multi events could wind up being huge for Seattle Pacific. Sophomore Katy Gross (Everett, Wash./Cascade HS) won the GNAC indoor pentathlon this winter, and senior Jenifer Pike (Vancouver, Wash./Evergreen HS) was just nine points behind her. Pike was third in the GNAC hep last spring, and Gross wound up fourth. A healthy Terra Schumacher (Sublimity, Ore.) and Ali Worthen (Coos Bay, Ore.; she won the long jump and high jump at GNAC indoors) bring even more talent and depth to the multis.

Junior Brittany Aanstad is back with NCAA experience (and an All-American honor) in the javelin. The Falcons are deep in the jumps, and have some young speed in the sprints.

While the distance quartet of Jessica Pixler, Jane Larson, Lisa Anderberg and Kate Harline has graduated, SPU isn't coming up empty in that department. Junior Natty Plunkett (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) was a provisional qualifier in both the 5,000 and the 10,000. She is joined joined by, among others, freshmen Alli Cutting (20th at NCAA West Regional cross country last fall, third in the GNAC indoor mile in February).

The Falcon men have become much more than just a team of strong distance runners. They certainly still have that, with NCAA 800-meter provisional qualifier Nate Seely and GNAC 1,500-meter scorer Jacob Wahlenmaier (Everett, Wash./Cascade HS).

But Seattle picked up points in plenty of other places last spring, and are poised to keep doing that in 2011. Multi-event sophomore Nate Johnson (Boise, Idaho) just won the GNAC indoor heptathlon, and was fourth in the outdoor decathlon last year. Sophomore Ryan Endresen (Portland, Ore.) was second at conference in the 400 hurdles and was just 65 hundredths of a second away from NCAA provisional. And Jace Derwin (Snoqualmie, Wash./Mount Si HS), now a senior, developed into an outstanding javelin thrower, scoring fifth-place points at GNAC.

Sophomore Billy Martin (Edmonds, Wash./King's HS) came into his own as a thrower indoors this winter, shattering the SPU school record in the weight throw. In the span of just one mid-February week, he extended his personal best from from 34 feet, 9½ inches to 45-3 in one meet and then to 48-7½ in the GNAC meet. The javelin will be his outdoor focus.

Freshman Dusty Duncan (Lynden, Wash./Lyden HS) brings some quality speed to the sprints, and junior Ray Zoellick (Bothell, Wash./Cedar Park Christian HS), who was an all-region indoor pole vaulter during the winter, could team up with multi-man Johnson to give the Falcons some outdoor depth in that event.

WELCOME ABOARD
The Falcons have several new members with the potential to be key contributors as the season progresses.

Freshman Alli Cutting was at or near the front of the SPU pack during last fall's cross country season. She led the way with a 20th-place finish at the NCAA West Regional meet and was third in the GNAC indoor mile. Freshman McKayla Fricker (Canby, Ore.) joined up with the cross country squad late in the season to provide some added quality near the front.

The Falcons also have picked up some speed in the sprints. Freshman Kishia Mitchell won the Washington state Class 4A outdoor titles in the 100 meters and 400 meters last spring, and was part of the Rams' victorious 4x200 relay team. She also was second in the 200.This winter, she was an NCAA provisional qualifier in the indoor 400. Freshman BryAnne Wochnick placed second in the Oregon state Class 6A (large school) 400 meters and was part of the third-place 4x100 relay squad.

Junior Myisha Valentine (Mountlake Terrace, Wash./North Sound Christian HS) has transferred to SPU after starring two years at Spokane Community College. At last year's Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) championship outdoor meet, she placed second in the 400, fourth in the 200, and was on the winning 4x100 relay. As a high school senior at North Sound in 2008, she pulled off a sprint triple at the Washington state Class 1B meet, winning the 100, 200 and 400.

Freshman Dusty Duncan (Lynden, Wash./Lynden HS) bring some fleet feet to the Falcon men's team. He ran on second-place 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams in last year's Washington state Class 2A meet. In his first indoor 400 this winter, he came within three-tenths of a second from the SPU indoor record. Freshman Evan Bradford (Santa Barbara, Calif.) was part of the SPU top 7 throughout the cross country season, and factored into the Falcons' scoring at the GNAC Championships in November.

2010 OUTDOOR RECAP
Whether it was running, jumping, throwing – or all of the above – the Seattle Pacific women pick up points everywhere last spring to capture their fourth GNAC championship. The Falcons won every running event from 100 to 1,500 meters: senior Latasha Essien in the 100 and 200, freshman Emily Quatier in the 400, and senior Jessica Pixler in the 800 and 1,500.

Junior Melissa Peaslee took the pole vault. And junior Crystal Sims? She was everywhere, winning the heptathlon, running a leg in the victorious 4x400 relay team at GNAC, then racing to a pair of second-place finishes (200, 100 hurdles), a third (100 meters) and leaping to sixth place in the long jump.

It all added up to 224 points, 34 more than second-place Western Washington.

SPU kept up the pace at nationals, as Pixler won her third title in the 1,500 meters, Brittany Aanstad placed fourth in the javelin, Lisa Anderberg was eighth in the 800, Peaslee took 11th in the pole vault, and Amanda Alvarez wound up 15th in the triple jump.

The men didn't capture any titles, but got enough spots among the top eight – led by freshman Ryan Endresen's runner-up finish in the 400 hurdles – to rack up 37 points and snare sixth place in the team standings

ON THE HONOR ROLL
--Brittany Aanstad earned All-American status by placing fourth in the javelin at NCAAs last spring.
--In the just-completed indoor season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) selected all-region teams for the first time, with those honors going to the top five in each event on a region-wide basis. The Falcons had several. On the women's side: Brittany Aanstad (high jump), Alli Cutting (mile, distance medley relay), McKayla Fricker (DMR), Katy Gross (high jump, pentathlon), Heidi Laabs-Johnson (DMR), Kishia Mitchell (400), Melissa Peaslee (pole vault), Jenifer Pike (pentathlon), Natty Plunkett (5,000), Terra Schumacher (pole vault), Crystal Sims (pentathlon, DMR), and Ali Worthen (60 hurdles, high jump, long jump). For the men, it was Nate Johnson (heptathlon), Chad Meis (mile), Nate Seely (800) and Ray Zoellick (pole vault).
--Karl Lerum was named the West Region Indoor Coach of the Year for the fifth straight year. That honor was announced by the USTFCCCA on March 4.

UP NEXT
The Falcons will return to Tacoma next Saturday, March 12, for the Pacific Lutheran Invitational. Running events start at 9 a.m., and field events begin at 10.