THE SCHEDULE: Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012
Saint Martin's University / Lacey, wash.
Women's 6K, 10:30 a.m.
Men's 8K, 11:15 a.m.
Meet information (PDF)
Weekly release, with season charts (PDF)
Sundodger women's race photo gallery
Sundodger men's race photo gallery
SEATTLE – Their first major meet of the cross country season resulted in some major accomplishment for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
Now, they just have to keep up that same, successful pace.
The Falcons, coming off of school-record performances in both the men's and women's races at last Saturday's Sundodger Invitational, will be back on the starting line Saturday morning at the Saint Martin's Invitational in Lacey.
The meet on the on the Saint Martin's campus begins at 10:30 a.m. with the women's 6-kilometer race, followed by the men's 8K at 11:15 a.m.
It is the second of three consecutive weekends of competition for the Falcons. The intensity ratchets up again next week in Salem, Ore., at the Charles Bowles Invitational.
NATIONAL NOTICE FOR FALCONS
Already among the top 10 West Region teams in the U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USFCCCA) rankings, both Seattle Pacific teams moved into the national picture on Wednesday when that group released its first
Division II national rankings of the season.
The Falcon women are No. 18. That is SPU's first appearance on the national list since appearing at No. 14 in the 2010 preseason rankings.
The men are listed at No. 29, and are making their first appearance in the USTFCCCA national rankings, which includes 35 schools, instead of the traditional 25.
In the
West Region rankings, the SPU women moved up two places to No. 4, and the men climbed one notch to No. 7.
LARSON BACK IN THE FOLD
Former Falcons standout
Jane Larson is back on campus, having accepted the position of assistant coach and joining with volunteer assistant Doris Heritage on head coach coach Erika Daligcon's staff.
Larson was part of SPU's string of three consecutive NCAA trophies from 2007 (second place), 2008 (fourth) and 2009 (fourth). She was an All-American as a sophomore in 2007 (ninth place at nationals) and again as a junior in 2008 (12th place).
The native of Fall City, northeast of Seattle, also was an All-American in track in 2008, 2009, and 2010. In March of 2010, Larson ran the 1,200-meter leadoff leg on 4,000-meter distance medley relay team that won the championship at the NCAA Division II indoor meet. Larson also was strong in the classroom, earning an NCAA post-graduate scholarship
.
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--Since 2000, this has been one of the regular meets on Seattle Pacific's schedule, although the teams did not compete here in 2011.
--When they last came to Lacey in 2010, coach, the women finished fifth as a team, and the men were sixth.
--Both Falcon teams have four second-place finishes at this meet over the years, most recently in 2007 for both. The all-time low score for the Falcon women at Saint Martin's is 38 (second place in 2005). The low for the men is 58 (second in 2000).
--Five SPU women have won at Saint Martin's. The latest to do so was new assistant coach
Jane Larson as a junior in 2008. Her time was 23:06. That was the first year the course was expanded to 6K for the women.
--The only male winner was
Kelsey Backen in 2000 in 31:22. The highest placer since then was
Nathanael Castle in 2001, when he was second in 26:32.
SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S INVITATIONAL
As expected, this middle meet of three Saturdays in a row will be a lower-key event for the Falcons, falling as it does between last week's Sundodger and next week's Charles Bowles Invitational. Coach Erika Daligcon plans to run six women and four men in Lacey.
On the women's side, five of SPU's Sundodger competitors – including two of those who scored – will be on the starting line. Senior
Katie Thralls (Livermore, Calif.) was seventh overall last Saturday in Lincoln Park and was Seattle Pacific's second finisher. Sophomore
Jasmine Johnson (Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way HS) rounded out the scorers and was 42nd overall.
Other Sundodger runners making the trip senior
Josie Becker (Grapeview, Wash. / White River HS), sophomore
Elizabeth Doe (Lakenheath, England), and freshman
Anna Patti (Renton, Wash. / Lindbergh HS). Racing for the first time this season after dealing with an injury is junior
Alli Cutting (Sequim, Wash. / Sequim HS).
The Falcons will have two of their male Sundodger runners at Saint Martin's: freshman
Brian Comer (Sammamish, Wash. / Eastside Catholic HS), who was No. 6 on the team last Saturday, and freshman
Colin Wilkins (Shoreline, Wash. / Shorewood HS), the No. 7 finisher. The other two men – freshman
Brett Bertrand (Sammamish, Wash. / Eastside Catholic HS) and senior
Nick Derrah (Portland, Ore.) – will be taking part in their first college race.
For the second consecutive Saturday, the Falcons will get a look at several of their GNAC rivals.
Alaska Fairbanks,
Central Washington and
Western Washington are expected to join
SPU and host
Saint Martin's.
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Even though she is bring just a small group to Saint Martin's, coach Erika Daligcon isn't bringing small expectations.
“I think we can do some pretty good things,” she said. “After Willamette (next weekend's Charles Bowles Invite), we'll be packed up until conference. It will be fun to see what this group can do.”
Even with Sundodger now a week in the past, a bit of afterglow still lingers.
“It was wonderful to see both teams performing at a really high level and seeing them both get out there and put it on the line,” Daligcon said. “It just gives them motivation for what's still to come later in the season. The Bowles is going to be their next big test, and I think we're going to be building on the momentum of their performances at Sundodger.”
That both teams are in the national rankings this week certainly caught the attention of her runners.
“They were so thrilled to see that,” Daligcon said. “They've put in the work this summer, and they want to make sure that they are there. They have their sights set on qualification for nationals, and seeing your name on the national list gives you that added motivation.”
STACKING UP THE GNAC
With seven of the GNAC's 10 schools at Sundodger last weekend, it became possible to get at least a preliminary sketch of how next month's conference meet might play out in Monmouth, Ore.
On the women's side, six schools –
SPU, Western Washington, Western Oregon, Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene and
Saint Martin's – ran in the Open Division race, and
Simon Fraser ran in elite-level Invitational race, both 6 kilometers at West Seattle's Lincoln Park. Taking the Clan's times from the Invitational and adding them to the results of the six GNAC schools in the Open, Simon Fraser would have finished with 29 points, easily the low score of the day. Seattle Pacific would have been second with 52, followed by Western Washington (96), Central (104), Western Oregon (110), NNU (120), and Saint Martin's (199).
For the men,
Western Oregon's top team joined
Simon Fraser in the Invitational, while the others from the conference ran in the Open. So again combining the times of all the GNAC runners on the 8-kilometer course, the winner would have been … SPU, with 39 points, edging out Western Oregon's 43. After that, it was Western Washington (68), Simon Fraser (114), Northwest Nazarene (114), Central Washington (162) and Saint Martin's (169).
There is, however, an 'X' factor:
Alaska Anchorage was not there. The Seawolves are defending GNAC champions for both genders and are nationally ranked this week – No. 5 for the women, No. 8 for the men.
FITTING FINISH FOR HARRISON
Memories of Lincoln Park aren't necessarily the fondest in the mind of Falcon senior Will Harrison (Tucson, Ariz.)
In 2010, Harrison got his sophomore season off to a promising start by leading the SPU pack in both races at Fairbanks. But just two weeks later at Sundodger, Harrison took a bad fall on a course made slick by rainfall the previous night. An injury sustained on that day slowed him for the rest of the season.
Harrison was back last year, and ran in Seattle Pacific's scoring pack at both GNAC and NCAA West Regionals. He did not run at Fairbanks to open the 2012 season, but was on the starting line last Saturday and looked stronger than ever. He posted a personal-best of 25 minutes, 57 seconds for 8K, breaking 26 minutes on the Sundodger course for the first time and beating his previous Lincoln Park PR by 19 seconds.
DECKER'S AUTUMN SWITCHEROO
The SPU women certainly have had some considerable success with soccer players switching over to cross country. After all,
Jessica Pixler originally came here to play soccer, and wound up winning three NCAA cross country titles (along with nine in track) before graduating in 2010.
Heidi Laabs-Johnson played three years of soccer for the Falcons, changed to cross last fall, and wound up winning GNAC Newcomer of the Year and earning NCAA All-Region status.
Current freshman
Lynelle Decker put her autumn soccer ball away before she even got to campus, deciding to turning out for XC from the get-go. Decker (Vancouver, Wash. / Mountain View HS) ran fifth among SPU's six runners in both Alaska races. Then last Saturday at Sundodger, she was the team's No. 4 scorer, finishing 32nd overall in 23 minutes, 21 seconds. That put her int he top 15 percent of the 213-runner field.
She might be new to cross country, but Decker definitely isn't new to distance running. She was in track all four years at Mountain View, and last spring placed fourth in the 800 meters and fifth in the 1,600 at the Class 3A Washington state meet.
NEWBIES RUNNING LIKE VETERANS
Of Seattle Pacific's five scorers in the women's race last Saturday, four of them – and six of the nine women overall – were running their first Sundodger. That group included freshman
Katie Morris (sixth), senior
Katie Thralls (seventh), sophomore
Robyn Zeidler (10
th) and freshman
Lynelle Decker (32
nd). Zeidler missed Sundodger in 2010 and 2011 with an injury; Thralls is a basketball player in her first season of cross country.
Other Sundodger first-timers were freshmen
Anna Patti (No. 6 for SPU; 59
th overall) and freshman Aimee Christensen (No. 8 for SPU, 130th overall).
In contrast, all five scorers on the men's side were veterans, but the three behind them – sophomore Ryan Alcantara, freshman Brian Comer, and freshman Colin Wilkins – were in their first Lincoln Park race.
RETRACING THEIR STEPS
-- AJ Baker raced into the top 10, and the Falcons had three finishers among the top 25 on the way to a
second-place finish in the men's Open Division race at the Sundodger Invitational last Saturday. SPU totaled 108 points. Both the team place and the score were all-time school bests.
--
Katie Morris,
Katie Thralls and
Robyn Zeidler all ran into the top 10, leading the SPU women to a school-record low
88-point total and third place at Sundodger.
ON THE HONOR ROLL
--
Robyn Zeidler was named the GNAC Athlete of the Week for women's cross country on Sept. 4.
--
AJ Baker and
Katie Morris were on their respective honorable mention GNAC Athlete of the Week lists on Sept. 17.
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on
this link for results, news and notes from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
UP NEXT
The Falcons head to Oregon next Saturday, Sept. 29, for the
Charles Bowles/Willamette Invitational, the last big meet prior to the GNAC Championships. It will include teams from the entire West Coast, and typically includes perennial Division II West Region power Chico State. The 8-kilometer men's Cardinal race (NCAA D-1, 2 and 3 schools) starts at 9:30 a.m. in Bush's Pasture Park in Salem. The park is adjacent to the stadium at Willamette University, where the race finishes. The 5K women's Cardinal race follows at 10:15.
MOST RECENT SPU TOP 7 – WOMEN
Sundodger Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012
6 kilometers at Lincoln Park / Seattle, Wash.
Seattle Pacific 3rd / 19 teams – 88 points
Runner SPU place Overall Time
Katie Morris 1 6 22:27
Katie Thralls 2 7 22:30
Robyn Zeidler 3 10 22:41
Lynelle Decker 4 32 23:21
Jasmine Johnson 5 42 23:32
Anna Patti 6 59 23:51
Josie Becker 7 78 24:11
MOST RECENT SPU TOP 7 – MEN
Sundodger Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012
8 kilometers at Lincoln Park / Seattle, Wash.
Seattle Pacific 2nd / 22 teams – 108 points
Runner SPU place Overall Time
AJ Baker 1 10 25:23
Jordan Wolfe 2 19 25:34
Tavish Taylor 3 23 25:38
Will Harrison 4 36 25:57
Seth Pierson 5 51 26:15
Ryan Alcantara 6 113 27:05
Brian Comer 7 149 27:51
