Pixler, Larson reflect on Saturday's 1-3 indoor mile finish
SEATTLE -- A national title was hanging in the balance. So Jennifer Pike miraculously kept her balance. Coolly kept her composure. And definitely kept Seattle Pacific in the running.
Because she did, NCAA Division II indoor track championship in the 4,000-meter distance medley relay now belongs Falcons junior Pike and senior relay teammates Jane Larson, Lisa Anderberg and Jessica Pixler.
Bumped slightly by a competitor in the closing strides of her 400-meter leg on Friday night at the Albuquerque Convention Center, Pike somehow stayed on her feet and kept her grip on the baton. Chalk it up to her experience as a top-flight hurdler, to divine intervention -- or chalk it up to any combination thereof.
Pike handed off to Lisa Anderberg, who did her part in the 800 meters, then Jessica Pixler closed the deal by bringing the Falcons from about a straightaway behind to a 1.41-second margin of victory.
“A national championship isn't an opportunity that many people come by,” said Pike (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS). “I had a lot fun doing it -- even though it was one of the most stressful moments of my life.”
The Falcons came into the meet seeded No. 2, some eight seconds behind top-ranked Shippensburg of Pennsylvania. And while seniors Larson (Fall City, Wash./Cedar Park Christian HS), Anderberg (Edmonds, Wash./Kamiak HS) and Pixler (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake HS) had run together on previous relays -- not to mention three national-trophy cross country teams -- this was Pike's first time of linking up with that talented distance trio.
“It was only the second time I've even run that race,” Pike said. “And running with those girls was an honor.”
Larson had Seattle Pacific in solid position after the opening 1,200-meter leg. She crossed the line second, about two seconds off Shippensburg's lead.
“I was hoping to hand off in first, but I hadn't done the relay for a while, and Shippensburg had a great leadoff leg,” Larson said. “She got me right at the end there.”
Pike took off with the baton, and everything was looking good as she sped around the 200-meter oval.
“The first lap felt really strong,” she said. “I was focusing on getting a 57-second split.”
ALMOST THERE, BUT THEN …
Pike was on the inside lane as she rounded the final curve. It was then that she saw a runner from Grand Valley State moving up on her.
“The girl kept getting closer on my shoulder, so I tried to make my arms a little bigger -- otherwise, she would have stepped on my feet,” Pike said. “Coming around the corner, she kept getting closer, and on the last part of the curve, she nudged up against me and cut in front of me.”
From the nudge, Pike's left foot hit the bar that ran around the inside lane of the track on the infield. All of a sudden, her speed was gone -- and her balance was going.
“From her cutting in front of me, I ended up slowing down because I hit that bar and because I would have stepped on her heels,” Pike said. “From that combination, my balance got thrown off.
“My arms were flailing -- I felt like one of those lawn decorations where their arms are going in circles,” Pike added with a laugh.
At the time, however, it was no laughing matter to Pike.
“I felt like, 'No, I can't fall -- not in this race. My three teammates are seniors. I can't fall.' ”
Did her experience as a hurdler help her stay up?
“I didn't really think of that,” Pike said.
In fact, two days after the fact, Pike still isn't entirely sure how she managed to keep going.
“I think it was all God,” she said. “My teammates and my friends were saying it was a blessing that it was on my legs it happened and not someone else's. They knew I would fight for it.”
Anderberg, who took the baton from Pike for the 800-meter leg, was especially appreciative of Pike's extra effort.
“I was standing on the track and watching her come,” Anderberg said. “That was a heart-stopping moment to be standing there and watching her getting pushed over to the side and stumbling and almost falling. It was amazing that she kept her balance. That was a make-or-break moment. We were all so proud of Jenn for what she contributed.”
ANDERBERG STARTS THE COMEBACK
With the baton safely in hand, Anderberg knew what she had to do -- and she did it with a split of 2:15.39.
“I think I did a really good job of going out at my pace and maintaining that,” Anderberg said. “I just kept looking at that gap in front of me, and I really closed it.”
Then it was Pixler's turn. She had 1,600 meters to close the rest of that gap and catch up with front-runner Neely Spence of Shippensburg. She did close it, went in front with about 150 meters left, saw Spence regain the lead, then passed her one last time with about 30 meters left and hung on to win it.
“I had mentally prepared to get the baton behind,” Pixler said. “I knew I needed to be patient and not go out too fast. I was just focusing on slowly closing that margin. I was never really nervous the whole race. I felt really confident I could catch her. All the girls on the team had done a really good job on their legs leading up to mine, and I was really motivated by their performances.”
Especially Pike's.
“Thank God Jenn's a hurdler,” Pixler said. “In retrospect, Jenn is so athletic. She's such a strong runner. She deserves a lot of credit that she was able to hold herself together.”
Added Falcons head coach Karl Lerum, “In a relay, there are just so many variables. It was a full team performance and we ran a great time. It's a pretty special thing.”
Given all that happened, the Falcons acknowledged that it took awhile for them to realize what they had accomplished. While Pixler has numerous national titles, Anderberg, Larson and Pike got to experience that feeling for the first time.
“We had worked so hard for so long. I was a little numb at the moment,” Larson said. “I didn't fully appreciate it at the time. It was really wonderful to see how happy everyone was.”
Pike concurred.
“Standing on the championship podium, it didn't settle in while we were up there,” she said. “It was mostly afterward when we got together and talked about it.
“It was humbling talking with the girls and hearing that they all had little quirks in their legs, and knowing it wasn't a perfect race” Pike added.
“But it still came out well.”
