Complete results
MONMOUTH, Ore. -- For freshmen Emily Quatier and Amanda Alvarez, it was their first chance to contribute to a conference track and field championship for Seattle Pacific. And they made good on it.
For senior Latasha Essien, it was her first chance -- and her last chance.
She made doubly good on it.
Essien came from slightly behind out of the blocks to win both the 100 and 200 meters on Saturday, senior teammate Jessica Pixler joined her as a double-winner, and junior Crystal Sims seemingly was everywhere doing everything as the Falcons laid claim to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's crown at Western Oregon University's McArthur Field.
Seattle Pacific finished with 224 points, beating out Western Washington, which was second with 190. The Falcons' total was the third-highest in conference history. Western Oregon owns the record of 231½ in 2004. SPU's top total was 226 in 2002.
The Falcons' championship was its first since 2007 -- when the current crop of seniors were freshmen.
“It seemed kind of up and down for a while, but I knew we had some big guns late in the meet,” head coach Karl Lerum said. “I'm really excited for all of our 'old-guard' kids -- Latasha and Jessica (Pixler), Lisa (Anderberg), Jane (Larson) and Kate (Harline). This was the first (class) I got to bring in. But I'm really excited about what our freshmen did, too.”
Along with the team title, Sims was named the Female Athlete of the Meet. Sims (Portland, Ore.) won the heptathlon title last week. On Saturday, she was second in the 200 meters and in the 100 hurdles, third in the 100 meters, and ran the second leg on SPU's victorious 4x400 relay. On Friday, she took sixth in the long jump.
Altogether, that accounted for 35 points individual and factored into 10 more for the relay.
“It was crazy, but it was fun,” said Sims, who ran the second leg of the meet-ending 4x400 relay and put the Falcons in front for good. “I just get up there, and whatever event I'm in, that's what I focus on.”
Essien (Portland, Ore.) contributed 20 of SPU's points on Saturday for her two victories, and Pixler (Sammamish, Wash,./Eastlake HS) added 20 for winning the 800 and 1,500. Pixler also anchored the 4x400 relay.
Quatier (Portland, Ore.) picked up 10 for her triumph in the 400, and Alvarez, who already scored five points for her fourth-lace finish in the long jump on Friday, added another 10 by capturing the triple jump on Saturday.
OUTDOORS AT LAST
Although she's a senior, this was Essien's first conference outdoor meet. She won four straight indoor titles in the 60-yard dash, but had never run in the outdoor championships. A hamstring injury kept her sidelined as a freshman and sophomore, and neither she nor anyone else was able to compete last year when a swine flu scare canceled the meet.
Suffice to say she was ready to go. And while the 100 is her favorite event, she was especially primed for the 200, as she and Sims pulled off a 1-2 finish.
“We wanted those 18 points (10 for first, eight for second) no matter what order we finished,” Essien said.
Essien took the 100 in a meet-record 12.16 seconds, breaking the old mark of 12.26 set in 2005. Her winning 200 time was 25.23.
“Victory is always good,” Essien said. “I got out slow (in the 100). My starts have been slow this year because I don't practice them (to avoid aggravating the hamstring). But about three to five steps into the race, I was good. I got into my stride and opened up, and then it was over -- for them (the other runners), at least.”
Likewise in the 200, she started off slow, “because I didn't know what I would have for the end. But it worked out.”
Pixler cruised to the titles in the 800 and the 1,500, breaking the meet records in both. She won the 800 in 2:06.38 (she had the old mark of 2:10.66 in Friday's prelims), then won the longer race in 4:24.01, beating teammate Larson's previous record of 4:29.66.
But Pixler's focus was more on the team title.
“During part of the meet, people were kind of worried about it,” Pixler said. “So I said, 'OK, I just have to go out there and give it everything I've got. But there were so many solid performances overall this weekend. It's not just the points, it's seeing your teammates go out there and race their hearts out. We had some people who had disappointing races, and then they would come back and put together a really good one.”
Freshman Quatier fit that mode. She missed out on making the 200 finals, so turned all of her energy into a solid performance in the 400. In Friday's prelims, she ran to the top time of 57.96 seconds.
Then in Saturday's finals, Quatier surged to the front coming out of the first turn, and widened it going into the second turn. She came through the finish in a career-best 57.23 seconds, fending off Western Washington's Sarah Brownell (57.77) and defending champion Lindsay Brady of Northwest Nazarene (57.84).
“Not qualifying for the 200 really motivated me to get 10 points for the team (in the 400),” said Quatier, who also led off the 4x400 relay, giving the Falcons a slight lead. “I felt good up until the end, when I just felt like I was jogging. I thought I was going to get passed. But I went all-out at the beginning, and I really benefited.”
Alvarez (Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River HS) uncorked her best triple jump of the day in the final round of the preliminaries at 39 feet, 1¼ inches (11.92 meters). She has gone as far as 39-8¾, which was tied for No. 9 nationally coming into this weekend of conference meets around the country.
Alvarez started to realize during the winter indoor season that she could be among the contenders outdoors, as well.
“When I made the top three, I think I knew I was kind of there,” Alvarez said. “But I didn't focus on that at all during the season. I just focused on my own performance.”
After Quatier and Sims put the Falcons ahead in the 4x400, Anderberg (Edmonds, Wash./Kamiak HS) stretched it out, and Pixler who had asked Lerum to run the anchor leg on the relay, brought it home in 3:53.78, nearly four second in front of second-place Northwest Nazarene.
SPU's other winning effort was on Friday when junior Melissa Peaslee (Fox Island, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) took the pole vault at 11-9¾.
NCAA Women's Track & Field
GNAC Championships
Saturday, May 15, 2010
McArthur Field/Monmouth, Ore.
Final team scores -- 1, Seattle Pacific 224; 2, Western Washington 190; 3, Northwest Nazarene 128 1/2; 4, Western Oregon 115; 5, Central Washington 69 1/2; 6, Alaska Anchorage 68; 7, Montana State Billings 21; 8, Saint Martin's 2.
FINALS
100 -- 1, Latasha Essien (SPU) 12.16. Other SPU placer -- 3, Crystal Sims 12.50.
200 -- 1, Essien (SPU) 25.23. Other SPU placer -- 2, Sims 25.37.
400 -- 1, Emily Quatier (SPU) 57.23. Other SPU placer -- 4, Jennifer Pike 58.64.
800 -- 1, Jessica Pixler (SPU) 2:06.38. Other SPU placers -- 4, Lisa Anderberg 2:13.90; 5, Jane Larson 2:15.19; 8, Kate Harline 2:20.39.
1500 -- 1, Pixler (SPU) 4:24.01. Other SPU placers -- 3, Larson 4:33.41; 7, Harline 4:36.76.
5000 -- 1, Sarah Porter (WWU) 16:39.39. No SPU competitors.
100 hurdles -- 1, Michelle Howe (WWU) 14.68. SPU placers -- 2, Sims 14.73; 7, Kira Lewis 15.45.
400 hurdles -- 1, Adrienne Everett (UAA) 1:02.45. SPU placers -- 3, Natalie Nobbs 1:04.48; 4, Jennifer Pike 1:04.64; 6, Lewis 1:06.55.
4x100 relay -- 1, Western Oregon 47.71. SPU placer -- 3, Seattle Pacific (Trinna Miranda, Lisette Peterson, Quatier, Sims) 48.34.
4x400 relay -- 1, Seattle Pacific (Quatier, Sims, Anderberg, Pixler) 3:53.78.
High jump -- 1, Amanda Overdick (WWU) 5-3 (1.60m). SPU placers -- 2, Katy Gross 5-3 (1.60m) (Overdick gets 1st on fewer misses); 3, Jacquie Mattson 5-1 (1.55m); 5, Brittany Aanstad 5-1 (1.55m).
Triple jump -- 1, Amanda Alvarez (SPU) 39-1 1/4 (11.92m). Other SPU placers -- 8, Athena Alvarez 36-7 3/4 (11.17m); 10, Trinna Miranda 35-6 (10.82m).
Shot put -- 1, Joy Warrington (NNU) 44-0 1/2 (13.42m). No SPU competitors.
Hammer -- 1, Torrie Self (CWU) 176-1 (53.68m). No SPU competitors.
