Complete results
        VIDEOS:  Kishia  Mitchell        McKayla  Fricker

NAMPA, Idaho – She's still the quiet one. But now, add another adjective or two when talking about Kishia Mitchell.
 
Call her the confident quiet one.

And call her a champion.
                    
The soft-spoken sophomore won the 60-meter dash, ran the second leg on the victorious 4-by-400 relay, and was one of three Seattle Pacific individuals who claimed their first crowns on Saturday as the Falcons rolled to their ninth straight team title at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Finishing in first place is nothing new for the Falcons – no other women's team has done it at the GNAC meet since the conference started indoor track in 2004. This time, they did it by winning seven of the 16 events, rolling up 182 points, and beating runner-up Western Washington by 84 1/2.
 
But from a personal standpoint, it definitely was a brand-new experience for Mitchell, junior McKayla Fricker in the 800 meters, and senior Heidi Laabs-Johnson in the 5,000.
 
Much more familiar with that winning feeling is senior Ali Worthen, who was voted Female Athlete of the Meet. After claiming her second straight title and third overall in the long jump on Friday night, Worthen (Coos Bay, Ore.) captured the 60-meter hurdles on Saturday (8.85 seconds) and anchored the 4-by-4 relay. That gave her seven overall wins in four years.

Along with those two victories, Worthen was second in the high jump on Saturday, third in the 200 meters and fifth in the triple jump, giving her 38 individual points for the day. She wound up with 110 for her career, becoming the first GNAC athlete – male or female – to break 100 and passing SPU alum Chris Randolph as the most prolific scorer in conference history.
 
“I knew coming in what I was going to need to do to get it,” said Worthen, whose indoor career very likely will extend to the NCAA Division II nationals next month in the pentathlon. “That 4-by-4 was so much fun, and I was so happy to end it here like that. I couldn't have expected any better.”
 
Mitchell (Puyallup, Wash./Rogers HS) sped to victory in the 60 in 7.80 seconds – just .01 away from the personal-best 7.79 she recorded in Friday's prelims. Turns out she needed every last hundredth of that Saturday mark, because Western Oregon's Madison McClung, racing in the lane right next to Mitchell, came across the line in 7.81.
 
“I kind of thought I won,” Mitchell said. “Coming in, I was really excited about the 60 – that's what I wanted to do well in.”
 
Mitchell's victory wasn't necessarily a surprise. But Fricker's, by her own admission, was a bit of a surprise.
 
Having battled injuries throughout her freshman year, Fricker has brought her talent and quickness to the forefront this winter. That was especially evident on the final lap of Saturday's 800 when she surged past two Simon Fraser runners and one from Western Oregon – all three of whom were seeded ahead of her – to win in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:15.53.
 
“At the 400 mark, I knew I wanted to pick it up and keep it going, but I was boxed in,” Fricker said. “Finally, a girl broke away in the last 200, and I was able to get around her and sprint to the finish. I got around and I saw the finish line, and I thought, 'Wow, I'm going to win this.
 
“I did not expect that at all.”
 
Laabs-Johnson (Salt Lake City, Utah), in just her second year of indoor track, glided to victory in the 5,000, teaming with fellow senior Natty Plunkett (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) for a 1-2 finish. Laabs-Johnson stopped the watch in 17:42.79; Plunkett was next in 17:50.86, and redshirt freshman Robyn Zeidler (Plymouth, Minn.), who was at the very back of the 11-runner field in the early going, came all the way up for fourth place.
 
It was the second strong run of the day for Laabs-Johnson, who also placed second in the mile.

Junior Emily Quatier had the Falcons' 4-by-400 relay team in a solid second place after her leadoff leg. Mitchell pulled into a nearly dead heat by the time she handed off to senior Myisha Valentine (Mountlake Terrace, Wash./North Sound Christian HS), and Valentine was way in front when Worthen took the baton for the final two laps. SPU finished in 3:53.59.
 
The dominant overall team performance, which included points in every event except the shot put and weight throw, did not surprise SPU head coach Karl Lerum.
 
“They were ready to compete at the first opportunity, the first starting gun, the first time they stepped on the runway,” he said. “It isn't easily done every year. We've had years where we've had something happen or have some people who weren't quite where they should be. In a short season like indoor, there are a lot of variables.”
 
 
NCAA INDOOR WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
GNAC Championships
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Jackson's Track at the Idaho Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
Team scores – 1, Seattle Pacific 182; 2, Western Washington 97.5; 3, Western Oregon 92; 4, Northwest Nazarene 73; 5, Simon Fraser 64; 6, Central Washington 54; 7, Montana State Billings 49.5; 8, Saint Martin's 9.
 
FINALS
60-meter dash – 1, Kishia Mitchell (SPU) 7.80. Other SPU placer – 3, Tasia Baldwin 7.92.
200 – 1, Madison McClung 25.16. SPU placers – 2, Mitchell 25.28; 3, Ali Worthen 25.41; 4, Tasia Baldwin 25.82; 5, BryAnne Wochnick 25.84; 9, Myisha Valentine 26.32; 12, Emily Quatier 26.55.
400 – 1, Eleanor Siler (WWU) 56.70. SPU placers – 2, Myisha Valentine 57.79; 3, Emily Quatier 58.00; 5, Jasmine Johnson 58.21.
800 – 1, McKayla Fricker (SPU) 2:15.53. Other SPU placer – 9, Jasmine Johnson 2:23.90.
Mile – 1, Lindsey Butterworth (SFU) 5:07.32. SPU placers – 2, Heidi Laabs-Johnson 5:08.82; 9, Josie Becker 5:25.95.
5,000 – 1, Heidi Laabs-Johnson (SPU) 17:42.79. Other SPU placers – 2, Natty Plunkett 17:50.86; 4, Robyn Zeidler 18:40.22.
4x400 relay – 1, Seattle Pacific (Emily Quatier, Mitchell, BryAnne Wochnick, Worthen) 3:53.59.
60 hurdles – 1, Ali Worthen (SPU) 8.85. Other SPU placers – 6, Meliea Luquin 9.36; 7, Terra Schumacher 9.40.
High jump – 1, Katie Pelchar (WOU) 5-7 ¼ / 1.71m. SPU placers – 2, Worthen 5-7 ¼ / 1.71 (Pelchar wins in jump-off); 4, Brittany Aanstad 5-3 ¼ / 1.61m; T9, Katy Gross 5-1 ¼ / 1.56m.
Triple jump – 1, Ashley Potter (WOU) 39-7 / 12.06m (meet record, breaks old record 38-10 ½ / 11.85m set by Potter in 2010). SPU placers – 5, Worthen 37-7 ¼ / 11.46m; 8, Trinna Miranda 36-7 ½ / 11.16m.
Shot put – 1, Joy Warrington (NNU) 45-2 ¼ / 13.77m. No SPU competitors.