NCAA release (HTML)
        GNAC release (HTML)
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The Seattle Pacific women's cross country team gets to race another day – and it just happens to be on the biggest day of the season.
 
The Falcons have been awarded one of the 10 at-large berths to the NCAA Division II championship meet, which is set for Saturday, Nov. 23, at 10:00 a.m. in Sacramento.
 
The announcement was made Monday afternoon.
 
"For them to stay focused the past few weeks, they've continued to pour their heart and soul into each other and into the team," associate head coach Chris Reed said. "That has really showed in the last couple of meets. They've run well in a championship setting, and what a treat to go to one more championship setting and go against the best women in the division."
 
SPU is coming off a fifth-place finish at last Saturday's West Region meet in Monmouth, Ore. Junior Dania Holmberg and senior Kate Lilly led the way, placing second and eighth individually.
 
Only the top three teams in each of the country's eight regions earned automatic berths into the 34-team nationals. The other 10 spots were based season performances, especially against other top-caliber teams. The Falcons have been a top-25 team all season, and are currently ranked No. 14 nationally.
 
The West, regarded as one of the strongest, if not the strongest region in the country, wound up with four of the 10 at-large spots: Alaska Anchorage, SPU, Cal Poly Pomona, and Western Washington, who went 4-5-6-7 in Monmouth. They will join automatic qualifiers Chico State, Northwest Nazarene, and Cal State East Bay.

 

"We talk all the time about how getting out of the West is really the biggest challenge," Reed said. "If you're able to get out of the West, you're already one of the best teams in the country. Obviously, we have a tough race coming up, with a lot of good teams. Running in the West is probably the best (preparation) you can ask for."
 
The meet will be at Arcade Creek Golf Course – and the six Falcons who will be on their way to California next week already are familiar with it. They ran there on Sept. 28 in the Capital Cross Challenge, placing eighth among the 40 teams in the elite Women's Invitational Division. Lilly was 12^th and Holmberg 24^th on that day.
 
"Only eight of the 34 teams (going to nationals) have been on that course. For us to be one of those eight is definitely a big advantage for us," Reed said. "They can play it in their heads over and over the next couple weeks and they can plan out where to make their moves and (review) things they learned last time."
 
Reed said the biggest thing that will help in preparation is the team's mindset.
 
"They're running for each other, and that's the one thing we saw this past weekend (at regionals)," he said. "Not every team ran for each other. But every decision our ladies made on Saturday was an attempt to increase the likelihood that our team qualified. They made team-first decisions over the course of the race."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- This is the second straight trip to nationals for the Seattle Pacific women, and the program's 19^th overall.
-- At last year's NCAAs, the Falcons were 15^th. Of  the six women heading to Sacramento, all except redshirt freshman Kelsey Washenberger ran through the muddy mess in Pittsburgh.
--Along with the SPU, NNU, Anchorage, and Western Washington teams, two GNAC individuals were selected for the race. Simon Fraser's Olivia Willett and Western Oregon's Grace Knapp both earned at-large invitations.
--Just like the West women, the West men earned four at-large team invitations. Stanislaus State, Western Washington, Biola, and UC San Diego will join auto qualifiers Chico State, Cal Poly Pomona, and Cal State San Marcos.
-- Alaska Anchorage's Felix Kemboi and Wesley Kirui, and Northwest Nazarene's Tyler Shea will go as individuals.