THE SCHEDULE:              Seattle Pacific at NCAA Indoor Championships
                                           Friday-Saturday, March 13-14, 2020
                                           Birmingham CrossPlex / Birmingham, Ala.
                                           FRIDAY: First event 8:00 a.m. PDT
                                           SPU: Women's long jump, Noon; women's 5000, 3:55 p.m.
                                           SATURDAY: First event 10:30 a.m. PDT
                                           SPU: Women's 3000, 4:10 p.m.
                                           Friday Webcast        Saturday Webcast
                                           Live results (both days)
 

        Weekly release, with athlete bios (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – The national stage is nothing new to Dania Holmberg and Peace Igbonagwam.
 
That could work to their advantage this weekend.
 
The two Seattle Pacific standouts – junior Holmberg and sophomore Igbonagwam – will be on that stage in Alabama at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Competition in the Birmingham CrossPlex is set for Friday and Saturday.
 
Igbonagwam is up first, taking off in the women's long jump at noon Pacific time on Friday. She enters as the No. 11 seed off her title-winning mark of 19 feet, 5½ inches at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference meet on Feb. 21 in Nampa, Idaho.
 
Holmberg will step onto the track twice. First up is the 5000 meters on Friday at 3:55 p.m. PDT. She is seeded No. 9 at 16 minutes, 49.07 seconds, and is No. 12 in the 3000 at 9:38.98.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Those wanting to look in on the action throughout the weekend can do so by tuning in to the free live Webcasts. The appropriate links are available at the top of this story. The links for Friday and Saturday are different, so be sure to click on the appropriate one. Free live results also will be available. That link will be same throughout the weekend.
 
WHAT TIME IS IT?
Birmingham is located in the Central time zone, two hours ahead of Seattle. All times listed above are Pacific time.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Peace Igbonagwam's sixth-place finish in the long jump last year was worth three team points. Those were SPU's only points of the meet and tied for 44^th place.
-- This is the 36^th year of the NCAA indoor nationals In the first 35 meets, SPU has scored team points in 17 of them.
-- The CrossPlex is hosting the nationals for the fourth time. The previous three were in 2013, 2015, and 2017.
-- Seattle Pacific athletes have had some success here. In 2013, McKayla Fricker was fourth in the 800, the 4-by-400 relay (Kishia Mitchell, Emily Quatier, Jasmine Johnson, and Fricker) was sixth, and Katy Gross was 11^th in the pentathlon. The 2015 meet saw the distance medley relay (Jessica Rawlins, Becca Houk, Lynelle Decker, and Anna Patti) place ninth and Decker finish 14^th in the 800. In 2017, the DMR (Sarah Macdonald, Lani Taylor, Chynna Phan, and Mary Charleson) was an All-American eighth, and Charleson ran 13^th in the mile.
-- The highest SPU team finishes at nationals have been a tie for sixth in 1993 and sole possession of sixth in 2009.
 




SCOUTING REPORT
Although not seeded for a top-8 finish in either of her races, Dania Holmberg is well positioned to grab one of those coveted first-team All-American places.
 
In the 5000 meters, her 16:49.07 is three seconds behind eighth-seeded Nicole McMillen of Tusculum. However, at nationals, it sometimes comes down more to pure racing than paying attention to the stopwatch – and if that happens, Holmberg has proven herself up to the task time and time again. She puts herself in position to move up as the race goes along – and then goes and does exactly that.

The top two spots in the field are almost a dead heat. Lauren Bailey of Indianapolis is No. 1 at 16:14.16, and Ida Narbuvoll from the University of Mary is No. 2 at 16:14.33. From there, it's seven seconds back to the rest.
 
In the 3000, Holmberg has taken s huge time drop. She started the season with a 10:00.46 – and that came a mere few hours after breaking five minutes In the mile. At the GNAC Championships, she was down to 9:47.95, and then went 9:38.98 just one week later. The eighth-place time coming into NCAAs is 9:36.92 by Hanna Groeber of Grand Valley State.
 
The long jump is loaded. Anything less than 19 feet no longer makes the cut, and this year, the last of the 16 accepted entries was 19-1½.
 
Peace Igbonagwam is a few places above that at 19-5½. That's already farther than the 19-2¾ she went at last year's NCAAs in Pittsburg, Kansas.
 
Coming into the meet, the last of the top-8 spots belongs to Cheyenne Williamson of Saginaw Valley at 19-7½ -- which just happens to be Igbonagwam's PR, from the 2019 GNAC indoor meet. The top seed is West Texas A&M senior Fatim Afessi with her mark of 20-10 3/4.

Igbonagwam will be well-rested for this one. Unlike the GNAC meet, when the long jump was one of three events on her docket for the first day, her sole focus will be on the long.
 
A TRIPLE MILESTONE FOR HOLMBERG
Even before she arrives in Alabama, it's already going to be quite a week for Dania Holmberg.
 
When Holmberg steps onto the track for the 5000 meters on Friday afternoon, it will be her first appearance at the NCAA indoor nationals.
 
There's Milestone No. 1.
 
That race means Holmberg now will have competed at the NCAA level in all three running seasons: cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter, and outdoor track in the spring – and all within the past year. (She was on the 2018 national cross country team, as well.).
 
That's Milestone No. 2.
 
When Holmberg runs the 3000 on Saturday, she will be the first Seattle Pacific athlete ever to race that distance at an indoor NCAA championship meet.
 
And there's Milestone No. 3.
 
Last spring, Holmberg raced in the 1500 and the 5000 at outdoor nationals in Kingsville, Texas. In November, she ran to an All-American 21^st-place finish at the cross country nationals.
 
Not to be overlooked: Holmberg will be the first SPU runner in the 5000 at nationals since 2009. Jessica Pixler won the title that year in 16 minutes, 22.64 seconds, and Jane Larson was seventh in 17:04.01.
 
IGBONAGWAM IS BEST IN THE WEST
No one in the West Region long-jumped farther than Peace Igbonagwam.
 
Her mark of 19-5½ was at the top of the list when the All-West Region awards were announced by the U.S. Track & Field and cross Country Coaches Association.
 
Igbonagwam earned indoor All-West recognition for the second straight year, having also earned that honor for the long jump in 2019. Along with those, her collection for the indoor season includes six All-GNAC awards and her All-American certificate from last year's indoor long jump.
 
Dania Holmberg joined Igbonagwam on the All-Region list, as she was listed No. 2 in the 3000 and 5000.
 
OUTDOOR ACTION SHIFTS TO PLU
After opening the outdoor season last Saturday at Puget Sound, the Falcons will head back to Tacoma on Saturday, this time to Pacific Lutheran University for the PLU Open.
Field events at the on-campus PLU track begin at 10:00 a.m., and running events get going at 11:00. The last race of the day is set for 3:25 p.m.
 
Most of the Falcon men and a small group of women (four speed / power, and three distance) are scheduled to compete.
 
UP NEXT
With the end of the indoor season this weekend, the Falcons will turn their attention to the fifth annual Doris Heritage Track Festival set for next Saturday, March 21, at West Seattle Stadium.
 
Competition in the field begins at 9:30 a.m. with the women's javelin, men's javelin, and women's long jump. The first race on the track is the men's 1500 meter at 11:00 a.m.
 
For the third straight year, the Falcons will honor their track and cross country seniors midway through the meet. This year's group includes Grace Bley, Scout Cai, Kate Lilly, Sedona McNerney, and Katherine Walter.