SEATTLE – Grace Bley didn't want it to end like this. So she's coming back.
 
Scout Cai saw a chance to focus solely on classwork, and then focus solely on her favorite sport. So she's coming back.
 
Kate Lilly figured it was time to move on, then had one of those 'Hey, wait a minute!' thoughts flash through her mind.
 
So she's coming back, too.
 
The three Seattle Pacific senior stars, who – like every college spring sports athlete – saw their seasons halted because of the coronavirus pandemic, are planning to return to the Falcons for their final outdoor track and field campaign in 2021.
 
That opportunity became possible when the NCAA, after cancelling all of its spring championships and subsequently seeing conferences around the country shut down their entire spring schedules, announced on March 30 that spring sports student-athletes participating in 2020 would be able to retain this year of eligibility.
 
As such, current freshmen will still be eligible for four years, sophomores for three, juniors for two, and seniors who choose to return, such as Bley, Cai, and Lilly, for one.
 
That decision is applicable to all three NCAA divisions.
 
"We are very excited to have Grace, Scout, and Kate returning for next year's outdoor track and field season," Seattle Pacific athletic director Jackson Stava said. "While they are certainly talented and will help us competitively, having three incredible women like them as part of SPU athletics just makes us stronger.
 
"Though I know not every senior has this opportunity, I'm grateful for the NCAA allowing this path for those who are able, and grateful that this has allowed these three to compete next spring for the Falcons," Stava added.
 
TITLES ARE IN THEIR DNA
 

Bley is the two-time defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion in the 200-meter dash. She also has run on back-to-back GNAC meet-record 4-by-100 relay teams, and is part of the current SPU school record 4-by-1, along with sophomores Peace Igbonagwam and Jenna Bouyer, and junior Julia Stepper.
 
"I was just coming from a place of not wanting my career to end how it might have," Bley said. "I've been talking about it with Karl (Lerum, the Falcons' head coach and program director) and what my options were. My family and I decided it would be a good year to figure things out and figure out my next steps."
 

Cai came into the spring looking to add to her collection of conference and national honors. She won last year's GNAC pole vault championship, then went on to become a double All-American at the NCAA meet, placing seventh in the heptathlon and eighth in the pole vault.
 
"As soon as the season ended, I knew I wanted to use my eligibility," Cai said. "Honestly, it fit right into my plans for next year to take a gap year and get ready for PT (physical therapy) school. I get to stay in Seattle, I can get hours, and am going to take the classes I need (for PT). I'm really glad things worked out."
 
 

Lilly is one of the leading distance runners at both the conference and national levels. During this past winter's indoor season, she won her first-ever GNAC crown, taking the 3000 meters. Last spring, she raced to an All-American fifth-place finish in the 5000 at NCAAs. Just two weeks prior to that, Lilly was second in the 1500 and fourth in the 5000 at conference.
 
"I was pretty set on, 'OK, I'm done. I'm done with my degree. There's no way I could stick around,' " Lilly said of her initial thoughts. "Then Chris (Reed, SPU's associate head coach and distance coach) called me after a couple weeks just to be sure.
 
"And something clicked," Lilly said. "I'm sitting here with no internships or job opportunities because of the current situation. I thought it would be awesome to come back and take some more computer science classes to get a better resume' for internships that become available and I'm interested in when it's not a global pandemic anymore. And I loved the idea of finishing off my eligibility."
 
Bley, Cai, and Lilly are all outstanding students. Cai (exercise science major) and Lilly (mathematics major, art minor) both just made the GNAC All-Academic team for third time. Bley (exercise science) is on it for the second time. All three could have graduated on time this spring.
 
However, athletes have to be enrolled in some kind of academic pursuit in order to compete. So while Lilly turns her attention to those computer science courses, Bley will work on internship credits, and Cai will focus on her physical therapy-related classes.
 
THINKING THROUGH THE PROCESS
Falcons coach Lerum is thrilled that Blei, Cai, and Lilly have decided to come back, not only for what they do in competition, but for what they do outside of it.
 
 

"Scout and Grace and Kate are obviously some of the best athletes on our team. But they're also people who bring a lot of other things to our community and our team," Lerum said. "It's what they bring in terms of leadership as well as just the value of this time we get together."
 
Lerum said he fully understood at the start of the process that it would have to be a well-thought out individual decision for each of them.
 
"First, they had to see if it made sense in their lives to push back their plans," he said. "Ultimately, all three of them had to come to a feeling that they were making progress and doing the right things for their academic and professional careers, and not just their athletic careers," he said. "I feel like it's a positive move for them. But more importantly, they feel it is."
 
All three will have to work out on their own until the start of winter quarter in January 2021. They then will be allowed to join the team for training. (They will not compete indoors, as they have used all four years of eligibility for the winter season.)
 
"It's unquestionably a challenge, but determined people find ways to succeed," Lerum said. "I have no doubt that these three, knowing what they've already given to the sport and what they will continue to give, will come out on the other side of this situation fit and strong and hungry."
 
Added Bley, "It has been hard not having an immediate goal to work toward. I have another year before I'll compete again – that will be daunting. (But) it has let me take a step back and figure out what's important to me.
 
"It will definitely be a motivating factor when it comes time to compete again."