By MARK MOSCHETTI
Seattle Pacific Sports Information

SEATTLE – Happy Mother's Day.
 
By the time you're reading this, it's at least 10 o'clock in the morning – probably later. 
 
By the time you're reading this, Vanessa Aniteye has been up since at least 7 o'clock – probably earlier. 
 
Or, because it's Mother's Day, maybe she got to sleep in. 
 

"There's no such thing as sleeping in. If I sleep until 7:30, that's sleeping in," said a smiling Aniteye – track star, student, wife … and mother to almost 2-year-old Josiah. "Now that he's older, he sleeps better. But my day still starts anywhere from 6 to 7 a.m. every day." 
 
And you know what? The Seattle Pacific senior can hardly wait until that very first minute of every day, no matter how early it is. She reminds herself to cherish it all until the very last minute of every day . . .  
 
. . . no matter how late it is. 
 
"It's definitely not easy. I have a lot on my plate," said Aniteye (pronounced ANN-ih-tay). "But I have a great support system that reminds me of all the things I'm doing." 
 
Aniteye never plays all of her many roles at the same time. But by cherishing each role through every 24 hours that goes by, she has found a way to balance being a loving mom and wife, being a successful student – and being one of the fastest sprinters in the country on the track, especially in the 400-meter dash and on the 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 relays 
 
"There's always people who want to say, 'How can you do this? I don't know how you do it.' Same thing for my coaches – they know and they're aware that I'm not just a student-athlete. 
 
"It's kind of outdoing yourself and seeing what you can do," Aniteye added. "We're moms, but we're more than that." 
 
BEST START EVER 
It's the second Saturday in March, and the first outdoor meet of 2022. The Falcons are in Tacoma at Pacific Lutheran University for the PLU Open. The forecast is calling for a rather nasty day, but so far, so good, as the sun is poking out occasionally, 
 
Around 1:30 p.m., Aniteye takes the starting line for the 800 meters. It's twice as long as her favorite event, the 400, but she had raced it once during her three years at Alaska Anchorage. 
 

As she heads up the backstretch on the second of two laps, Aniteye surges past a pair of Western Washington runners, then steadily pulls away down the stretch, winning by a bit less than two seconds. Her time of 2:12.31 is just seven-hundredths of a second away from making the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. 
 
"I wouldn't call myself an 800 runner, but I think running that gave me some strength and fitness," she said. (The following week, at the Doris Heritage Track Festival, Aniteye did make NCAA provisional with a 2:11.16.) 
 
That turned out to be one of the three wins Aniteye  factored into on her Falcon debut day, as she also was on the victorious 4-by100 and 4-by-400 relays. 
 
"Actually, it was the best season opener I've ever had," she said. "I never started the season on such a good note. It was great for building confidence."  
 
Fast forward three weeks. Instead of cool, breezy Tacoma, Aniteye and a group of Falcons are in warm and sunny Clovis, California, at the West Coast Relays. This time, she is in the 400, an event in which she has won five Great Northwest Athletic Conference titles (three outdoors, two indoors). 
 
But this is her first 400 since way back on May 23, 2019, when she placed 17th at the NCAA Division II nationals. 
 
And Aniteye has a few butterflies in her stomach. 
 
"I felt like a newbie again – do I know how to do this?'" she recalled of her pre-race feelings. "But once the gun went off, it was like muscle memory." 
 
She finished her lap around the Veterans Memorial Stadium track in 54.60 seconds, breaking the SPU school record of 54.68 on her very first try and putting herself into the early-season national top 10. 
 
"I really didn't know where I was at (in terms of fitness and competitiveness). That's why I was so nervous for that first 400," Aniteye said. 
 
FINDING HER WAY BACK TO RACING – AND TO SPU 
Getting comfortable again in the 400 was just part of Aniteye's return to track. 
 
Before she could run that race, she had to get comfortable with the idea of returning at all. 
 
"I definitely had doubts – it had been two years," she said. "In the year after I had Josiah, I was practicing on my own. Going back into college sports where I practice every single day, it has really helped me to just be consistent and kind of get back to myself. My body has done it before, it can do it again – maybe even more." 
 
Added husband Brandon Nicholson, whom she met while both were at UAA (he was a long, high, and triple jumper for the Seawolves) and whom she married in August 2019, ""There was a lot more in the works than just returning or not returning. There was our son (born in May 2020), my job, and everything involved with life. That made it a little more difficult, but I'm just glad everything worked out for us." 
 
Now, Aniteye had to find a place to compete. She had left Alaska Anchorage after the 2019 season, but still had one year of eligibility remaining for both indoor and outdoor track, and wanted to complete her degree in exercise science. 
 
"I definitely had times where I didn't know where I was going to go," she said. "I didn't know if they would accept me, knowing that I'm a mom. But I told them right away, 'Hey, I just want to let you know that I do have a little one.'" 
 
There was a particular reason Seattle Pacific was at the forefront of Aniteye's mind. 
 
"It seems like SPU always has good sprinters, It was like, 'They have a good program, and that would be a good fit for me.'" 
 
She and Falcons head coach Karl Lerum initially spoke in spring 2021. Last September, shortly before the start of the current academic year, Aniteye was in Seattle and took the opportunity to meet with Lerum and his staff, and went on a tour of the school. 
 
"She was looking for a way to get back into track. She told me that track had done a lot for her in her life and she wasn't ready to be done with it," Lerum said. "She wanted to see what it still had for her." 
 
Once Aniteye determined that she could make it work both academically and athletically, and once she was able to find some off-campus housing, she made the decision to come, and started school right away. 
 
Lerum was glad to welcome her aboard. 
 
"I'm always excited to have diverse perspectives on our team, and she brings many different perspectives that I value," he said. "She's a mom, she grew up in Germany, has international experience. And she has been an exceptional runner for a long time. It's exciting to get to work with an athlete of her caliber." 
 
GOLDEN INSPIRATION FROM FELIX 
A driving force behind Aniteye's decision to go for it was none other than Allyson Felix. The American star sprinter gave birth to her daughter in 2018, started a gradual return in 2019, and then last year at the Tokyo Olympics won a bronze medal in the 400 and capped her career with a gold in the 4-by-400 relay – her 11th Olympic medal and seventh gold. 
 
 

"She has proven moms can do anything," Aniteye said. "She's amazing, she's inspiring. I've looked up to her every step of the way, seeing some of the similarities she has been through. She knows some of the struggles – and even with all of those struggles, you can never limit what a mother can do." 
 
One of the early decisions Aniteye made was to focus on just outdoor track this year. Next winter, she'll use her final season of indoor eligibility. 
 
"I felt I wanted to give myself some time to get back into it," she said. "I really wanted to come back strong and didn't want to waste a season. I had one indoor competition where I ran unattached, and that was a good way to see, 'This is where I'm at.' I was able to practice more and just come back for outdoor." 
 
Along with the day-to-day training, Aniteye also was paying attention to her mental approach. 
 
"Usually in track, you're all about (personal-bests)," she said. "But I'm a mother now, and it's completely different. I want to be the best version of myself that I can be now. Then when I had the season-opener (at PLU), I kind of felt like, 'You're still in it.' I can set goals now, and I'm close to getting to my PR now. 
 
"It was really nice to see, 'Wow, my body can do more than I thought I could.'" 
 
DISCOVERING A NEW SPORT … IN ALASKA 
Growing up in Hamburg, Germany, track was not Aniteye's sport of choice. Instead, she was a soccer player. 
 

She also wanted to be an exchange student. She was accepted into a program, and knew she was going to come to the United States, "but I had no idea where I was going. I love summer, so in my naïve mind, I thought, 'Maybe they'll send me to California or somewhere warm.' 
 

"A week before I went, I got this letter, and it said, 'You're going to Alaska.' I was like, 'Hold on. No way.'" 
 
But off she went … to Alaska. Hoping to play soccer during her time there, Aniteye was on the treadmill one day, doing some sprints. The father of her exchange host family happened to be a track coach – and happened to see her running on that treadmill. He suggested she consider track. 
 
After some initial hesitation, she decided to give it a try. In her very first meet, Aniteye was entered in the 400. 
 
"I didn't know what I was doing. I took off and sprinted the first 200. Then the last 200 was the roughest, hardest time I've ever had," she said, laughing at the memory. "I started out with something like a 66.8, but before I ended the season, I was at 59." 
 
Back home in Germany after her exchange visit, Aniteye continued to play soccer, but also looked for a local track club. In short order, track did become her sport of her choice, and when it eventually was time for college, she wound up returning to Alaska – cold weather and all – to compete for Alaska Anchorage. 
 
Along with her aforementioned five GNAC crowns in the 400, Aniteye also ran on a conference-champion 4-by-400 indoor team and 4-by-100 outdoor team. She has raced in six NCAA meets: three indoors and three outdoors. 
 
STILL SPEEDY ON THE OVAL 
Looking at her performances so far this spring, not much has changed on the track. Just as she was in 2019, Aniteye is running at a national-caliber level. 
 
As the Falcons get ready for the GNAC Championships this coming Friday and Saturday at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, she ranks No. 10 in NCAA Division II in the 400. Aniteye and teammates Jenna Bouyer, Aniya Green, and Peace Igbonagwam are right on the bubble for making it in either of the two relays. 
 

"She has a lot of knowledge and skills that she brings to our team," Igbonagwam said, "and trying to encourage us and really tell us what we're capable of. She's really outgoing on that. She really cares about the things that she has – track and family." 
 
Her biggest fan, naturally enough, is husband Brandon, born and raised in Wasilla, Alaska, and a commercial fisherman up there during the summer. 
 
"I'm really proud," he said. "I like to say it's not boasting if it's not about yourself. I like to show off Vanessa and her accomplishments." 
 
In other ways, of course, everything has changed. Nowadays, track is an outlet for stepping away – if only briefly – from the daily myriad of motherhood responsibilities, starting in those very early hours of the morning. 
 
"When I first had him, I was doing workouts at 6 a.m.. He would take a morning nap, so I would sneak out and do a workout," Aniteye said. "Last fall, we had 7 a.m. practice, so I would go to practice, then hop into online class. He didn't go to daycare. I would just watch him on the side while I was in class. This quarter, since I have more (in-person) classes and Brandon is working, he did start daycare." 
 
As big of a blessing as Josiah and Brandon are to her, so too is running. 
 
"I feel like I have a deeper purpose than I used to before," Aniteye said. "I'm really doing track for myself. As a student-athlete, sometimes it can feel like a job. But I have a different perspective now. This is my me-time. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that I'm lucky." 
 
"I love track. It's one of the main things I care about," she added. "But at the end of the day, Josiah is my number one priority. I care about him the most, and coming home (after school or practice) kind of reminds me of that." 
 
 

"GENUINELY BLESSED" 
Athlete. Student. Wife. 
 
Mom. 
 

It's a lot to keep in balance. And a lot for which to be thankful. 
 
"Two years ago, I wouldn't have thought that I would be here today," Aniteye said. "I have a little more gratitude now. I didn't see this opportunity, and I was really mourning that last year. I'm just so grateful that I get to do this and I can put my energy into this. 
 
"I feel genuinely blessed." 
 
As for how she might celebrate Mother's Day? Aniteye laughed when she was asked that question. 
 
"I didn't even think about Mother's Day," she said. "I have a lot of things going on, so I forgot about Mother's Day. 
 
"I don't have any plans," she added. "So we'll see." 
 
Plans? Well … here's one possibility: 
 
Because it's Mother's Day, maybe – just maybe – Vanessa Aniteye got to sleep in. 
 
Until at least 7:30.