STEILACOOM, Wash. – Through the first three years of her Seattle Pacific career, distance runner Libby Michael has faced so many different curveballs, one might think she was taking part in the sport where they run around the basepaths.
 
Injuries, pandemic shutdowns – you name it, she has dealt with it.
 
Truth is, Michael prefers running around cross country courses. On Saturday morning, the Falcon senior finally got to do that in an official meet.
 
And then, wouldn't you know it? She went out and won it.
 
Michael was with multiple teammates in the lead pack right from the start and then gradually pulled away in the second of the race to win by 12 seconds at the season-opening Puget Sound Invitational.
 
The time for Michael on the 5-kilometer course at Fort Steilacoom Park was 18 minutes, 57 seconds. But on this day, time or even place wasn't what mattered most to her.
 
She was racing again – and it felt so good.
 
"I've been looking forward to this all summer with all of my training I'm really excited to finally get a race, and I'm glad it went well," Michael said. "Summer training was pretty good – I kept it on the lighter side because I was also working. … Now, I have a better idea of where I'm at."
 




After Michael crossed the finish line, four more Falcons were the next ones into the chute. Freshmen Matise Mulch and Katelyn Flolo went 2-3, followed by sophomore Nicki Yorges in fourth, and senior Vanessa Aniteye – a sprinter doing cross country for the first time – in fifth.
 
That all added up to a perfect team score of 15 points, well ahead of the other four schools.

"I don't think I've ever coached a perfect score – you're never gong to complain about 15 points," SPU associate head coach / distance coach Chris Reed said. "It was really neat, and the way they did it Was cool too, because there was a lot of ebb and flow in the group. They were talking and communicating with each other. There were times when the pack split apart and times when it came back together. It had a real nice energy about it."
 
A LONG TIME COMING
Michael did get to run a full outdoor track season last year, which concluded with an 11^th-place finish in the 1500 meters at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.
 
But this was her first time on the starting line in a cross country race that counted for something. She missed 2019 with an injury; the 2020 season was canceled because of Covid-19, and an injury kept her sidelined last fall.
 
Her only cross country event in a Falcons uniform was at the Central Washington Winter Invitational in February 2021 – an unofficial meet on a snow-covered course that simply was an opportunity for athletes to race after not being able to do so the previous fall. (Michael placed eighth in that 6-kilometer event.)


 

"To see her get a win was so great, because she has been through a lot," Reed said. "We saw a lot of her talent and abilities last spring (in track), but cross country has always been that really elusive thing for her. I'm so happy for her – she deserves it, 100 percent. And I love the way she raced today."
 
With all of that, others might have decided to hang up their shoes. Michael acknowledged having one or two fleeting thoughts like that – but not for very long.
 
"I feel like there was a moment last year when I had that second stress fracture. It had been one thing after another, and I wasn't really sure," she said. "But I'm glad I decided to come back because last track season was really fun, and I think we have a good cross country season ahead of us."
 
A chance to step up that starting line on Saturday made it all worth it.
 
"I guess I always knew that I loved to race and wanted to get back to the point where I was fit enough to compete again," she said. "So I kind of kept that in the back of my head when I was injured or when things weren't going great. It was really rewarding to get back to this point."
 
And getting to the finish line first?
 
:It was a feeling I haven't felt in a while," she said with a smile.
 




SOLID START AS THOMPSON, LeBLANC LEAD MEN TO 2^ND
With a crew of 11 that included five true freshmen and two others running their first race for the Falcons, SPU placed two in the top 10 and all five of its scorers in the top 20 for a second-place team finish.
 
Seattle Pacific wound up with 45 points. Pacific Lutheran, with a strong late surge that put all five of its scorers in the top 10, won with 32.
 
Drew Thompson, a sophomore who ran outdoor track last season but is in his first year for cross country, was strong from start to finish and took third place. Brennan LeBlanc, a sophomore who joined the Falcons last year after competing in 2020 at Sierra Nevada College, was fourth, just five seconds behind Thompson.
 
"We were at this meet last year, and it didn't go so well – there was little bit of a sour taste in our mouths," coach Chris Reed said. (The Falcons were fourth of five teams.) "This year is the exact opposite. Our front-end depth is a lot better than it was a year ago, certain members of the team have improved, and our returners and some of our newcomers made big contributions today."
 
Thompson finished his 5 kilometers in 15 minutes, 47 seconds. LeBlanc was close behind in 15:52. Tom Thake, one of those five freshmen was 11^th overall and No. 3 for Seattle Pacific in 16:08. Sophomore veteran Jon Owen was 15^th,and sophomore newcomers Kade Franco rounded out the scoring in 19^th.
 
"The fact that PLU got us had nothing to do with our men's effort – PLU ran a great race and our guys really went for it, and I'm proud of them for doing that," Reed said. "That sets a nice tone for the season as a whole and gives us a lot to work toward."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Puget Sound Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022
5 kilometers at Fort Steilacoom Park / Steilacoom, Wash.
 
Team scores – 1, Seattle Pacific 15; 2, Pacific Lutheran 52; 3, Puget Sound 81; 4, Green River College 81 (Puget Sound wins tiebreaker); 5, Olympic College 127.
 
Top 5 – 1, Libby Michael (SPU) 18:57.0; 2, Matise Mulch (SPU) 19:09; 3, Katelyn Flolo (SPU) 19:36.0; 4, Nicki Yorges 19:38.0; 5, Vanessa Aniteye (SPU) 19:41.0.
 
Other SPU – 22, Charisma Smith 22:07.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Puget Sound Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022
5 kilometers at Fort Steilacoom Park / Steilacoom, Wash.
 
Team scores – 1, Pacific Lutheran 32; 2, Seattle Pacific 45; 3, Green River College 73; 4, Puget Sound 77.
 
Top 5 – 1, Ben Kerr (UPS) 15:29.0; 2, Colin Monaghan (TCRC) 15:42.0; 3, Drew Thompson (SPU) 15:47.0; 4, Brennan LeBlanc (SPU) 15:52.0; 5, Ryan Stracke (PLU) 15:53.0.
 
Other SPU – 11, Tom Thake 16:08.0; 15, Jon Owen 16:14.9; 19, Kade Franco 16:26.0; 23, Nathaniel Gale 16:52.0; 25, Isaac Venable 16:54.0; 26, Rory McClelland 16:55.0; 34, Lucas Reyes 17:24.9; 35, Ethan Erickson 17:28.0; 39, Gabe Endresen 18:04.0.