SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons will go some distance on the cross country course this fall – but, at least during the regular season, not a lot of distance to get to those courses.
 
SPU has a mostly local schedule of four meets prior to the championship portion of the 2023 season.
 

For the second year in a row, they'll start off with a trek to Lakewood for the Puget Sound Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 2. Both the men's and women's races at Fort Steilacoom Park are 5 kilometers, with the men starting at 11:00 a.m. and the women at 11:30.
 
Last year, the women, led by now-graduated Libby Michael, won their portion of the meet by finishing 1-2-3-4-5 for a perfect team score of 15 points.
 
The Pacific Lutheran Invitational is set for Saturday, Sept. 16, at PLU Meadows, a course that starts and finishes just beyond the baseball diamond on campus. The women race 6 kilometers beginning at 11:00 a.m., and the men go 8K at 11:30.
 
One week later, the Falcons head north to Bellingham for the Bill Roe Western Washington Classic. This year's meet will be at Lake Padden Park, which has hosted numerous regular-season and postseason meets previously. The women's 6K is at 10:00 a.m., with the men's 8K set for 10:45 a.m. (The Classic normally has a men's 10K, but it is 8K this year because of the earlier date on the schedule.)
 
The regular season concludes on Saturday, Oct. 7, at Seattle's Lower Woodland Park with the Emerald City Open, hosted by Club Northwest. Race times for the women's 6K and the men's 8K have not yet been announced.
 
Postseason competition begins in Anchorage's Kincaid Park with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. Those races are set for Saturday, Oct. 21. The women's 6K is at noon Pacific time, followed by the men's 8K at 1:00 p.m. The inaugural GNAC meet in 2001 was at Kincaid, but this will be the first postseason meet in Alaska since then.
 
The NCAA Division II West Regionals are back at Western Oregon's Ash Creek Preserve on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 10:00 a.m. for the women's 6K and 11:15 a.m. for the men's 10K.
 
This year's nationals are set for Saturday, Nov. 18, in Joplin, Mo, at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course. Starting times have not yet been announced.
 
 
2023 SEATTLE PACIFIC CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE
 
Saturday, Sept. 2                Puget Sound Invitational
                                                Fort Steilacoom Park / Lakewood
                                                Men's 5K, 11:00 a.m.     Women's 5K, 11:30 a.m.
 
Saturday, Sept. 16             PLU Invitational
                                                PLU Meadows / Tacoma
                                                Women's 6K, 11:00 a.m.     Men's 8K, 11:30 a.m.
 
Saturday, Sept. 23             Bill Roe WWU Classic
                                                Lake Padden Park / Bellingham
                                                Women's 6K, 10:00 a.m     Men's 8K, 10:45 a.m.
 
Saturday, Oct. 7                  Emerald City Open
                                                Lower Woodland Park / Seattle
                                                Women's 6K, time TBA     Men's 8K, time TBA
 
Saturday, Oct. 21               GNAC Championships
                                                Kincaid Park / Anchorage
                                                Women's 6K, Noon PDT     Men's 8K, 1:00 p.m PDT
 
Saturday, Nov. 4                 NCAA Division II West Regionals
                                                Ash Creek Preserve / Monmouth, Ore.
                                                Women's 6K, 10:00 a.m.     Men's 10K, 11:15 a.m.
 
Saturday, Nov. 21               NCAA Division II Championships
                                                Tom Ridge Cross Country Course / Joplin, Mo.
                                                Women's 6K, time TBA     Men's 10K, time TBA