THE SCHEDULE                 Seattle Pacific at Puget Sound Invitational
                                                Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023
                                                Men's 5K, 11:00 a.m.   Women's 5K, 11:30 a.m.
                                                Fort Steilacoom Park / Steilacoom, Wash.
                                                No live Webcast or live results
 
 
SEATTLE – It's a new season – and a new era – for the Seattle Pacific cross country teams.
 
The Falcons, who for the first time in 10 years will have a new distance coach guiding them, begin the 2023 schedule this Saturday with a trek to Lakewood for the Puget Sound Invitational.
 
Both races at Fort Steilacoom Park, located southwest of Tacoma, will be 5 kilometers. The men take off from the starting line at 11:00 a.m., followed by the women at 11:30.
 
This will be the first action for SPU under the direction of assistant coach Eric Hansen. He takes over for Chris Reed, whose decade-long tenure at the helm ended in June as he and his wife moved to Portland.
 
Saturday's meet will mark the third year in a row that the Falcons have begun their season in Fort Steilacoom Park.
 
Last year, now-graduated Libby Michael won the women's race, leading the Falcons to a 1-2-3-4-5 finish and a perfect team score of 15.
 
The men also had a solid day, finishing second in the team standings, and placing two in the top five. That included a fourth-place run from Brennan LeBlanc, who is back for another season.
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RUNNIN' IN THE SUN
It figures to be pretty close to a perfect morning for the season opener. Saturday's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s at race time, pushing toward the low 80s – although that will be long after the final runner has crossed the finish line. Wind will not be a factor, and there is no chance of rain.
 
KEEPING TRACK OF THE ACTION
Live results will not be available. Results will be posted as quickly as possible after the race at www.loggerathletics.com and at www.tfrrs.org.
 
FINDING YOUR WAY TO THE ACTION
Fort Steilacoom Park is located near Lakewood,. Heading north or south on Interstate 5, take Exit 129 toward S. 72nd / S. 84th / S. 74th Street, and head west on S. 74th for 2.7 miles. Continue onto Custer Road for another 1.2 miles, and then turn right onto 88th Street SW. Go 0.3 miles, and continue onto Steilacoom Boulevard SW for one mile. Turn left onto 87th Avenue SW and into the park. Ample parking is available.



 
HANSEN COMES ABOARD
Eric Hansen, who helped direct Detroit's Wayne State University to two NCAA Division II women's cross country nationals and one men's nationals, is joining Seattle Pacific as an assistant cross country and track coach.
 
Under Hansen's guidance during the 2022-23 school year, the Warriors women finished program-best ninth at the D2 cross country nationals as part of the Fall Sports Festival that was hosted by Seattle Pacific. It was their second nationals during his time there.
 
The 2019 women's team finished 25th at nationals, their first NCAAs since 2014. The men qualified in 2021, placing 15th. That was their first NCAAs since 2008.
 
On the track, Wayne State's women were fourth at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) indoor conference meet this past February and third at the outdoor conference meet in May.
 
He coached two individual outdoor GLIAC champions, as sophomore Reagan Justice won the 10,000 meters, and senior Thalia Christensen was first in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Justice made the NCAA provisional qualifying list in the 10K, as well as the indoor 3K and 5K.  Christensen got onto the provisional list in the steeple.
 
Senior Ransom Allen was ninth in the men's cross country nationals last December and posted an NCAA provisional time in the men's 5000 this spring. His cross country finish was the highest ever by a Wayne State man.
 
 

"We're really excited to hire a coach the caliber of Eric," SPU head coach and program director Karl Lerum said. "He has had a couple different stops and has worked in a couple different divisions and comes from a program that is fresh off a national cross country berth. He has done the work to build a team and succeed at the highest levels of Division II."
 
A native of Solon, Ohio, Hansen competed as a freshman and sophomore at D3 John Carroll University in Ohio, then moved to Ashland University, a D2 school also in Ohio, for his junior and senior seasons. He ran cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track all four years. He graduated from Ashland with a degree in exercise science in 2017.
 
COACH ERIC HANSEN SAYS …
(On his outlook for the season)
"We'll have our team goal-setting before that first meet so we can kind of work together on what they want to accomplish and what I think we can accomplish. Once we settle in on those details, we'll be able to create a road map to help us get there by the end of the season. But the big goal, no matter what program you're at, what division, what level, what conference is to always finish higher than you're projected in the standings."
 
 

(On his early impressions of the Falcons)
"It's a great group. I was able to talk to each of them over the summer on the phone. Some have been in touch with me quite a bit more than that. They all seem like a great group of athletes. I'm excited to be here working with them in person."
 
(On what he's looking for this Saturday)
"I like using that first meet just to get good baseline of where everyone is at fitness-wise."
 
(On how he likes to coach)
"My personal style is a little more read-and-respond. I do come up with a plan, but I definitely tweak it quite a bit as I go, based on what I'm seeing and what they're telling me how they're feeling, and just trying to get a little bit better every day."
 
SCOUTING THE PUGET SOUND INVITATIONAL
Many of the Falcons who are slated to run on Saturday saw action on this same mostly-flat course exactly 52 weeks ago.
 
Among the SPU women who put together the 1-2-3-4-5 finish, Libby Michael (No. 1) and Vanessa Aniteye (No. 5) both have graduated. But the middle three are back: sophomore Matise Mulch (No. 2), sophomore Katelyn Flolo (No. 3), and junior Nicki Yorges (No. 4). For Mulch and Flolo, it was their first college competition of any kind, and they came through in impressive stye.
 
Mulch went on to be in SPU's top three all season long. Flolo scored in three of the remaining five meets, and Yorgos scored in two of the remaining meets.
 
On the men's side, senior Brennan LeBlanc was second in last year's Puget Sound Invite, and he became SPU's most consistent runner through the entire autumn. Of the six meets for the Falcons, he was No. 2 in three and was No. 1 in the other three.
 
Nathaniel Gale and Isaac Venable, made their college debuts by placing among SPU's top 7. Gale was No. 6 for the team and 23rd overall; Venable was No. 7 and 25th overall.
 
Of the other eight Falcons who ran, Gabe Endresen was No. 11 for the team and 39th overall; five others have moved on, and two are not slated to race.
 
RACING CLOSE TO HOME
Seattle Pacific will run four regular-season meets during September and October, and all four are within driving distance.
 
Along with Saturday's meet in Lakewood, the Falcons will race in Tacoma at Pacific Lutheran University on Sept. 16, in Bellingham at Lake Padden Park on Sept. 23, and in Seattle at Lower Woodland Park on Oct. 7.
 
Postseason competition will be much farther afield. The GNAC Championships are in Anchorage on Saturday, Oct. 21. That is the first postseason meet in Alaska since 2001. The NCAA Division II West Regionals are at Western Oregon's Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth on Nov. 4. The nationals are Saturday, Nov. 18, in Joplin, Missouri.
 
POLLING PLACE
The SPU women have been picked for a sixth-place finish in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and the men have been picked for eighth in the preseason coaches poll that was announced on Thursday.
 
Seattle Pacific's women received 44 points in the voting by the 10 conference coaches. The Falcons were sixth in last year's GNAC Championships at Western Oregon's Ash Creek Preserve course.
 
The men picked up 34 points in the poll. They were eighth in last year's conference meet.
 
Western Washington, which won both titles last season, not only is the favorite to repeat on both sides, it is the unanimous favorite – on both sides. The Vikings received all 10 women's first-place votes and all 10 men's first-places, totaling 100 points each. Simon Fraser is the No. 2 choice on both sides, with the women receiving 83 points and the men 89. The Saint Martin's women and the Alaska Anchorage men are picked third.

SCOUTING THE 2023 FALCONS
The 2023 Seattle Pacific women's team is a small one with just nine runners, and a young one with no seniors. But there's still a good amount of proven experience.
 
 

Up front are junior Annika Esvelt and sophomore Matise Mulch. Esvelt, who has All-Region honors in cross country and is an All-American in track, ran in three meets last year and led the Falcons in all three, including at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. Mulch was among SPU's top three in all six races, and was first across the line for the team (59th overall) at the NCAA West Regionals.
 
Another trio of returners includes junior Nicki Yorges, along with sophomores Maya Ewing and Katelyn Flolo.
 
 

Yorges ran in all six meets, scoring for the Falcons at UPS, Central Washington, and the Charles Bowles, placing No. 4 for the team In all three. Flolo likewise ran in all six, and scored in four. She was part of the season-opening 1-2-3-4-5 finish at Puget Sound (finishing third), and was the fifth scorer at the NCAA West Regionals. In addition, she was the No. 5 SPU finisher at the NCAA Pre-Nationals. Ewing raced in the last four meets and was among the team's top five in three of them: No. 5 at GNAC and No. 4 at Regionals.
 
Ewing and Flolo both went on to become steeplechasers during the outdoor track season. Ewing was sixth at the GNAC Championships, and Flolo took 15th.
 
Other veterans are juniors Charisma Smith and Johanna Brown.
 
Coming aboard are sophomore Marissa Crane, a strong 400-meter runner in track (third at GNAC) who ran two years of cross country in high school, and freshman Anna Prussian from Sitka, Alaska. Prussian won the Alaska state championship last year, was second as a junior and freshman, and sixth as a sophomore.
 

SPU's men return three of last year's regular top-7 performers. At the head of the pack is senior Brennan LeBlanc, who proved he is a steady, dependable performer. In six meets, he was the first Falcon across the finish line in three of them, and second across in the other three. He led the way for the team at the NCAA West Regionals, placing 74th overall. He was No. 2 (behind now-graduated Jon Owen) at GNAC, placing 49th overall.
 

Sophomores Nathaniel Gale and Isaac Venable also return. Gale was among the top five scorers in both postseason meets, placing No. 5 (62nd overall) at GNAC and No. 4 (143rd) at Regionals. Venable was the team's fifth scorer at the Charles Bowles Invite.
 
Gabe Endresen, a junior, ran in three meets. Ben Shearon, also a junior, missed cross country and indoor track with an injury, but was back in action for the outdoor track season, primarily in the 800 and 1500.
 
A pair of freshman are joining up this fall. Silas Demmert from Sitka placed fifth in last fall's Alaska state meet. That was his fourth consecutive state appearance and his third straight top-20 finish. He was seventh as a junior in 2021 and 12th as a sophomore. Those same three years, he won the regional championship.
 
Jonathan Lieb is from Mead in Spokane. He finished a best-ever 22nd at the Class 3A (medium-large school) Washington state meet as a senior last year. Just two weeks after that, at the Pacific Northwest Regional XC Showcase, Lieb ran  his first sub-16 for 5 kilometers, clocking 15:59.4.

AROUND THE WEST
Perennial power Chico State is the choice to win its 20th straight California Collegiate Athletic Association men's cross country title. The Wildcats received eight first-place votes 75 points in the preseason coaches poll. Cal Poly Pomona was second with 68. On the women's side, Chico State is an ever-so-slight favorite, with five of the 11 first place votes and 109 points. Stanislaus got five firsts and 103 points.
 
Biola is a unanimous choice to make it two straight Pacific West Conference women's titles. The Eagles picked up all 11 first-place votes and 121 points. Concordia Irvine was picked second with 102 points, just ahead of Azusa Pacific with 101. For the men, Azusa Pacific was the unanimous choice to win its first conference crown, hauling in all nine first-place votes and 81 points. Biola is the No. 2 choice with 68 points, and Fresno Pacific is third with 65.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Sept. 16, at the PLU Invitational in Tacoma. The meet will take place at PLU Meadows, an on-campus course that starts and finishes behind the baseball diamond's left field. The women's 6K begins at 11;00 a.m., followed by the men's 8K at 11:30.