THE SCHEDULE
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 9-10          Seattle Pacific at Husky Classic
                                               Dempsey Indoor / Seattle, Wash.
                                               FRIDAY: Track, 2:10 p.m.   Field, 3:00 pm.
                                               SATURDAY: Track events and field events, 9:00 a.m.
                                               Live Webcast (subscription)             Live results
 

SEATTLE – Whether it's going around the track or down the runway, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have one more competitive opportunity to make their marks before heading into the championship portion of the indoor season.
 
A select number of Falcons will make their final trip of the winter to Dempsey Indoor when they head to this weekend's Husky Classic.
 
Action begins on Friday, with track events at 2:10 p.m. and field events at 3:00 p.m  On Saturday, competition both on the track and in the field gets started at 9:00 a.m. 
 
Most of the Falcons will be going on Friday, with the men's pole vault, women's high jump, women's 60 hurdles, women's 200-meter dash and women's 5000 meters among the events on the docket. The only SPU events on Saturday will be the women's pole vault, women's 400 meters, and men's 400 meters.
 
KEEPING TRACK OF THE ACTION
The meet will have a live Webcast and live results available. The Webcast will be on RunnerSpace.com, and requires signing up and purchasing a subscription. There is no charge for accessing the live results. The appropriate links for both can be found at the top of this story.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKY CLASSIC
When she ran the 5000 meters at the UW Invitational two weeks ago, Annika Esvelt knew she wasn't feeling 100 percent that night … but wanted to race anyway. She got onto the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying list with a time of 16 minutes, 59.72 seconds. She'll be looking to drop that time considerably on Friday.
 
 

Esvelt's time currently ranks No. 24 on the national list. Only the top 16 are guaranteed a spot at next month's nationals in Pittsburg, Kansas, although meet officials do have the ability to add addition competitors to various events depending on the strength of a particular event and the total number of competitors in the meet. The current No. 16 time is 16:47.90. Esvelt's personal best is 16:31.12 at the 2022 NCAAs.
 
Falcon pole vaulters will be back at it, with the men scheduled for Friday afternoon and the women for Saturday morning. Already this year, freshman Mason Hrcek set a men's indoor school record by going 15-5 ¾ at the UW Indoor Preview on Jan. 13, and senior Kainoa Lee got over 15 feet for the first time, clearing it at that same meet.
 
Last Saturday in Newberg, Oregon, senior Lizzy Daugherty made the NCAA provisional list with a winning height of 12-3½ at the George Fox Indoor. She is in a tie for 23rd on the qualifying list. SPU teammate Emily Thomason, a junior, went an indoor career-best 11-11¾. That is just 1¾ inches away from the provisional standard of 12-1½.
 
Sophomore Hannah Chang now has two sub-9s in the 60-meter hurdles, the latest of which was 8.99 at the UW Invite. Her best is 8.96 from the season opener in Spokane, and she'll get another crack at it on Friday.
 
 

The only Falcon slated to double up this weekend is Marissa Crane. She is entered in the 200 on Friday and the 400 on Saturday. Crane, Johanna Brown and Charisma Smith all went personal bests in the 400 at the UW Invite, with Crane clocking 58.56, Brown a 59.13 and Smith a 1:01.48.
 
Joining them in Saturday's 400 is senior Aniya Green. She posted a season best of 1:00.42 two weeks ago.
 
Senior Evan Carpenter is the lone Falcon male runner entered, set to race in the 400.
 
EARLY RISER, THEN HIGH RISER
Lizzy Daugherty's day got off to a way-earlier-than-usual start last Saturday …
 
… as in  3:30 a.m. early.
 
Daugherty and her fellow SPU pole vaulters were all up in what was essentially the middle of the night to head to the van for the 3 ½-hour drive to Newberg, Oregon and the George Fox Indoor meet.
 
 

When they got there, the competition was taking place inside the school's Multi-Use Facility, an unheated, fabric-covered structure that is primarily the home for the Bruins' tennis teams, with six courts. It also has a five-lane 100-meter track, a jump pit, and a pole vault box.
 
"I wasn't really expecting a whole lot from the meet, given a lot of different things that were happening," Daugherty said in reference to the early wake-up call and the long drive. "And the stadium was freezing cold."
 
She cleared 10-11¾ and 11-5¾ on the first try, needed a second try at 11-11¾, then got over 12-3 ½ on the first attempt.
 
"I didn't even know what I was clearing," said Daugherty, whose previous indoor best was 11-9. (Her outdoor PB is 12-4) "I was getting on the poles I needed to get on. I was super-excited with how I was jumping. It was more about technique than about what bar I was clearing."
 
MAKING THE MOST OF THE MILE
At the end of the UW Invitational on Jan. 27, the Falcons had 13 distance runners who got a chance to race in the brand-new Mile City event. It brought together runners of all ages and abilities, from middle schoolers to college stars, club runners, and pros.
 
Of SPU's 13 competitors, 11 set personal-bests, and the other two were racing that distance for the first time.
 
On the women's side, Matise Mulch took a drop of five-plus seconds to 5:21.14 (5:26.40 was her previous best). Maya Ewing shaved off eight-plus seconds to 5:27.80 (5:36.05). Katelyn Flolo had a four-second PB at 5:32.51 (5:36.90).

All three are sophomores.
 
For the men, freshman Jonathan Lieb and junior Kade Franco both bettered their previous indoor bests: 4:35.62 for Lieb (4:35.69) and 4:39.11 for Franco (4:48.30).
 
Senior Brennan LeBlanc, sophomore Isaac Venable, and junior Gabe Endresen hadn't clocked a mile indoors, but had done it outdoors. (It is rarely offered at an outdoor meet because it is not an NCAA event; it is an official NCAA indoor event.) LeBlanc was significantly speedier, coming across the line in 4:24.55. His outdoor best was 4:38.99 at last year's Doris Heritage Invitational. Venable went 4:28.54 (4:41.53) and Endresen logged a 4:41.98 (4:48.05).
 
In their first collegiate miles, freshman Silas Demmert went the distance in 4:33.76, and sophomore Nathaniel Gale finished in 4:45.96.
 
Altogether, the top 15 times men's meet, ranging from 3:51.79 to 3:59.38, broke the four-minute mark, including all eight finishers in the second heat.
 
SCOPING OUT THE GNACs
With the GNAC Championships coming up in just two weeks, Central Washington is a slight title favorite on the women's side, and Western Washington is overwhelmingly the team to beat on the men's.
 
Based on times and marks in the national database and applying the appropriate team points for the top eight marks, Central's women are seeded for 142½. Western isn't too far back, seeded for 127 ½. After that, the closest contender is Simon Fraser with 87.
 
Seattle Pacific, with Annika Esvelt owning the top seed in both the 3000 and 5000 meters, is seeded for 55 points. Lizzy Daugherty is currently No. 2 in the pole vault with her clearance of 12-3 ½, and Emily Thomason is tied for No. 3 in that event. Way out on top is Central Washington's Lauryn McGough at 13-3½,
 
For the men, Western Washington is seeded for 192½ points. The closest challenger isn't that close, as Western Oregon is seeded for 118½. SPU is seeded for 15, with most of those coming from Mason Hrcek and Kainoa Lee, who currently are Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, in the pole vault.
 
 

ANITEYE UP FOR SPORTS STAR AWARD
Vanessa Aniteye, who won last year's NCAA indoor women's 800 meter title and set a school indoor record in doing so, is one of five contenders for the women's Seattle Sports Star of the Year award.
 
A nine-time All-American during her career at both SPU and Alaska Anchorage, Aniteye will be part of the 89th annual awards show on Thursday, Feb. 15, at the Westin Seattle Hotel.
 
Joining Aniteye on the list of women's nominees are Seattle Storm star Jewell Loyd, Seattle Reign soccer standout Lauren Barnes, University of Washington golfer Angela Zhang, and Washington State basketball player Charlisse Leger-Walker.

DOING A DAY AT THE DEMPSEY
The Dempsey Indoor facility is located at the north end of the UW athletic complex, right alongside Husky Stadium and directly adjacent to Husky Softball Stadium.
 
Tickets, all of which are general admission, are $10. Youths age 12 and under are free. Parking is available for purchase in lots E1 and E18, north of the Husky Ballpark baseball stadium.

Click on this link for more information about attending and watching meets at the Dempsey.
 
Restrooms are available at Husky Softball Stadium and in the Husky Stadium east stands (the side closest to Dempsey). The restrooms inside Dempsey are exclusively for athletes, coaches, and officials.
 
A limited amount of seating on metal bleachers is available on both sides of the track.

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for the latest news, notes and rankings from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
UP NEXT
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships are set for Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 19 and 20, at The Podium in Spokane.
 
This will be the third straight year the meet has taken place inside the national- and world-caliber facility.
 
On the 19th, multi-events begin at 9:00 a.m. (men's heptathlon, the first four of seven events) and 9:15 (women's pentathlon, all five events on the same day). Racing starts at 2:15 p.m., and field events begin at 2:30.
 
The second day will have an 8:30 a.m. start for the final three events of the heptathlon, then regular field events at 9:30 and running events at 11:00.
 
Tickets can be purchased at the door, or online by clicking on this link.
 
 
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