SEATTLE – This week in Seattle Pacific University Athletics, the track & field teams travel to Spokane, Wash., for the Whitworth Peace Meet on Friday, while women's rowing takes on tough competition at the Florida DII Spring Invite.
TRACK & FIELD
April 3 - All Day
at Whitworth Peace Meet –
live results
ABOUT THE FALCONS
- The Falcons turned in several strong performances in the Pyeton-Shotwell Invitational hosted by Puget Sound last Saturday.
- Tawaf Aboudou set a new program record in the 200 meters with a time of 21.60.
- After conversations about distance (yards to meters) and time (hand-timed to electronically timed), Aboudou's 21.60 in the 200-meter was deemed a program record, beating out Roy Duncan's time from 1956.
- Aboudou ran a 10.87 in the 100-meter dash for a third-place finish in the event.
- Aboudou won the long jump with a mark of 22-11.75.
- Aboudou was named the GNAC Field Athlete of the Week, with the second-best long jump by a GNAC competitor so far this season.
- Aboudou picked up his second collegiate long jump victory.
- Jada Sarrys ran a 12.19 in the 100-meter dash to take second place in the event.
- She took second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.91 as well.
- Ayala Pontius finished the 800 meters in second place with a time of 2:21.05.
- Hannah Chang took second place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.42.
- Pontius, Chang, Sophie Hanay, and Sarrys teamed up to win the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 48.28.
- Lysandra Plant launched the javeline 122-01 for a third-place finish in the event.
- Justin Brooks had a solid showing in the 800 meters with a time of 1:55.02 for a second-place finish.
- Andrew Bell ran well in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking a 15.09 for second place.
- Joshua, Brooks, Ben Rojas, and Aboudou won the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:19.80.
- Mason Hrcek won the pole vault by clearing 14-09.
WOMEN'S ROWING
April 3-5
at Florida DII Spring Invite
FROM THE COACH
"This weekend is not only the first travel regatta of the 2026 racing season, but also the inaugural DII Invite hosted by Embry-Riddle," head coach
Kenzie Waltar said. "Last year, we got to race against all three regions at the UCO Invite, and it was a valuable experience. Conditions were challenging, but through that, the team gained a lot of grit and resilience, which continued throughout the rest of the 2025 racing season. This year, the team is looking forward to a brand-new regatta in a new location where we get to race against some of the fastest DII teams in the country."
"Facing off against all three DII regions will provide vital data points that will be used for NCAA qualification coming later this season," Waltar added. "The stakes are high, and the team is excited. We're heading down to Florida to race a new event on a new course against teams we don't often see. It is key for our team to stay relaxed and internal. We cannot control the weather, the conditions, or what other teams plan to do, but we can control who we are and how we approach a challenge. The team is hyped to represent SPU and rise to the challenge this weekend."
ABOUT THE FALCONS
- Last time out, the Falcons hosted Western Washington and Cal Poly Humboldt at the 2026 Falcon Regatta on March 21.
- The varsity 8+ had the most exciting race of the day in the first flight, narrowly missing second place to Cal Poly Humboldt by two-hundredths of a second with a time of 7:06.803.
- The novice 4+ had a solid first flight, taking second place behind Western Washington with a time of 8:36.975.
- The second flight opened with the second varsity 8+ race, where the Falcons posted an 8:18.287.
- The varsity 4+ improved on their time from the first flight to the second flight, posting an 8:29.350 in the mid-morning session.
- On Friday, the Falcons honored Brittan Dalberg, Gem Gatmaytan, Aleksia Haugen, Emma Jones, Bella Lisenby, Amelia Pape, Lexi Roybal, and Racquel Wesley at a team dinner before their final home race with the Falcons.
- Friday night also featured the christening of SPU rowing's newest boat, Miss Claudia, which was donated to the program by Daryl Vanderpol and named after his wife.
- The end of the Falcon Regatta featured an alumni race, where the Falcons welcomed back graduates of the program to compete against current Falcons.
SPU SOCIAL
Seattle's only NCAA Division II Scholarship Program | #GoFalcons
