Seattle Pacific University Athletics

SPU: Four-year letterwinner. ... Team MVP / Low point in 2016 and 2017. ... USTFCCCA All-West Region in 2015. ... All-GNAC in 2016 and 2017. ... GNAC All-Academic in 2015, '16, and '17. ... USTFCCCA All-Academic in 2015 and 2017.

Senior (2017): Missed the first three meets with an injury. ... Ran the regular-season finale at the WWU Classic and led Falcons by finishing 13th overall. ... Two weeks later in the GNAC Championships on the same Lake Padden course, ran to 2nd place, her best-ever finish in that meet. ... Finished No. 3 for the team and 71st overall at NCAA West Regionals, racing despite a bout with the flu the previous night.

Junior (2016): Won the season-opening Humboldt State Invitational on Sept. 10, coming from behind in the final strides to stop the clock in 21:08.21 for her first college victory and her first sub-22 in a 6K college race. ... Ran No. 1 for the Falcons at Saint Martin's Invitational (2nd overall) and at the GNAC Championships (4th overall). Her GNAC time of 21:40.40 was her PR on the 6-kilometer Lake Padden course and was her first sub-22 in Bellingham. ... Was the third SPU runner across the line at NCAA West Regionals in Billings, Mont., placing 85th overall.

Sophomore (2015): Ran in all seven meets, scoring in five. Was the second Falcons finisher at GNAC (20th overall in 22:53.00 at Lake Padden Park) and NCAA West Regionals (20th overall at Western Oregon in 21:48.40, thereby earning All-Region recognition and factoring into SPU grabbing the fifth and final qualifying berth to NCAAs). ... Placed third for Seattle Pacific and 99th overall at the NCAA Division II nationals, helping the team finish 15th. ... After not scoring in two of the first three meets, came up with a solid performance at the Charles Bowles Invitational in Salem, placing No. 3 for the Falcons and 28th overall. After that, was never outside of SPU's top three the rest of the season.

Freshman (2014): Ran in five meets. ... Best performance was No. 7 for SPU and 41st overall at Emerald City Open. ... Placed No. 10 for the Falcons and 64th overall at GNAC Championships, going 23:17 on the Ash Creek Preserve course at Western Oregon University. That was 62 seconds better than her previous best 6K time of 24:19 at Sundodger.

Henry M. Jackson High School: Ran in the Class 4A (large school) Washington state meet three straight years. ... Best performance was as a junior in 2012, placing 45th in 19:23.5 for 5 kilometers. ... In 2013, recorded a personal-best 5K course time of 19:08.4 in the district meet just five days prior to state. ... Won team Most Improved and Most Inspirational awards. ... Team captain as a senior. ... Also played basketball, winning a Coach's Award and a Winter Scholar-Athlete Award as a junior. ... Also won a Most Inspirational award for basketball.

Personal: Mary Suzanne Charleson. ... Born Oct. 14, 1995. ... Biology major.

Fun facts: Joined her middle school cross country team in 7th grade to get in shape for basketball, only to discover that conditioning for the two sports is different, Fell in love with running, and that eventually took the place of basketball in high school. ... Enjoys the team aspect of cross country compared to track. ... Favorite course is the Sundodger layout at West Seattle's Lincoln Park. ... Loves long runs on trails. ... If not for running, would be more serious abou swimming. ... Favorite sport to watch is basketball. ... Dumbest movie she has seen is "Bubble Boy." ... Book she just couldn't put down was "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." ... Favorite junk food is chocolate. ... Favorite healthy food is peanut butter toast with banana slices. ... Favorite TV program is "Gilmore Girls." ... Favorite pro team is the Seattle Seahawks. ... Favorite athlete is marathon runner Joan Benoit. ... If she could invite anyone to dinner, would invite Martin Luther King Jr. because "I admire his courage and his willingness to stand up for what is right," She would serve pasta and chocolate raspberry cheesecake. ... Her friends call her Mare. ... In 10 years, plans to be a pediatrician, married, and living in the Pacific Northwest.


PRs ON 2017 SCHEDULE COURSES
(All 6 kilometers unless otherwise noted)
Magnuson Park (3 miles): Did not run.
Sundodger @ Lincoln Park: 23;22.27 (2015).
Charles Bowles Invite (5K) @ Bush's Pasture: 18:30.4 (2015).
WWU Classic @ Lake Padden: 22:05.9 (2016).
GNAC @ Lake Padden (same course as WWU Classic): 21:40.6 (2016).
NCAA West Regionals @ Ash Creek: 21:48.40 (2015).


PRs ON OTHER COURSES
(All 6 kilometers unless otherwise noted)
Stanford Invite @ Stanford Golf Course: 24:54.0 (2014).
Emerald City Open @ Lower Woodland Park: 24:46.0 (2014).
Humboldt State Invite @ Patrick's Point State Park: 21:08.21 (2016).
Saint Martin's Invite (5K) @ Saint Martin's University: 18:01.70 (2016).
NCAA West Regionals @ Amend Park: 23:13.78 (2016).