This week...
Sat., Apr. 14, 10 a.m. -- TRACK & FIELD at MEET OF CHAMPIONS, Azusa Pacific Univ. Stadium, Azusa, Ca.
Sat., Apr. 14, 10 a.m. -- TRACK & FIELD at NORTHWEST RELAYS, District Stadium, Edmonds, Wa.

Next week...
Thr.-Fri., Apr. 19-20 -- TRACK & FIELD CALIFORNIA INVIT. MULTI-EVENT, Azusa Pacific Univ. Stadium, Azusa, Ca.
Fri., Apr. 20, 1 p.m. -- TRACK & FIELD at PELLUER INVITATIONAL, Woodward Stadium, Cheney, Wa.

Complete Women's Track Schedule

Complete Men's Track Schedule

Focus back on qualifying...
Qualifying for conference and national championships once again becomes the focus of the Seattle Pacific University track & field teams now as the weather moderates and the number of remaining meets shrinks to five. Over the next two weeks, a small group of athletes will compete in Southern California while the balance of the squad stays in Washington for the Northwest Relays Saturday (Apr. 7) and the Pelluer Invitational Apr. 20.

Visit early & often...
Coach Jack Hoyt (2nd year) will make the Los Angeles area his second home over the next two weeks, taking his top performers to Azusa Pacific University for premier meets. Hoyt has already picked 10 athletes as entries for Saturday's (Apr. 7) Meet of Champions and within a week he will return with Stephanie Huffman (Jr., Brush Prairie, Wa./Prairie) for her first heptathlon qualifying attempt at the California Invitational. This week, the travel party includes Rachel Ross (Jr., Kennewick, Wa.), Sarah Kraybill (So., Seattle, Wa./Ballard) and Neal Fryett (Jr., Pullman, Wa./Logos), who are entered in the 800-meter runs; intermediate hurdlers Karen Summers (Sr., Bremerton, Wa./Seattle Christian) and Jawea Harder (Jr., Port Townsend, Wa.); 400 sprinter Cyrena Bell (Sr., Kent, Wa./Christian Faith); high-jumper Abby Harris (Sr., Auburn, Wa./Auburn); triple-jumper Natalie Dorow (Sr., Billings, Mt./West); long-jumper by Morgan Ranta (Jr., Kent, Wa./Kentridge) and pole-vaulter Ally Studer (Fr., Redmond, Wa./Redmond). Bell, Kraybill, Ross and Summers will also form a 4 x 400 relay.

Huffman on autopilot...
Relatively speaking, Huffman will take it easy‹competing in only shot put and hurdles-- this week as she conserves strength for the heptathlon. Not since finishing second in the 1999 NCAA Championships has she participated in a seven-event competition, and her target will be the automatic qualifying standard of 5250 points. Huffman, who owns a career-best score of 5121, is coming off a strong showing at the Vernacchia Invitational where she won the long jump and javelin and placed third in two other events. The top Div. II qualifying score to date is 5156.

Outstanding in their field...
The Falcons were able to overcome the absence of three premier middle-distance runners and win the Vernacchia meet handily due to their domination of the field events. SPU won seven of those eight, including 1-2-3 sweeps of the long and triple jumps, and finished with 133 points to runner-up Western Washington's 78 1/3. Huffman, who scored 32 of the points, took first in the javelin with a throw of 137 feet, 6 inches and had a season-best long jump of 17-11 1/4. Studer set a meet record of 11-5 3/4 in earning her first collegiate victory. Other field wins came from Harris in the high jump (5-3), Dorow in the triple jump (36-0 1/4), Lauren Kooy (Fr., George, Wa./Quincy) in the discus (115-0) and Dionna Anderson (Jr., Lynnwood, Wa./Edmonds-Woodway) with a PR of 42-2 1/4 in the shot put.

Sprinters hold their own...
Although she didn't win any races, Summers accounted for 26 points by running here and there and taking second place in the 100, 200, 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles. She also ran on both winning relays. Bell hit a season-best time of 57.71 seconds in the 400 and, like Summers and Harder, was on both relays. Kraybill ran second in the 800 and Ruth Hawkinson (Jr., Roy, Wa./Yelm) clocked a PR of 18:31.01 in finishing runner-up in the 5000. Ross, Christie Goering Jr., Boulder, Co./Fairview) and Jamie Witt (Fr., Folsom, Ca.) were held out of the meet, the former for rest and the latter two due to minor injuries

Significant net gain...
The SPU men improved their score by 19 points and moved up one place to fourth from the 2000 Vernacchia meet, thanks to some solid efforts in the middle-distances. Kelsey Backen (Jr., Yakima, Wa./East Valley) and Nathanael Castle (Jr., Gooding, Id.) dueled in the 1500 with Backen's PR of 3:58.3 edging Castle by one-tenth of a second. Fryett earned his trip to California with a PR of 1:55.09 and a second-place finish in the 800. The highlight of the field crew was Brandon Littlefield (Fr., Selah, Wa./Eisenhower) taking second in the pole vault with a season-best clearance of 13-5 3/4. Seattle Pacific finished with 42 points. Western Washington won with 137, followed by Central Washington (107) and Pacific Lutheran (64).

Fractions...
Ross will take a six-race winning streak (three in the 800, three in the 1500) into the Meet of Champions. She remains the No. 1 national qualifier in the 1500 and is now No. 2 in the 800...Summers is No. 3 on the 400 hurdles list and Studer is No. 4 among vaulters...Backen has won two of his three races since re-joining the squad after winter quarter...Dorow now has wins in four of her five outdoor triple jumps...If Huffman surpasses 5000 points next week, it's unlikely that she will enter the Apr. 29-30 Pacific West Conference heptathlon, where she would be the favorite...A handful of distance runners may elect to compete at the Apr. 21 PLU Invitational rather than the Pelluer the previous day.

SPU women's track rosters & season best marks...
Yr Hometown (High School) Event/Best '00 Marks
Dionna Anderson Jr Lynnwood, Wa. (Edmonds-W'way) Sp/42-2 1/4 Dt/97-9
Hailey Armstrong Fr Pocatello, Id. (Pocatello) 5000/19:45.47 10,000/41:42.9
Schaylee Baumgartner Jr Quincy, Wa. (Quincy) 1500/5:17.6 3000/12:02.86
Cyrena Bell Sr Kent, Wa. (Christian Faith) 100/12.6 200/25.95 400/57.71
Kirsten Bjork Fr Olympia, Wa. (Black Hills) 3000/11:05.14 5000/19:08.87 10,000/41:22.9
Dana Cantrell Jr Bellingham, Wa. (Sehome) 1500/5:06.0 3000/11:21.41
Amy Cowden Sr Seattle, Wa. (Seattle Christian) Hj/5-1 3/4 Lj/17-4 1/2
Natalie Dorow Sr Billings, Mt. (Billings West) Tj/36/4 3/4 Lj/17-1
Amber Farthing Sr LaConner, Wa. (LaConner) 800/2:20.00
Christie Goering Sr Boulder, Co. (Fairview) 800/ 1500/ 3000/
Jawea Harder Jr Port Townsend, Wa. (Pt. Townsend) 200/26.81 400/60.82 400H/1:04.8
Abby Harris Sr Auburn, Wa. (Auburn) Hj/5-5 3/4
Ruth Hawkinson So Roy, Wa. (Yelm) 3000/11:06.97 5000/18:31.01 10k/
Stephanie Huffman Jr Brush Prairie, Wa. (Prairie) 200/ 800/2:33.33 100H/15.79 Hj/5-1 3/4 Lj/17-11 1/4 Sp/32-3 1/2 Jt/141-6 Hep/
Lauren Kooy Fr George, Wa. (Quincy) Dt/122-0 Jt/109-0
Sarah Kraybill So Seattle, Wa. (Ballard) 400/59.19 800/2:15.81
Sarah Lyne So Kelseyville, Ca. (Kelseyville) Pv/8-0
Annie McCabe So Spokane, Wa. (Mead) 1500/5:10.9 3000/11:06.09
Lindsey Northwall Fr Omaha, Ne. (Ralston) 3000/ 5000/20:00.89
Candy Owens Fr Ridgefield, Ct. (Ridgefield) 1500/5:16.3 3000/
Erica Owens So Normandy Park, Wa. (Mt. Rainier) 800/2:28.93 1500/5:11.8
Rachae Probst Jr Spokane, Wa. (Mead) 3000/ 5000/ 10k/
Morgan Ranta Jr Kent, Wa. (Kentridge) Lj/18-3 Tj/35-8
Mackensie Rogers Fr Otis Orchards, Wa. (East Valley) Pv/8-6 1/4
Amber Rose Fr Olympia, Wa. (Capital) Lj/16-3 3/4 Tj/35-0 1/2
Rachel Ross Jr Kennewick, Wa. (Kennewick) 400/ 800/2:08.68 1500/4:30.71
Nicole Seana So Carnation, Wa. (Kamiakin) 3000/11:02.71 5000/19:50.81 10k/
Lindsey Stewart So Shoreline, Wa. (King's) 100/13.27 200/
Ally Studer Fr Redmond, Wa. (Redmond) Pv/11-11 3/4
Karen Summers Sr Bremerton, Wa. (Seattle Christian) 200/26.72 100H/15.11 400H/61.1
Jamie Witt Fr Folsom, Ca. (Folsom) 3000/10:06.21 5000/17:29.62

SPU men's track rosters & season best marks...
Yr Hometown (High School)
Kelsey Backen Jr Yakima, Wa. (East Valley) 800/ 1500/3:58.3 5000/
Nathanael Castle Jr Gooding, Id. (Gooding) 800/ 1500/3:58.4 5000/15:22.46
Travis Danner Fr Eugene, Or. (Elmira) Pv/11-0
David Denniston So Laguna Hills, Ca. (Laguna Hills) 400/
Neal Fryett Jr Pullman, Wa. (Logos) 400/52.4 800/1:55.09 1500/4:11.07
Brandon Littlefield Fr Selah, Wa. (Eisenhower) Pv/13-5 3/4
Paul Mach Fr Seattle, Wa. (King's) 400/ 100H/ 400H/55.63
Tim Marston Fr Pullman, Wa. (Logos) 1500/ 5000/
Ryan Nash Jr Spokane, Wa. (Mead) 1500/4:05.5 5000/16:02.22
Trevor Sharp Sr Bala-Cynwyd, Pa. (Delaware Chrstn) 400H/57.18
Zeph Shepard Fr North Easton, Ma. (Oliver Ames) 200/ Lj/
Erik Skipper Jr Hillsboro, Or. (Glencoe)
Andrew Steiner So Edmonds, Wa. (Sno. Cty. Chrstn) Shot/34-6 1/4 Disc/126-1
Zach Starr Fr Bend, Or. (Bend) 5000/15:51.26
Scott Van Hess So Salem, Or. (McKay) 800/2:02.29
Blake Witman Fr Lynden, Wa. (Lynden) 100/11.86 400/51.87
Brian Yokers Jr Seattle, Wa. (Mt. Rainier)