Making a run for Alaska. While an injury-depleted Seattle Pacific University women's cross country team is a relative longshot for another title, the Falcons do have a pair of contenders for individual titles at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships next Saturday (Oct. 13) in Anchorage. If the 13th-ranked SPU women manage to win, it would be their seventh title in nine years. The men are trying to improve on their seventh-place standing of last season. Neither the men's nor women's team will compete at this weekend's Central Washington Invitational.

Title contenders. Jamie Witt (So., Folsom, Ca.) and Nathanael Castle (Jr., Gooding, Id.) should be rested and ready to make respective runs for the GNAC individual titles. Witt has been the women's top scorer in the last two meets and was the highest-scoring GNAC harrier at the Western Washington Invitational, taking sixth. Castle figures to be among the top men. He has finished among the top 11 racers in each of the four meets this fall, was third at Western and two years ago ran well on the Kincaid Park course, finishing first among collegiate competitors.

Ross looks toward regional. Coach Doris Heritage said defending conference champion Rachel Ross (Sr., Kennewick, Wa.) is doubtful to make the Alaska trip. Ross missed the Western Washington Invitational with a sore hamstring and the injury has not improved sufficiently. She is expected to be ready for the NCAA West Regional Nov. 3 in Bellingham. Ross won the conference crown as a freshman in 1998 and again last year, by a record margin of 64 seconds. She debuted this season by taking second at Saint Martin's but struggled and was 19th at the Sept. 22 Sundodger Open.

GNAC snapshot. All 10 GNAC schools will send teams to Anchorage. The meet has been moved up one week to help compensate for the expected colder temperatures. The extended forecast for race day is rain showers and a high of 46 degrees. This is the first time the conference meet has been held in Alaska. The women's distance will be 6000 meters and the men's course is 8k. A year ago Central Washington defeated SPU 24-52 for the women's crown and Humboldt State won its third men's title in a row with a 27-51 advantage over Alaska Anchorage. This year's favorite for the women's title is Western Washington, ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division II. SPU is 13th and Central Washington 20th. The men's competition should be a close five-way battle between Western, Central, Humboldt State, Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Anchorage.

Taking flight. Heritage has decided on her travel squads. Joining Witt on the women's team will be Dana Cantrell (Sr., Bellingham, Wa./Sehome), Ruth Hawkinson (Jr., Roy, Wa./Yelm), Sarah Kraybill (Jr., Seattle, Wa./Ballard), Nicole Seana (So., Carnation, Wa./Kamiakin), Kara Richard (Fr., Elma, NY/Iroquois Central) and Kirsten Bjork (So., Olympia, Wa./Black Hills). For the men, making the trip are Neal Fryett (Sr., Pullman, Wa./Logos), Nick Glancy (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Redmond), Zach Grice (Jr., Renton, Wa./Liberty), Tim Marston (So., Pullman, Wa./Logos), Scott Van Hess (Jr., Salem, Or./McKay) and Aaron Libadisos (Fr., Kailua-Kona, Hi./Kealakehe).

Trail mix. The top 10 GNAC finishers will earn all-conference honors... Several of the Falcons raced in Alaska last season and the men's team competed on the Kincaid Park course in October of 1999. Castle won the Birch Hill Invitational in Fairbanks before suffering a season-ending knee injury last season...The last time a non-SPU runner won the women's title was 1995. Ross and Heather Wallace account for the last five titles. Other than Central a year ago, only Hawaii Hilo in 1995 was able to take the team title away.

Last week's results:

Women's Team Scores: 1-Club Northwest 20; 2-Western Washington 79; 3-Central Washington 99; 4-Seattle Pacific 100; 5-Alaska Anchorage 105; 6-Alaska Fairbanks 161; 7-Saint Martin's 183; 8-Skagit Valley CC 230.
Women's Individual Results: 1-Shelley Smathers, CNW, 21:34; 2-Lindy Huyck, CNW, 21:42; 3-Alison Rendell, unat., 22:02; 4-Jessica Scalzo, CNW, 22:30; 5-Karen Tulloch, unat., 22:34. Also: 6-Jamie Witt, 22:48; 25-Dana Cantrell, 24:10; 32-Ruth Hawkinson, 24:33; 41-Kirsten Bjork, 25:08; 46-Sarah Kraybill, 25:12; 48-Nicole Seana, 25:14; 51-Candy Owens, 25:25; 58-Kara Richard, 25:39; 70-Leah Paddock, 26:24; 74-Hailey Armstrong, 27:05; 88-Acadia Giffy-Broghaugh, 28:55.

Men's Team Scores: 1-Central Washington 49; 2-Western Washington 51; 3-Alaska Anchorage 53; 4-Club Northwest 125; 5-Seattle Pacific 131; 6-Saint Martin's 148; 7-Alaska Fairbanks 195; 8-Evergreen 230; 9-Everett CC 241.
Men's Individual Results: 1-Jim Finlayson, IPA, 32:12; 2-Martin Ranney, WWU, 32:46; 3-Nathanael Castle, SPU, 32:56; 4-Zack Boteilho, WWU, 33:13; 5-Tom Gaschk, CWU, 33:15. Also: 32-Neal Fryett, 35:13; 36-Zach Grice,35:41; 49-Tim Martson, 36:21; 53-Scott Van Hess, 36:31; 57-Nick Glancy, 36:48; 82-Clint Bjella, 39:44.