Going separate ways. Its number of national qualifiers already in double digits, the Seattle Pacific University track & field team does the splits this week in trying to raise that total. Four women will begin a heptathlon Thursday (Apr. 18) in Azusa, Calif., while the balance of the men's and women's squads head east to Ellensburg for the Spike Arlt Invitational Saturday (Apr. 20). Next week a select group goes to the Oregon Invitational in Eugene.

Ten and counting. Coach Jack Hoyt had forecast a relatively slow start for his team this spring, yet so far the Falcons have 10 NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks (nine for the women, one for the men). But if Hoyt is correct in his prediction that the latter stages of the season will bring about a gush of good performances, this could prove to be a truly outstanding season. Seattle Pacific has won two consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's titles and finished ninth in the nation a year ago. Hoyt is hopeful that the women can crack the top five in the NCAA next month.

Wild cards. If the Falcons are to contend for a national trophy, they will need to get two past All-America athletes into the mix. Laura Widman (Jr., Colfax, Wa./Colfax) and Jennifer Pyeatt (So., Graham, Wa./Bethel), both out with injuries in 2001 and only now beginning to round into shape, will be effectively turned loose in Azusa. Widman, the NCAA heptathlon runner-up in 2000, has been bothered by a tight hamstring but is coming off her best week of training. Pyeatt missed last season with a back injury after winning both conference hurdles titles as a freshman. The provisional standard in the heptathlon is 4400 points. Widman's career-best is 5377, Pyeatt's 4400.

Make it three for Steph. Joining Widman and Pyeatt in Southern California will be Stephanie Huffman (Sr., Brush Prairie, Wa./Prairie) and Leah Wiiest (Sr., Spokane, Wa./Deer Park-Cornell), each of them having already surpassed the provisional heptathlon standard. In fact, Huffman is now a three-time qualifier following her breakthrough long jump of 18 feet, 11 1/4 inches at last week's Pelluer Invitational. Her previous best was 18-5 in 1999. She also has qualified in the javelin (138-8) and scored 4933 points in a March heptathlon. Wiiest, like Huffman, a former volleyball standout, scored 4601 in her very first heptathlon, less than three months after joining the team.

Another breakthrough. The biggest breakthrough did not belong to Huffman, however. Dionna Anderson (Sr., Lynnwood, Wa./Edmonds-Woodway/Edmonds CC) sent the shot two feet farther than ever before at Cheney, winning the meet and obliterating the GNAC record at 46-6 1/4. It was the fifth-best effort in the NCAA this season. Anderson had thrown for 44-4 outdoors and her goal is to surpass 48 feet by the NCAA Championships, May 23-25 in San Angelo, Tex. She takes a three-meet win streak into Ellensburg, having also won the Northwest Relays less than 12 hours after arriving home from eastern Washington. Anderson, the first SPU thrower to break 46 feet since 1978, was selected as GNAC co-athlete of the week.

Ross, Castle win again. Fortunately, the Pelluer meet came before high winds swept across the state. Rachel Ross (Sr., Kennewick, Wa./Kennewick) took advantage of the relative calm by successfully defending her 800 meet title in 2 minutes, 13.12 seconds. She is now 4-0 at that distance this season. Nathanael Castle (Sr., Gooding, Id./Gooding) won for the second week in a row, taking the 1500 in 3:56.10­more than 5 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Ross also won comfortably but second-place Sarah Kraybill (Jr., Seattle, Wa./Ballard) nearly hit the provisional standard with a time of 2:14.36. Ross and Kraybill also ran in Seattle Pacific's 4 x 400 relay, which won in a season-best 3:54.43. Castle figured in the men's relay which took third place yet had its best time in two years­3:21.49. It's also the No. 1 time in the GNAC this season. Jawea Harder (Sr., Port Townsend, Wa.) was second in the women's 400 hurdles (1:02.76).

Deck the halls. Doris Heritage, head coach of cross country and assistant track coach, has been selected for induction into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame. Competing for the Falcon Track Club (forerunner of the women's varsity program), she won five consecutive world cross country championships, 14 U.S. track and cross country titles and twice represented the United States in the Olympic Games. Heritage has been an SPU coach for the past 37 years. This will be her third hall of fame induction. She's also in the U.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame and in 1999 was the second female inducted into the United States Track Coaches Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be in Utica, N.Y., July 13-14.

Fractions. Huffman's long jump was the No. 8 qualifying mark in Div. II. Montana's Renee Dunn set a meet and stadium record (20-3)...Wiiest PR'd in the long jump last week at 17-9 and had an outdoor PR shot put of 41-5 1/4 ...Lauren Kooy (So., George, Wa./Quincy) won the Northwest Relays discus at 118-8...This will be Seattle Pacific's first trip to Ellensburg since 1987...Ross elected to run an easy 1500 the day after the Pelluer, taking second in Edmonds (5:01.51)... Ross and pole vaulter Ally Studer (So., Redmond, Wa./Redmond) will be idle this week. Besides the relay, Castle owns the GNAC's top 1500 mark and Paul Mach (So., Seattle, Wa./King's) remains first in the 400 hurdles. For the women, Huffman is No. 1 in four events (heptathlon, 100 hurdles, long jump, triple jump). Kraybill (400), Ross (800), Harder (400H), Anderson (sp) and 4 x 400 relays are also leaders.