An outside chance. The track & field season is at a crossroads this weekend with the indoor variety reaching its climax on one coast while the outdoor campaign begins to bloom back here in the Pacific Northwest. Three members of the Seattle Pacific University women's team are bound for Boston and the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday (Mar. 14-15). Meanwhile, the rest of the Falcons will be deployed Saturday in Tacoma for the Salzman Invitational outdoor meet. A select group of athletes will venture to California during spring break next week, first competing at the Panther/Stan Wright Invitational in Sacramento Mar. 22.

On to Beantown. With three women's qualifiers, this is the largest SPU contingent to qualify for the indoor championships. Sarah Kraybill (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Ballard) qualified automatically in the 800-meter run while Ally Studer (Jr., Redmond, Wa./Redmond) and Danielle Ayers-Stamper (Fr., LaCrosse, Wa./Lacrosse-Washtucna) made the final cut of provisional qualifiers in the pole vault and high jump, respectively. Kraybill, whose time of 2 minutes, 9.81 seconds is third among the qualifiers, will run in the first of two prelim heats the first day. The top two finishers in each heat pus the next five fastest times advance. Steph Kuhlman of Grand Valley State (Mi.) is the top qualifier at 2:06.70. Studer, a two-time outdoor All-America, is also fifth in her field, with a season-best clearance of 12 feet, 1 1/2 inches. Amanda Frame of Mankato State (Mn.) is first at 12-3 1/4. Ayers-Stamper owns the No. 8 mark (5-6 1/2) in the high jump. Prior to this season, Seattle Pacific had never taken more than one female to indoor nationals. Last season Dionna Anderson finished eighth in the shot put. Karin Grelsson won the triple jump in 1993 and 1994.

Or Tacoma aroma. For the rest of the squad, the goal is now to get to Edwardsville (Ill.) for outdoor nationals in May, and the Salzman meet provides opportunity both for that and to settle some team scores. Other than Washington, the field is comprised of Div. II and III teams from throughout the Northwest. Seattle Pacific has finished second in the overall women's standings each of the last seven years. The men were tied for 10th in 2002.

For starters. In their initial outdoor meet, the Falcons flexed their muscles in a three-way meet with Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark. The women won 15 of 19 events to easily win the scored meet while the men were second to UPS. Individually, Ayers-Stamper and Linda Blake (Fr., Richland, Wa.) each won three events, including a dead heat (15.44) between the two in the 100 hurdles. Ayers-Stamper nearly achieved a provisional qualifying mark with a first-place javelin throw of 130-8 (missing by less than two feet) and won the long jump at 16-10 to earn Great Northwest Athletic Conference athlete of the week. Blake was also first in the 400 hurdles (1:07.11) and high jump (5-1 3/4), and ran the leadoff leg of the victorious 4 x 400 relay. Double winners were Kraybill in the 400 (58.71) and 1500 (4:51.67) and Laura Widman (Sr., Colfax, Wa.) in the shot put (38-0) and 200 (26.87). The strongest of the eight first-place marks for the men came from Paul Mach (Jr., Seattle, Wa./King's) in the 400 hurdles (54.55) and Micah Kellcy (Sr., Lakewood, Wa./Clover Park) in the 400 dash (50.70). Kellcy ran on both winning relays and Mach on the 4 x 400.

And bring home some cheese. Assistant coach Doris Heritage will begin packing her bags for Switzerland next week to take a turn as head coach of the U.S. women for the 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships March 29-30 in Lausanne. A five-time world champion, Heritage is serving her third stint as national team coach for the world championships and her first since 1993. The U.S. team was determined last month at the trials in Houston. Deena Drossin leads the squad, having won her sixth American long course title. Drossin took the silver medal and the Americans were second overall at the 2002 world championships in Ireland.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.