A measure of success. All the races to this point have served as indicators. Now comes the first true measure of achievement for Seattle Pacific University’s cross country teams. The Falcons will send 10 men and 10 women south to Monmouth, Ore., Saturday (Oct. 25) for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. And for those who do well, the next step will be the NCAA West Regional, Nov. 8 in Pomona, Ca.

Dare we say favorites? It would seem that Seattle Pacific is the favorite to claim the GNAC women’s team title and perhaps the individual crown as well. The Falcons have finished no lower than third in any meet and are coming off victories in their last two outings. They are ranked 24th in NCAA Division II and third in the West Region–higher than any other conference team. SPU is seeking its first league championship since 1999 and its seventh overall since 1993. Based on earlier results and the regional rankings, Central Washington, Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington are the other top contenders. Individually, Jamie Witt (Jr., Folsom, Ca.) has been both impressive and consistent. She’s run third or better in all five of her meets, and she’s unbeaten against GNAC competition. Witt was sixth in the 2001 GNAC meet. A couple other all-conference (top-10) candidates are Josie Lavin (Jr., Bremerton, Wa.) and Abby Groth (So., Roseburg, Or./Glide) for the women, and Tim LeCount (So., Battle Ground, Wa.) for the men. LeCount has placed 12th or better in five of six races. He was eighth in the conference as a redshirt freshman.

Facts and figures. The women will run 6000 meters, just as they did in their last meet, while the men will run the standard 8k. Coach Doris Heritage selected her entries based on the outcome of the Western Washington Invitational Oct. 11. All 10 GNAC members are expected to send teams. Humboldt State is the two-time defending women’s champion and Alaska Anchorage holds the men’s title. Western Washington, ranked 25th nationally, is the men’s favorite. SPU is seeking to rebound from a fifth-place showing in the women’s race last year while the men sank to eighth.

Coming off another win. The women won the Western Washington Invitational by 19 points over Central (59-78), with Witt the individual runner-up in a 6k time of 22 minutes, 14 seconds. That performance earned her GNAC runner of the week for the second time this season. In his first 10k, LeCount was timed in 32:57 and took ninth. SPU was fifth among men’s teams.

WWU Invitational – Bellingham, Wash. (Lake Padden Park)
MEN'S TEAM RESULTS - 1. Western Washington 34, 2. Alaska Anchorage 70, 3. Seattle U. 101, 4. Seattle Running Team 107, 5. Seattle Pacific 107, 6. Central Washington 124, 7. Highline CC 127, 8. Skagit Valley CC 247.
MEN'S TOP 10 – 1. Eric Kiauka, Iron Lung TC BC, 31:52; 2. Mark Bomba, City Track BC, 32:02; 3. Uli Steidl, Club Northwest, 32:09, 4. Matt Johnston, Valley Royals BC, 32:17; 5. Peter Cardle, Valley Royals BC, 32:31; 6. Kurt Hartmaier, WWU, 32:38; 7. Steve Manos, Seattle U., 32:43; 8. Brian Brancheau, WWU, 32:47, 9. Tim LeCount, SPU, 32:57; 10. Aaron Heidt, Valley Royals BC, 33:07.
WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS – 1. Seattle Pacific 59, 2. Central Washington 78, Alaska Anchorage 79, 4. Western Washington 84, 5. Hershey Harriers BC 94, 6. Seattle U. 105, 7. Skagit Valley CC 215.
WOMEN'S TOP 10 - 1. Nathalie Cote, Mountain West TC MT, 21:59; 2. Jamie Witt, SPU, 22:14; 3. Nikki Knapp, Hershey Harriers BC, 22:20; 4. Sabrina Reeves, City Track BC, 22:31; 5. Laura Trevellyan, WWU, 22:39; 6. Rachel Brewer, Una., 22:46; 7. Josie Lavin, SPU, 22:52; 8. Kathleen Harri, Club Northwest, 23:09; 9. Stacy Edwards, UAA, 23:15; 10. Sarah Hansen, UAA, 23:18.

Coaching staff. Coach Doris Heritage (25th year) has guided the SPU women to 10 top-10 national finishes and conference titles in six of the last nine years. In 1996 the Falcons won the West Region and her teams finished as high as second in the AIAW (1979, '80) and third in the NCAA (1983, '86) championships. Nineteen harriers have been All-America, including two national champions. The world's premier distance runner of the Sixties, she won five consecutive world cross country titles from 1967-71, and was a member of the 1968 and '72 U.S. Olympic teams. Heritage has coached the U.S. world cross country championship team, served as an assistant at many international meets, including the 1988 Olympics, and is a six-time women's conference coach of the year at SPU. In July of 2002 she was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame. Heritage was already a member of the U.S. Track & Field and U.S. Track Coaches halls of fame. Assisting Heritage as coaches again this season will be Erika (Botha) Daligcon and Lane Seeley. Daligcon ran for the Falcons from 1995-96. Seeley is a physics professor at Seattle Pacific.

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.