Shorts & tanks in winter. The weather outside might be frightful, but that’s why the track & field sages created an indoor season for those runners, jumpers and throwers who perform their respective craft clad only in a singlet and shorts. Seattle Pacific University will join the other local collegians and club athletes for the first of six regular season meets Saturday (Jan. 15) at the University of Washington. The women will defend their Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship Feb. 19 in Idaho, and this phase of the campaign will culminate with the NCAA Championships Mar. 11-12 in Boston. Outdoor activity begins March 5.

The greats indoors. All indicators point to at least a few Falcons making qualifying standards and the trip to Boston. Two women–Danielle Ayers-Stamper (Jr., LaCrosse, Wa.) and Jennifer Marsh (So., Kirkland, Wa./Juanita)–have qualified previously indoors, and two others–Allie Hedges (Jr., Richland, Wa./Richland) and Karen Dickson (So., El Dorado Hills/Oak Ridge)–made it to the NCAA outdoor meet last spring. Ayers-Stamper, whose specialty is the heptathlon outdoors, is a qualifying candidate in both the 60-meter hurdles and high jump. She was ninth in the high jump in 2003. Marsh intends to run the 800 after finishing 11th indoors and outdoors as a freshman. Dickson is coming off an All-America cross country season. Twelfth in the outdoor 10,000, she is targeting the 5000 qualifying standard at Saturday’s Husky Preview. Hedges has gone 12 feet, 2 3/4 inches in the pole vault, and finished 10th outdoors.

Indoor plants. Benanaya and Carlo Lozano (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Blanchet) are midseason additions who figure to significantly bolster their respective middle-distance corps. Benanaya ran a 2:11 while in the Moroccan junior national program. Lozano, a transfer from Arizona State, was fourth in the 2003 state 3A 1600 and 3200...Returning to competition this winter and running well early on is Jose Lavin (Jr., Bremerton, Wa./Bremerton), who was a redshirt since winning the 2003 GNAC cross country title...Kinyatta Leonhardt (So., Petaluma, Ca./St. Vincent) is the defending conference champ in the 60 and 200 dashes. Also defending titles this winter will be Marsh in the 800, Chris Randolph (Jr., Lone Tree, Co./Denver Christian) in the long jump, Sharon Bjella (So., Everett, Wa./Everett) in the high jump and the women’s medley relay...Leonhardt set a school record in the 60 dash. Other record-holders on this year’s indoor roster include Ayers-Stamper (60 hurdles) and Randolph (hurdles, long jump and pole vault)...Seattle Pacific athletes have won three NCAA indoor titles, including two by triple-jumper Karin Grelsson (1993-94) and another by shot putter Mike Olson (1993). The most recent indoor All-Americans were Studer and Sarah Kraybill (800) in 2003...Seattle Pacific’s sole outdoor home meet, the Ken Foreman Invitational, moves back to Husky Stadium May 13-14. Due to a scheduling conflict, it was held at Sealth Stadium in 2004.

SPU Coaches. Jack Hoyt is now in his sixth season as head coach after succeeding the legendary Ken Foreman. His teams have won two outdoor conference titles and this year’s GNAC indoor crown. Hoyt is a former All-America decathlete at SPU and served as an assistant to Foreman for seven years. Heritage, the coach of cross country and track runners from 800 meters up, is a member of eight halls of fame for both athletes and coaches. Algerian Hart, former Long Beach State star, is in his third year as hurdles/sprints coach. Among the other assistants are Kelly LaBounty, a two-time Olympian in the heptathlon, and Laura Widman, a two-time All-America in the heptathlon.