Alpha & omega. It is the climax of one season and just the beginning of another for the Seattle Pacific University track & field teams this week. A contingent of eight athletes goes to Boston for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday (Mar. 11-12) while the balance of the squad heads to Tacoma for Saturday’s (Mar. 12) second outdoor meet, the Joe Peyton Invitational. Next week, following final exams, the Falcons again go their separate ways for spring break, with meets in Seattle and Sacramento.

None by land or sea. With a total of seven entries, the SPU women have high hopes of earning the program’s first substantial NCAA indoor points since 1993, when Karin Grelsson single-handedly took them to sixth place. Danielle Ayers-Stamper (Jr., LaCrosse, Wa.) owns the top qualifying mark in the high jump (5 feet, 9 3/4 inches), and is also long-jumping and running the 60-meter hurdles. Karen Dickson (So., El Dorado Hills, Ca./Oak Ridge) is a title contender in the 5000, owning the No. 3 qualifying time (16 minutes, 47.04 seconds). Also making the trip are pole vaulters Allie Hedges (Jr., Richland, Wa.) and Amy Harris (Jr., Philomath, Or./Crescent Valley), plus the distance medley relay of Dickson, Kinyatta Leonhardt (So., Petaluma, Ca./St. Vincent), Jose Lavin (Jr., Bremerton, Wa), Bridgette Sexton (Fr., LaCenter, Wa.) and alternate Karin Rhode (Fr., Bellingham, Wa./Mount Baker). Previously, Seattle Pacific had not qualified more than three individuals for the NCAA indoor meet.

Already looking ahead. The way Coach Jack Hoyt figures, whatever his team does at Boston is gravy, because the Falcons are aiming toward an even larger feast around Memorial Day. Hoyt says his women’s team has top-five potential and his men’s team could send its biggest bunch of qualifiers to outdoor nationals since the early Seventies. The women’s team will count heavily on the aforementioned indoor qualifiers, and be bolstered by three-time All-American Ally Studer (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Redmond) in the pole vault, Sara Johnson (Sr., Kennewick, Wa./Kennewick-Spokane CC) in the javelin and a stable of middle-distance runners and multi-event prospects. Meanwhile, the men have two returning national qualifiers in Chris Randolph (Jr., Lone Tree, Co./Denver Christian), third in the decathlon, and Paul Mach (Sr., Seattle, Wa./King’s), an intermediate hurdler turned 800 runner.

Beautiful debut. No sooner did Seattle Pacific start the outdoor campaign and it began adding names to the NCAA qualifying list. Studer, fellow pole vaulter Monica Anderson (Fr., Bremerton, Wa.) and javelin thrower Molly Hornbuckle (So., Burien, Wa./Highline) hit provisional standards during the annual three-way meet with Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark in Tacoma. The Falcon women won 11 of 18 events and scored 95 points to beat UPS (56) and Lewis & Clark (30). Studer, who last competed during the 2004 indoor season, took first in the vault with a best clearance of 11 feet, 11 3/4 inches. Anderson finished second with a personal-best mark of 11-5 3/4. Hornbuckle notched her first collegiate win with a throw of 140-3, leading SPU to a 1-2-3 sweep. It was a lifetime best throw by over 8 feet, and she was named GNAC athlete of the week. Johnson was runner-up (133-6) and Lauren VerMulm (Fr., Mount Vernon, Wa.) took third (129-8).

He does it in threes. Randolph has gotten into the habit of not only winning, but taking titles in groups of threes. After winning three events at the GNAC indoor championships last month, he established two personal records in taking the 110-meter hurdles (15.24) and discus (134-9). He was also first in the javelin (169-3) and runner-up in the high jump (6-2 3/4) to earn GNAC male athlete of the week. The men won a total of eight events and were second (57) to UPS (94). Lewis & Clark was third (25).

Awards galore. Hoyt was voted the West Region women’s indoor coach of the year by the U.S. Track Coaches Association. Hoyt is credited with guiding SPU to another GNAC crown and getting a large cast of qualifiers to Boston. He had two automatic qualifiers and a total of 10 made the provisional list.

Boston background. Each of the national qualifiers will be in action Friday, with finals in the long jump, pole vault and medley relay, and qualifying heats in the 60 hurdles. The winner in each of three heats, plus the next five fastest times move to Saturday’s final. The high jump and Dickson’s 5000 are also Saturday. The fastest entry time in the 5k is 16:42.36 and the best hurdles time is 8.57–nine-tenths better than Ayers-Stamper’s mark. The pole vault field includes four entries with eights above 12-9. Harris and Hedges each went 11-11 3/4. Last weekend at a Div. I last chance meet at Washington, Ayers-Stamper, Hedges and Harris prepared for Boston. Competing against a largely Div. I field, Ayers-Stamper was second in the 60 hurdles (8.78) and third in the long jump (18-7 3/4). Hedges and Harris vaulted 11-5 3/4.

Almost a wrap. Thus far indoors, the women have broken four school records and the men set eight. Ayers-Stamper set SPU records in the hurdles and pentathlon and GNAC marks in those two plus the high jump and long jump. Also setting conference standards were Dickson in the 5k and the medley relay. Randolph established school records in four events (400, hurdles, pole vault, long jump) and played a part in a fifth, the medley relay. His long jump was also a GNAC record. Other individual conference champions were Randolph in high jump, long jump and 400; Ryan Jewell (Fr., Olympia, Wa./Olympia) in 200, Dickson in the mile, Rohde in the 5000, Lavin in the 800 and Leonhardt, who repeated in the 60 dash. Lavin and Leonhardt met provisional standards in the 800 and 200 but did not make the cut.

Outdoor opener. There were a few other notable outdoor marks last week. Brian Cronrath (Fr., Battle Ground, Wa.) ran a fine 1500. His winning time of 4:00.35 was the best by an SPU male since 2003. Jewell bolted to win the 200 in 22.49–the fastest since 1992. Linda Blake’s (Jr., Richland, Wa.) first-place hurdle time of 15.07 was just off her PR of 15.02 and the men’s 4 x 400 relay was just fractions off last season’s best in 3:29.63. Other triangular winners for the women on the track were Anna Soule (So., Puyallup, Wa./Emerald Ridge) in the 100 (12.91), Leonhardt in the 200 (26.08), Jean Kolb (Jr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) in the 400 (60.56), Rohde in the 800 (2:20.39) and the relays (50.58 and 4:10.12). Field victors included Kelsey Cooley (So., Missoula, Mt./Hellgate) in the shot put (36-2) and Jennifer Urrutia (So., Sunnyside, Wa.) in the hammer (123-2). Picking up another first for the men was Kurt Engelson (Sr., Stanwood, Wa./Marysville-Pilchuck) in the 400 (52.43).

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.