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Let’s get together. The first key indicator meet of the cross country season comes Saturday (Sept. 16) when Seattle Pacific University sends its teams to the 15th annual Sundodger Invitational at Lincoln Park. The Falcons will be joined by Canadian stalwarts Simon Fraser and British Columbia, along with several Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals in the open division. The women run 6000 meters at 9 a.m., followed by the men’s 8k at 9:40. Next week SPU goes to the Saint Martin’s Open.

A barometer. Not only will Coach Doris Heritage have her women’s squad assembled in one race for the first time, this weekend’s meet also offers a look at the future. Weather forecasts call for cooler, damp, fall-like conditions, and Heritage will also get a look at the top GNAC teams, such as Alaska Anchorage, Central Washington, Seattle University and Western Washington. Seattle Pacific defeated Anchorage in the conference meet a year ago, only to have the Seawolves finish in front at the NCAA West Regional.

Good news all around. On paper they looked good, and last week’s opening meet results seemed to add credence to the notion that both the SPU men and women will be competitive within the region, if not nationally, this autumn. Heritage sent three of her top harriers to California for a preview of the regional course, and all of them finished among the top eight. Back home, the shorthanded women’s team was still able to have its way at the Emerald City Invitational, prevailing by 12 points, while the men were second to Western Washington.

Scouting report. Paced by Mary Moriarty (So., Seattle, Wa./Ballard), the Falcons served notice that they will be in the mix for a national berth in November. Moriarty ran fifth in the Chico State meet, finishing in 25 minutes, 10 seconds over a 6-plus kilometer course. Chico State took the top four places, led by Mary Torres in 24:26. Jane Larson (Fr., Fall City, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) and Karin Rohde (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Mt. Baker) were seventh (25:15) and eighth (25:16), respectively. Heritage said the course featured a significant amount of sand and gravel.

The debutante. Although she had returned from a women’ soccer road trip the previous evening, Jessica Pixler (Fr., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) handily won the Emerald City Invitational at Seattle’s Lower Woodland Park. The Falcon women took their second straight team title, 28-40, over Western Washington. Pixler coasted to a 44-second victory over Rachel Brewer of Club Northwest and 60 seconds over the next collegian. Her time was the best 6k by a freshmen since Jamie Witt’s 22:30 in 2000 and she shared GNAC runner of the week honors. Seattle Pacific’s Suzie Strickler (So., Richland, Wa.) was fifth in 23:46. Rounding out the scorers were Megan Wrightman (Jr., Bend, Or./Bend), seventh in 23:55; Kim Beaman (So., Emily, Mn./Crosley Ironton), 11th in 24:40; and Lisa Anderberg (Fr., Edmonds, Wa./Kamiak), 12th in 24:49.

Bjorn to run. Also running without some of their best were the SPU men, who were second to Western, 35-81. Bjorn Bostrom (Sr., LaConner, Wa./Bellingham) was the team’s top scorer, taking seventh in 27:37–nearly identical to his time a year ago. The Vikings’ Anthony Tomsich was first over 8k in 26:52. The other four scorers for the Falcons were Doug Gibson (Sr., Yakima, Wa./Riverside Christian), 11th in 27:44; Chad Meis (Fr., Renton, Wa./Seattle Christian), 13th in 27:51; James Rosser (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Highline), 15th in 28:02; and Eddie Strickler (Sr., Richland, Wa.), 16th in 28:07. SPU was without some of its top projected scorers, including Carlo Lozano (Jr., Seattle, Wa./Blanchet), Brian Cronrath (Jr., Battle Ground, Wa.) and Michael Gavareski (Sr., Bellingham, Wa./Bellingham).

Coaching Staff. Coach Doris Heritage (29th year) has guided the SPU women to 10 top-10 national finishes and conference titles in seven of the last 11 years. The men won the ‘04 crown. 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. Twenty 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. Former SPU runner Erika Daligcon and physics professor Lane Seeley are the assistant coaches.

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.