The Falcons Online -- Seattle Pacific University Athletics

Women Take GNAC, Prep for Regional
Pixler Wins Title & 5 Make All-Conference; Bellevue CC Meet Saturday
October 25, 2006

Trail mix
Most of the runners took giant cuts from their times on the same Lacey course four weeks earlier. Meis lowered his time by 1:38, Cronrath by 1:31 and Rosser by 48 seconds. For the women, Strickler sliced her time by 36 seconds, Rohde by 27, Moriarty 16 and Larson 12...Bostrom has been the men’s top scorer in all four meets in which he’s run... Last year’s top scorer, Carlo Lozano (Jr., Seattle, Wa./Blanchet), competed for the first time and was seventh on the team and 4th overall...Despite sending virtually its second team to Issaquah last year, the women were first among collegiate teams at the BCC Invitational...Chico State won the CCAA championship by a 34-46 count over Cal State L.A. In the only meeting between full teams this season, Seattle Pacific edged Chico 71-80 at the Sundodger Open.
*The Fragile Champion,* continues to be available. It is the story of the Falcons’ coach, Doris Heritage, and her unlikely rise to world prominence is detailed by her longtime coach and colleague, Dr. Ken Foreman in his book, . The book is now available for purchase, with a portion of the proceeds going toward the Heritage and/or Foreman Athletic Endowments. Click for details.

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Last run-through. Pinched in between a pair of intense cross country meets, Seattle Pacific University will take runners across Interstate-90 to the Bellevue Community College Invitational Saturday (Oct. 28). The Falcons are coming off strong performances at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships and are now looking ahead to the NCAA Division II West Regional, Nov. 4 in Oroville, Ca. This week’s race begins at 11 a.m. at Lake Sammamish State Park, with the women’s course downsized to 5000 meters and the men 8k.

Reaching new heights. With the successful defense of their GNAC crown, the women reached a season-high national ranking of No. 8. They had begun the season at No. 25 in Div. II and fourth in the West. Meanwhile, the SPU men climbed to seventh in the region, up three spots after taking third in the conference–the second-best placement in the last 10 seasons.

Conference recap. The Falcons achieved virtually all of their objectives at the GNAC meet. They brought home lots of hardware, plus reason to think beyond regionals for the first time in seven years. Jessica Pixler (Fr., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) and her team remained unbeaten versus Div. II opposition, finishing 10 points ahead of Alaska Anchorage, 34-44. It was their third title in four years and eighth overall. Western Washington won the men’s crown for the first time in three years.

Still unbeatable. Pixler, who rejoined the soccer team for its home game about four hours later, won for the third time in as many outings, beating Anchorage’s Mandy Kaempf by 3 seconds over the 6000 meters in 21:11. It was Pixler’s first race since Sept. 16. She became the Falcons’ eighth conference winner in the last 12 years, and was also voted the league’s freshman of the year.

Individually speaking. Seven SPU harriers were among the top 15. Mary Moriarty (So., Seattle, Wa./Ballard) ran sixth in 21:55 and Karin Rohde (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Mt. Baker) was next in22:03. Jane Larson (Fr., Fall City, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) was ninth (22:26) and Suzie Strickler (So., Richland, Wa.) was the fifth scorer, taking 11th in 22:34. All those in the top 10 made the all-conference team.

Men at work. Seattle Pacific’s Bjorn Bostrom (Sr., La Conner, Wa./Bellingham) made the all-GNAC men’s team by placing ninth in 25:30, and his team was a solid third, 18 points in front of Western Oregon. David Kiplagat, of Alaska Anchorage, who finished second last year as a freshman, won the men’s 8k event by a 21-second margin in 24:28. Western Washington ‘s five scorers were all among the top 11. The other four SPU scorers all finished in the top 27 places. Brian Cronrath (Jr., Battle Ground, Wa.) was 14th in 25:45, Chad Meis (Fr., Renton, Wa./Seattle Christian) 18th (25:55), James Rosser (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Highline) 22nd (25:59) and Doug Gibson (Sr., Yakima, Wa./Riverside Christian) 27th (26:16).

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.