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West, then east? Although winning will be important for the Seattle Pacific University cross country teams this week, the ultimate objective is to keep going. The Falcon women are among the top contenders for the NCAA Division II West Regional Saturday (Nov. 4) in Oroville, Ca., but simply finishing among the top four would assure them of moving on to the NCAA Championships, Nov. 18 in Pensacola, Florida. Races begin at 9 a.m. and will cover 6000 meters for women and 10k for men at the Forebay Aquatics Center. In addition to the teams, the top two individuals from non-qualifying teams will be ticketed for nationals.

It’s about time. Seattle Pacific has been on a roll, going unbeaten against Div. II women’s teams this fall and winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship Oct. 21. The Falcons, ranked 8th nationally, edged No. 10 Chico State by nine points in their only meeting Sept. 16 in Seattle. SPU has not qualified for nationals since 1999 and last won a regional in 1996. The men were third in the ‘04 regional. They were third in the GNAC and are ranked No. 7 in the West Region.

Getting lucky. Without question, coach Doris Heritage and her women’s squad is due for some good fortune at regionals. The Falcons missed making the national cut by four points in 2004 and by five last year. Both times the culprit was Alaska Anchorage, which had finished behind the Birds earlier at conference. SPU was 10 points in front of 16th-ranked UAA two weeks ago. Altogether, there are five nationally-ranked teams in the West, including No. 14 Cal State L.A. and No. 19 UC San Diego. For the men, host Chico State is favored to claim its fifth straight regional title. The Wildcats are No. 3 in the nation, Western Washington No. 12 and Cal Poly Pomona No. 13.

Quality & depth. Heritage has a very young, talented and sufficiently deep women’s team, headed by a unique individual. Jessica Pixler (Fr., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) is unbeaten in her three outings and a member of two postseason teams. She is a reserve defender for the soccer team, which plays a first-round NCAA game Thursday afternoon in La Jolla, Ca. On Friday morning, Pixler will fly north and join her fellow runners for a preview of the regional course. Pixler won the GNAC by 3 seconds and was 7 seconds ahead of the nearest Chico harrier at the Sundodger meet.

Running as a pack. Behind Pixler is a solid pack, featuring Mary Moriarty (So., Seattle, Wa./Ballard), Karin Rohde (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Mt. Baker), and Jane Larson (Fr., Fall City, Wa./Cedar Park Christian). Each made the all-conference team. Moriarty has been among the top 10 of each race, including a fifth-place finish on the regional course Sept. 9. Rohde and Larson also ran at the Chico State Invitational. Rohde took seventh in the conference and Larson ninth. Completing the regional entries are Suzie Strickler (So., Richland, Wa.), Kate Harline (Fr., Orem, Ut) and Megan Wrightman (Jr., Bend, Or.).

Goal-oriented. Barring a calamity on the part of the men’s favorites, Seattle Pacific will need a miraculous effort to finish among the top three and qualify for nationals. Realistically, the goal would be to remain among the top five, which is where the Falcons finished last season. Bjorn Bostrom (Sr., La Conner, Wa./Bellingham), ninth in the GNAC meet, ran a strong 10k last month in Bellingham and has been the top scorer in each meet he’s competed. Bostrom, Brian Cronrath (Jr., Battle Ground, Wa.), James Rosser (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Highline) and Doug Gibson (Sr., Yakima, Wa./Riverside Christian) are veterans of the national-qualifying team of ‘04, and Gibson was the SPU lead runner at regionals a year ago, taking 18th. The rest of the the travel team is Carlo Lozano (Jr., Seattle, Wa./Blanchet), Ryan Phillips (Sr., West Linn, Or.) and fast-improving Chad Meis (Fr., Renton, Wa./Seattle Christian), who was third on the team and 18th in the conference.

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.