The Falcons Online -- Seattle Pacific University Athletics

Pixler, Sims Lead Fab Frosh Into Eugene
20-Year-Old Sprint Record Falls; Falcons Also Bound For WSU
April 17, 2007

Fractions

Latasha Essien (Fr., Portland, Or./Reynolds) was 20th overall in the Mt. SAC 100 and 28th in the 200 with a season-best times of 12.32 and 25.58, respectively. Those rank Nos. 6 and 10 all-time in the GNAC. Teona Perkins (Sr., Kennewick, Wa.) tied for third in the high jump with a best clearance of 5 feet, 7 inches. Cronrath ran sixth in the 1500 (3:53.12)...Among the other Eugene entries are Michael Gavareski (Sr., Sr., Bellingham, Wa./Bellingham), Cronrath (both 1500) and Strickler (800) for the men, and Larson (1500), Perkins (Hj), Rohde (steeple), Essien (100/200) and Jennifer Marsh (Sr., Kirkland, Wa./Juanita) in the 800 for the women...Bekins withdrew from the SAC javelin and is doubtful this week after injuring her ribs during her opening throw...Cooley’s foot injuries limited her mostly to jogging through the Vernacchia heptathlon while Janney scratched after four events...Friday night’s fare in Eugene features the distance races which are attracting several U.S. champions along with the top collegiate stars. Sprints and jumps take center stage Saturday...Pixler owns the top NCAA qualifying time in both the 1500 (by 8 seconds) and 3000 (by 16). She’s No. 3 in the 800. Bekins is the heptathlon leader (by 43 points) and No. 2 in the javelin. Sims is No. 2 in the 200 and 10th in the 100, and Perkins No. 3 in the high jump...With two weekends remaining before the GNAC Championships, the Falcons hold league-best marks in 10 of 19 women’s individual events. Besides Pixler (800/1500/3000) and Sims (100/200), Perkins (Hj), Bekins (javelin/heptathlon), Rohde (steeple) and Anderson (vault) are No. 1. For the men, Cronrath leads in the 1500. Strickler (800) and Felt (long jump/decathlon) are No. 2...Assistant coach Chris Randolph scored 7798 in his first complete decathlon since winning his second straight NCAA title last spring. His score was good for second place and was only 74 points off his school record. It included PRs in the shot (43-2¼), high jump (6-9½), 110 hurdles (14.79) and pole vault (15-11¼).

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Prime time. After rising to every big occasion, another prime opportunity awaits the top performers on the Seattle Pacific University track and field teams this weekend. One set of Falcons will descend upon a bastion of the sport, Eugene’s Hayward Field, for the prestigious Oregon Invitational Friday and Saturday (Apr. 20-21) while another group goes east to the Cougar Invitational Saturday (Apr. 21) in Pullman. Next week begins with the multi-event championships for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Monday and Tuesday (Apr. 23-24) at Western Oregon’s campus in Monmouth. The final meet prior to the GNAC Championships is the Western Washington Twilight Apr. 27.

Those Fab Frosh. What a year and–wow!–what a class. The rookies on the SPU women’s cross country and track teams have been the driving force between two top-seven NCAA finishes and GNAC championships in the fall and indoors. They have broken a total of four school and seven conference records, indoors and out. And they account for eight of the 15 national qualifying marks. They are the Fab Frosh, and are led by a couple of record-setters, Jessica Pixler (Fr., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) and NyEma Sims (Fr., Portland, Or./Jefferson). Pixler owns the nation’s top qualifying marks in the 1500 and 3000 meters. Sims is now in full blossom after bursting out of the blocks for a a school record in the 200 last week.

Ones to watch. Although the weather is expected to be cool and showery this weekend, the competition should give rise to peak performances in Eugene. Pixler will run Friday night’s 1500. Racing in her home state for the first time as a collegian, Sims is scheduled to run to run the 100 and 200 Saturday.

Sims-sational. It was arguably the best single day for an SPU sprinter. On the final afternoon of the Mount SAC Relays, Sims ran down one school record and nearly eclipsed another. Sims shattered the 20-year-old mark in the 200, winning her heat and taking fourth place overall in 23.99 seconds. That erased Anita Sartin’s 1987 standard of 24.31. Earlier, Sims had run the second-fastest 100–an 11.90. Only Shavonne Colebrooke’s 11.79 is better. Both times by Sims bettered her GNAC records set last month, and she earned the league athlete of the week award.

Quick Pix. On the multiple-lap routes around the oval, Pixler is proving to be just plain unbeatable. Going back to mid-February, she has won nine straight races of distances between 800-3000 meters, and she’s been doing it against top-flight opposition. Pixler came on late with kick propelling her out of the pack and to a relatively easy win at the Mount SAC Relays 1500. Before that she’d beaten a slew of D-I runners at USC and Washington following her victory in the NCAA Division II indoor mile. Her time last week of 4:19.92 rates No. 2 all-time at SPU to former Danish Olympian Gitte Karlshoj (4:13.12) from 1988.

Multi-tasking. One of the keys to the Seattle Pacific’s ability to contend for GNAC outdoor women’s crowns in the past has been its heptathletes. This year, the Falcons may go without any points in that competition. Brittany Bekins (So., Everett, Wa./Cascade), Kelsey Cooley (Jr., Missoula, Mt./Hellgate) and Kristin Janney (Sr., White Salmon, Wa.) are all nursing injuries coming into the week. Bekins already owns a provisional qualifying score of 4944 for the NCAA Championships. Cooley, who was sixth nationally and runner-up in the GNAC last season, is recovering from injuries along with Janney. Entered in the men’s decathlon is Justin Felt (Fr., Eugene, Or./Churchill), who comes in with the league’s No. 2 qualifying score (5775).

Man, O Man. The Falcons also got their first two male qualifiers during the past fortnight. First, Brian Cronrath (Jr., Battle Ground, Wa.) ran a personal record by well over three seconds to win the Apr. 7 Vernacchia Classic 1500 in 3:52.93. This past weekend in California, Eddie Strickler (Sr., Richland, Wa.) galloped his best outdoor 800 in nearly a year. He was seventh overall and second in his heat with a clocking of 1:52.65?second-best in the GNAC this season.

And the list goes on. Meanwhile, the women’s list continued to grow like grass. Six more marks made the list while three previous ones were improved upon. Yet another freshman, Jane Larson (Fr., Fall City, Wa./Cedar Park Christian), ran a collegiate-best time while taking fourth in her Mt. SAC 1500 heat (4:39.77). She was already on the 3000 list. In her hometown, Karin Rohde (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Mount Baker) clocked a qualifying time of 11:22.2 in winning the steeplechase. In the field events, Monica Anderson (Jr., Bremerton, Wa.) and Tracie Lundsten (Fr., Banks, Or.) each cleared provisional heights in the pole vault. Anderson became only the fifth vaulter in GNAC history to make 12 feet (12-1 1/2) and Lundsten vaulted 11-7 3/4. Pixler ran a 2:10.64 provisional at the Vernacchia 800 and Bekins, who was already on the javelin list, added a heptathlon mark.

Power shortage. A combination injuries, rest and manpower shortage affected the Falcons’ team fortunes at the Arlt and Vernacchia meets. The women were second (113) to host Western Washington (123) in Bellingham and, missing their SAC group and getting only five points from field events, fourth (110) at Central Washington (203 1/2). The men took fourth (39) and seventh (42), respectively. Pixler (1500) and Anderson both broke meet records in Bellingham. In Ellensburg, Jessica Hinton (Fr., Lake Stevens, Wa.) won both of the short sprints in personal-best times of 12.54 seconds in the 100 and 25.6 in the 200 in 25.6. Host Central Washington won both Arlt team titles.

Be a camper. Karl Lerum’s Falcon Track & Field Camp is July 2-3, 5-6 on Wallace Field, and Doris Heritage’s Falcon Running Camp is July 22-27, at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island. For information, call (206) 281-2085 or download a registration form at the FalconsOnline (www.spu.edu/falconsonline).

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.