Weekly Release PDF Version

All Press Releases

A rush for the gold. A young, run-based Seattle Pacific University women’s track and field team aims to retain its Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship this Friday and Saturday (May 4-5) at the conference outdoor meet in Bellingham. The Falcons hope to overcome injuries to key field personnel to claim their fifth league crown in eight years. SPU hosts the Ken Foreman Invitational in West Seattle May 12 to conclude the regular season.

Three’s a crowd. Although Seattle Pacific won the GNAC indoor crown with ease, outdoors will be a completely different matter. Three-time champion Western Oregon and Central Washington will be in the hunt and at least two other teams will also have an impact on the outcome. The Falcons feature 11 No. 1 seeds and 18 among the top three. The men have two No. 1s and top-four contenders in two other events.

Da do, run run. It could conceivably all come down to the last event, the 1600 relay. Fortunately, that is one of the strengths for Coach Karl Lerum’s squad. In fact, the women are formidable in just about anything on the oval. Apart from the vertical jumps, they’re pretty thin elsewhere. And, as always, the Falcons will need a few women to shoulder a significant load. Two freshmen will compete in three open events: top NCAA 1500 and 3000-meter qualifier Jessica Pixler (Fr., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) and record-setting sprinter NyEma Sims (Fr., Portland, Or./Jefferson).

Let’s get busy. Sims was the team’s high scorer indoors and may be the busiest this time around. She will likely run multiple heats of the 100 and 200–where she’s the No. 1 qualifier–in addition to two relays and the long jump. Pixler will accumulate more mileage. She is the top seed in the 800 (two heats), 1500 and 3000. On occasion, Pixler has also run a leg of the 4x400 relay. Last week she was rested in preparation. Already Pixler has won GNAC crowns in cross country and both the 800 and mile indoors.

Fast Eddie. Another runner with a string of conference titles is Eddie Strickler (Sr., Richland, Wa.), the men’s top seed in the 800, where he’s the defending champ. He also won the indoor. Strickler is coming off a personal record of 1 minute, 51.73 seconds last week on the same Civic Stadium track. That ranks him No. 4 all-time at SPU. Brian Cronrath (Jr., Battle Ground, Wa.) goes into the GNAC meet with the No. 1 time in the 1500. The men have won two conference events each of the past two years, and they are trying to improve on last year’s 51 points and seventh-place finish.

Winning appetite. A few other Falcons are in a position to pad their career totals this weekend. Karin Rohde (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Mt. Baker) is going for her second straight steeplechase, where she’s the top contender, and her fourth overall. She’s won two indoor 5000s. Rohde will also double in the 1500. High-jumper Teona Perkins (Sr., Kennewick, Wa.) won the indoor as a junior but has been third outdoors and runner-up indoors since. She enters with a top mark of 5-8 3/4. Monica Anderson (Jr., Bremerton, Wa.) is the favorite in the pole vault, an event she won indoors this winter, and that SPU has taken outdoors each of the last two years. Another historically strong event for the Falcons, the javelin, is in good hands with Molly Barnes (Sr., Burien, Wa./Highline) as the No. 1 entry. Seattle Pacific spear throwers have won the league five of the last six years. Jennifer Marsh (Sr, Kirkland, Wa./Juanita), who ran to victory in the 800 three times (outdoor and in) during her first two seasons, is the No. 3 entry this year. Latasha Essien (Fr., Portland, Or./Reynolds) bolted to indoor wins in the 60 and 200 this winter.

Harbinger perhaps. If last week’s trip to Bellingham was any indication, the Falcons should fare well. They were winners in seven of the nine women’s races they entered at the Western Washington Twilight and took second place in the others. Jessica Hinton (Fr., Lake Stevens, Wa.) was a winner in both the 100 (12.68) and 200 (26.20), and she took the baton for legs of the victorious 400 (48.12) and 1600 (3:53.98) relays. Hinton was named the GNAC co-athlete of the week. Besides Strickler, the only other individual to improve an existing provisional qualifying time was Jane Larson (Fr., Fall City, Wa./Cedar Park Christian). She won the 3000 in 10:07.64. Strickler ran the final lap of the first-place 1600 relay (3:25.35). Seattle Pacific’s other wins came from Marsh in the 800 (2:17.41), Rohde in the 1500 (4:45.2) and Sims in the long jump (16-10 ?).

Different strokes. Lerum’s two squads have decidedly different strategies. The women are going for points while the males are shedding any extra events and targeting times. Ten women will be entered in at least two events. Until last year, the GNAC women’s champion scored at least 210 points. SPU totaled 189 last year and a similar sum should suffice this time around. Western Oregon has four top seeds and 12 top-three marks. For the men, Central Washington looks like a runaway favorite to repeat. Seattle Pacific’s highest finish was fourth in 2005. The hope is that both Strickler and Cornrath will respond with their top times of the season, improving their chances of reaching the NCAA Championships.

Multiple hurts. For the second time since beginning conference competition in 2000, the Falcon women are without an individual entered in at least four open events. Usually the stable of heptathletes has carried much of the load. But Brittany Bekins (So., Everett, Wa./Cascade), the nation’s top heptathlon qualifier and No. 2 in the javelin, is being cautious after sustaining a rib injury three weeks ago, and both Kristin Janney (Sr., White Salmon, Wa.) and Kelsey Cooley (Jr., Missoula, Mt./Hellgate) are less than 100 percent. Cooley is doubling in the hurdles and high jump. She was fourth in last week’s GNAC heptathlon. Bekins, who would’ve participated in at least five events if healthy, will run the hurdles and Janney will throw the javelin.

Medal detectors. Based on the performance lists, several others may be in the hunt for gold. Justin Felt (Fr., Eugene, Or./Churchill) is the No. 2 seed in the long jump, and Ben Climer (Fr., Woodburn, Or./McNary) is rated fourth in the 400 hurdles. In the women’s sprints, Essien is No. 2 in the 100 and third in the 200 while Hinton is fourth in each. Seattle Pacific is also deep in the middle distances. Larson is No. 2 on the 3000 and No. 3 on the 1500 lists, and Suzie Strickler (So., Richland, Wa.) is fourth in the 3000. Nikki Jensen (Sr., Portland, Or./St. Mary’s) is third in the 10k, the same position she finished a year ago. In the field events, Tracie Lundsten (Fr., Banks, Or.) is second to Anderson.

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.