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Witching hour arrives. The best local weather in two months of track and field meets awaits Seattle Pacific University and a host of other teams Saturday (May 12) as the regular season concludes with the 21st annual Ken Foreman Invitational. Forecasts call for clear skies and temperatures in the mid-60s as the Falcons look to post new or improved NCAA qualifying marks at the renovated West Seattle Stadium. Field events begin at 9 a.m. with the first race at 10. Admission is free.

Bubble boys & girls. Going into this week, several SPU athletes find themselves in a precarious state with regard to qualifying for the NCAA Championships. So far, a total of 16 male and females are on the provisional list. Jessica Pixler (Fr., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) is an automatic qualifier for both the 1500 and 3000 meters. She is the nation’s No. 1 qualifier in the former and No. 2 in the latter. A year ago, the Foreman Invitational proved to be the forum for three performances which subsequently earned athletes a trip to nationals.

An inexact science. One never knows where the dividing line will be drawn, but generally the NCAA accepts 12-14 competitors per event. Last year Seattle Pacific had one athlete seeded 16th and in 2005 they dipped down to 18th. Currently, eight rate among the top 10 in their respective events, Besides Pixler, Brittany Bekins (So., Everett, Wa./Cascade) is No. 2 in both the javelin and heptathlon; Molly Barnes (Sr., Burien, Wa./Highline) is third in the javelin; NyEma Sims (Fr., Portland, Or./Jefferson) is No. 7 in the 200 (and 15th in the 100); Teona Perkins (Sr., Kennewick, Wa.) is tied for sixth in the high jump and Karin Rohde (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Mt. Baker) is No. 8 in the steeplechase.

Runaway winners. They are young, talented and, according to coach Karl Lerum, sometimes they are downright greedy. Gobbling up points whenever and wherever they could, the Falcon women ran away with their second straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference outdoor championship last week. Getting a combined five wins from Pixler and Sims, they accumulated 200 points, overcoming injuries to beat back all challengers, the nearest of which was 57 points back. It was Seattle Pacific’s seventh GNAC championship of the year and eighth overall. The men were seventh with 45 points.

A pick-me-up. It was quite a sight, seeing Pixler running circles around the opposition and claiming an unprecedented three middle-distance titles at the GNAC meet. Already the league champ in cross country and two indoor events, Pixler set meet records in the 800 (2:10) and 3000 (9:53.80) and coasting to another win in the 1500 (4:32.80), missing that meet record by less than a second. She was voted by the league coaches as the outstanding female athlete of the meet.

Sims city. When a lengthy injury list got even longer two days prior to the conference meet, there was actually concern that the Falcons would be hard-pressed to repeat. Like Pixler, Sims shouldered a big load and responded in a big way. She became the Falcons’ first GNAC outdoor champion in short sprint, winning the 100 (12.46) and 200 (25.12) into a headwind. She anchored the sprint relay to a victory in 48.12 seconds and, long-jumping for only the second time outdoors, took fifth in that event. Sims and Pixler teamed for 54 of the freshmen class’ 97 points.

Winners’ circle. In all, the men and women combined to win nine individual event championships. Repeating as the men’s 800 champ was Eddie Strickler (Sr., Richland, Wa.). In a time of 1:53.71 Strickler made it three consecutive conference titles (outdoor, indoor, outdoor). Racing in her hometown, Karin Rohde (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Mt. Baker) successfully defended her steeplechase title while improving her NCAA qualifying time in the process. She broke her own meet record in 11:01.6. Teona Perkins (Sr., Kennewick, Wa.) was successful on her first three attempts and won the high jump at 5 feet, 8 inches. She had been the indoor GNAC winner as a junior. The pole vault crown stayed with SPU for a third straight year. Tracie Lundsten (Fr., Banks, Or.) matched her career best to clear 11-7 3/4 and win on her final attempt.

All about Foreman. Named in honor of the legendary longtime head coach, the Ken Foreman Invitational annually attracts the top collegiate and club athletes from around the Northwest for a last chance at postseason qualifying. Five other GNAC schools are sending athletes, along with Division III, NAIA and junior colleges. West Seattle Stadium has undergone nearly $2 million in improvements, most specifically directed toward track and field uses. Heat sheets for the Foreman Invitational will be available Thursday and results on Saturday evening at the Falcons Online (www.spu.edu/falconsonline). A tentative meet schedule is available on page 1 of the PDF version of this release.

Goal-setting. For those on the bubble with regard to national qualifying, they are going into Saturday with hard targets for times and measurements. Strickler will be focusing on shaving his time down to 1:51.0 while in the 1500 Brian Cronrath (Jr., Battle Ground, Wa.) is eyeing a 3:50.0. To double in the 100 at the NCAAs, Sims would need to run a 100 in 11.80 or so. Jane Larson (Fr., Fall City, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) has a goal of 10:00.0 in the 3000 while Jennifer Marsh (Sr, Kirkland, Wa./Juanita) needs a breakthrough to 2:12.8 for the 800. Lundsten and Monica Anderson (Jr., Bremerton, Wa.) are looking at somewhere near 12-6 as the pole vault cutoff.

GNAC rundown. Cronrath ran a PR (3:52.28) but it wasn't enough to overtake Western Washington’s Anthony Tomsich (3:50.25) for the GNAC 1500 title. Both runners beat the old meet record. Cronrath joined Strickler and Justin Felt (Fr., Eugene, Or./Churchill) on the all-conference team by virtue of top-three placements. Felt was runner-up in the long jump with an opening mark of 22-5 3/4. For the women, Larson was runner-up in the 3000 in a season-best 10:05.47 and Anderson was second in the pole vault. Taking third was Jessica Hinton (Fr., Lake Stevens, Wa.) in both the 100 and 200; Marsh in the 800; Larson in the 1500; Katie Hart (So., Pasadena, Ca.) in the 10k; and Molly Barnes (Sr., Burien, Wa./Highline) in the javelin. Rounding out the all-conference team qualifiers were Bekins and Anna Walters (Fr., Spokane, Wa./North Central), who were members of the winning sprint relay.

More coming. Last week Lerum got three additional commitments from recruits. Melissa Peaslee of Gig Harbor High School is the No. 2-ranked pole-vaulter in the state with a best clearance of 11-7. Twins Evan and Jeff Dull of King's High School in Shoreline each ranks among the state 1A leaders from 800 to 3200 meters.

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.