Thursday, October 8, 2015

FALCONS CREST: The Seattle Pacific women’s cross country program is certainly hitting its stride with the GNAC Championships less than three weeks away. The Falcons finished third in an 18-team field at Saturday’s Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational. The Clan posted a team score of 105 points, placing third behind Division I programs from Portland State and Univ. of Portland.
The Falcons were led by senior Anna Patti, who came up just short of winning her fourth race in as many outings. Patti covered the 5,000-meter course in 17:35.2, coming up just four seconds short of race winner Amanda Boman of Portland State. Just as impressive, however, was the performance of the rest of the team. All seven scoring runners finished in the top-50, with the top-five all finishing in the top-33.

With the chances to do some damage in the championship part of the season, SPU head coach Karl Lerum is opting for quality over quantity. He has pulled the Falcons out of appearances at the Western Washington Invitational on Saturday and at the Emerald City Classic on Oct. 17. The team will not race again until the GNAC Championships.

A CAVALIER EFFORT: In their final meet before the GNAC Championships, the Concordia men set themselves up well to compete in their first Division II conference meet. The Cavaliers placed seventh in the 15-team field at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational with 204 points and were the top GNAC team in the field. Junior Jared Seckel was named GNAC Men’s Runner of the Week after he placed 13th with a time of 25:32.9 over 8,000 meters.

The Cavaliers also finished ninth in the women’s competition with 230 points. Junior Megan Fristoe was named GNAC Women’s Runner of the Week based on her 11th place finish in the race. Her time of 18:04.7 marked a 10-second per mile improvement over her previous effort.

CONFERENCE MEET PREVIEW: Seven of the GNAC’s 11 programs will be in Bellingham, Wash., on Saturday in what will be a preview of the GNAC Championships. The Western Washington Invitational will take place at Lake Padden Park, which will host the GNAC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 24. The Vikings will host Alaska, Alaska Anchorage, Central Washington, Saint Martin’s, Simon Fraser and Western Oregon. The only major difference between Saturday’s meet and the GNAC Championships will be in the men’s race, which will run the regional championships length of 10,000 meters. The GNAC meet will be contested at 8,000 meters.

IN THE RANKINGS: All three GNAC men’s teams in the USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll moved up two spots. Alaska Anchorage moved up to No. 5, Simon Fraser sits at No. 12 and Western Washington improved to No. 18.

Alaska Anchorage continues to sit at No. 7 in the women’s poll. Western Washington climbed one spot to No. 10 while Seattle Pacific improved two positions to No. 17.

CHAMPIONSHIPS: Western Washington will host the 2015 GNAC Cross Country Championships on Sat., Oct. 24, at Bellingham’s East Lake Padden Park. Western Oregon will host the NCAA Divison II West Regional Championships on Sat., Nov. 7, on their own Ash Creek Preserve course on campus in Monmouth. All GNAC teams automatically qualify for the regional meet. The top four men’s teams and the top five women’s team in the regional meet qualifiy for the NCAA Division II Championships, which take place on Sat., Nov. 21, in Joplin, Mo.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS OF THE WEEK
MEN
Jared Seckel, Concordia
Junior • Veradale, Wash.

Seckel was the top GNAC finisher in the Men’s Cardinal Race at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational. He placed 13th, covering the 8,000-meter course in a season best 25:32.9. Seckel led Concordia to a seventh place team finish

WOMEN
Megan Fristoe, Concordia
Junior • Bend, Ore.

Fristoe posted a season-best by 10 seconds per mile in the Women’s Cardinal Race at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational. Fristoe placed 11th, covering the 5,000-meter course in 18:04.7.

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• Alaska did not compete last weekend. The Nanooks last competed at the Stanford Invitational on Sat., Sept. 26. The Nanooks’ men finished in 27th place while the women finished 23rd.

• Junior Dorothy O’Donnell was the top placing runner for the Nanooks in either race at Stanford, finishing 80th in the women’s 6,000-meter race in a season-best 22:37.6.

• Sophomore Alexander Eckert was the Nanooks’ top men’s finisher, placing 181st in the men’s 8,000-meter race in 26:27.2. The time was a season best by over a minute.

• The Alaska men opened the season by winning the shorter 5,000-meter race at the Alaska Invitational to open the season, led by a second place finish by Eckert (16:11.7). The Nanook women placed second in both the 6,000-meter race and the 5,000-meter race at their Alaska Invitational. O’Donnell was the top finisher for Alaska in both races with a pair of third place finishes (23:36.7 for 6,000 meters, 19:10.7 for 5,000 meters).

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage will return to competition this weekend for the first time in nearly a month at the Western Washington Invitational. The meet will be the only time that the Seawolves will see fellow GNAC competition prior to the GNAC Championships.

• The time off has done little to deter voters in the USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Polls. The Seawolves men rose this week to No. 5 after starting the year at No. 7. The UAA women are ranked No. 7 after having started the season at No. 10. Both teams are ranked No. 2 in the west region rankings behind Chico State.

• The Alaska Anchorage men started the season with perfect scores in both of their Hawaii meets, the Big Wave Invitational on Sept. 5 and the Hawaii Pacific Invitational on Sept. 12.

• Sophomore Henry Cheseto, the defending GNAC and West Region champion, was named the Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week for Sept. 7 - 13 after winning the Hawaii Pacific Invitational in 25:58.6.

• Sophomore Caroline Kurgat has won both women’s races that the Seawolves have competed in. Kurgat won the Big Wave Invitiational in 17:46.87 and the Hawaii Pacific Invitational in 18:15.9 (both 5,000 meters).

• Junior Joyce Chelimo has hardly missed a step after redshirting in 2014. Chelimo placed second in both the the Big Wave Invitational and the Hawaii Pacific Invitational with times of 17:49.83 and 18:18.0. A 2013 NCAA Division II All-American in 2013 (as Joyce Kipchumba), her time at the Big Wave Invitational is only seven seconds off her 5,000-meter best of 17:42.67, run Oct. 5, 2013 at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington did not compete last weekend after splitting their squad the weekend before. The Wildcats sent their top runners to the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 26, with the remainder competing closer to home at the SMU Open.

• Central Washington’s women placed 14th out of 30 teams at the Stanford Invitational, scoring 376 points. Senior Dani Eggleston was the No. 2 finisher from the GNAC in the women’s college race, covering the 6,000 meters in a season best 21:48.0.

• The Wildcat men finished 25th with a total of 748 points. Freshman Jonathan Lafferty was the Wildcats’ top finisher, placing 144th with a season best time of 25:57.1.

• At the SMU Open, the women placed third in the small meet with 65 points. Junior Kaitlyn McKinney was the Wildcats’ top finisher, placing 16th in 20:25.41. Three men competed in the meet, led by Hanson Lee’s 20th place finish in 27:34.41.

• In their first 6,000-meter race of the season, the Sundodger Invitational, Central Washington’s women placed seventh. They were the third top-placing team from the GNAC behind Western Washington (1st) and Seattle Pacific (4th).

• After being listed in the USTFCCCA West Region Rankings each of the first three weeks, the CWU women dropped out. The Wildcats had been listed as high as fifth to start the season.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia put together a pair of solid team performances at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational last Saturday. Concordia was the top placing GNAC team in the Men’s Cardinal Race, finishing seventh with 204 points. The Cavaliers were the No. 2 team from the GNAC in the Women’s Cardinal Race, placing ninth with 230 points.

• Junior Jared Seckel was named the GNAC Men’s Runner of the Week for his 13th place finish at the Willamette Invitational. Seckel covered the 8,000 meters in a time of 25:32.9. The time was a 48-second improvement over his season best run at the Sundodger Invitational on Sept. 19.

• Junior transfer Megan Fristoe was named GNAC Women’s Runner of the Week for her performance at Bush Park. Fristoe placed 11th, covering the 5,000-meter course in 18:21.1. She dropped nearly 10 seconds per mile off of her performance at the Sundodger Invitational.

• In all, the Concordia men placed their five scoring runners in the race’s top-70. Junior Ethan Livermore followed Seckel with a 33rd place finish in 26:08.8 as he dropped a minute off of his season best. Junior Paris Speidel and senior Alan Johnston finished 53rd and 56th, respectively.

• Freshman Nicole Pederson followed Fristoe with a 22nd place finish, clocking a time of 18:21.1. Like Fristoe, Pederson dropped nearly 10 seconds per mile off her pace two weeks earlier at the Sundodger Invitational.

• Concordia is one of two conference teams (Seattle Pacific is the other) that will not compete again until the GNAC Championships on Oct. 24.

• Concordia is in the second year of a three-year transition process to NCAA Division II membership. This is their first year competing in full Division II and GNAC schedules. While the Cavaliers are eligible to win the GNAC championship, they are not eligible for regional & national competition.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings took last weekend off after having competed in four races in the month of September.

• Montana State Billings last competed on Sept. 26 at the Roy Griak Invitational at the Univ. of Minnesota. The Yellowjackets’ men placed 11th in the men’s maroon race, comprised of Division II and NAIA programs. The MSU Billings’ women placed 28th in the women’s maroon race.

• Senior Robert Peterson didn’t win for the first time this season, but still placed fourth out of 391 finishers in the race at the Griak. Peterson covered the 8,000 meters in 26:04. It was the first race that Peterson did not win this season. He claimed victories in both races at the Moda Health Alaska Invitational as well as the college race at the Montana State Invitational on Sept. 19.

• Senior Brielle Davis led the Montana State Billings’ women with a 63rd place finish at the Griak out of 360 finishers. She covered the 6,000-meter course in a time of 24:46.3.

• Montana State Billings will compete each of the next two weekends, but will not meet another GNAC squad before the conference championships. The Yellowjackets host the Yellowjacket Invitiational on Oct. 9 and the Yellowjacket/Battlin’ Bear Dual on Oct. 15.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene sat out the last two weekends from competition. The Crusaders are back on the course this Friday, competing at the San Francisco State Open in picturesque Golden Gate Park.

• Northwest Nazarene competed in the same meet as their GNAC brethren for the only time before the conference championships at the Sundodger Invitational on Sept. 19. The Crusaders’ men placed 10th in the men’s open race and were the No. 4 team from the GNAC. The NNU women placed 14th.

• Sophomore Isaac Mitchell finished 12th in his first race at Sundodger, covering the 8,000 meters in 24:48.25. He was the fourth GNAC runner to cross the finish line. Freshman Sierra Manser placed 27th in her first collegiate 6,000-meter race at Sundodger, clocking in at 22:21.16. She was the eighth GNAC athlete to finish the women’s open race.

• The Sundodger was the only time that Northwest Nazarene will conclude their non-championship portion of the schedule at the Lewis & Clark Invitational on Oct. 17.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s returns to action this weekend after a weekend off as they compete at the Western Washington Invitational. The meet will be their last before the GNAC Championships.

• Saint Martin’s enjoyed a weekend at home, hosting its own SMU Open on the Saint Martin’s campus on Sept. 26. The Saints’ men placed second to Western Washington in what was in effect a dual meet while the SMU women placed second in a three-team meet with Western Washington and Central Washington.

• Freshman Larissa Kolasinski broke up a perfect score for Western Washington by placing fifth in the women’s 5,000-meter race, finishing in 18:40.19. Senior Karen Horvath finished eighth in a time of 18:43.96.

• On the men’s side, junior Jasper Heckman was once again the Saints’ leader, finishing 15th in a time of 27:00.96 over 8,000 meters. Freshman Joe Edgecomb followed with a 22nd place finish in 27:46.67.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• The Falcons returned to competition after a weekend off at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational. The Falcons’ women placed an impressive third out of 18 teams in the Women’s Cardinal Race, beat out only by Division I squads from Portland State and Univ. of Portland. The SPU men placed 10th in the Men’s Cardinal Race.

• The women’s finish helped SPU climb two spots in the USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll to No. 17. The Falcons began the season unranked but emerged at No. 18 in the Sept. 23 poll.

• Senior Anna Patti just missed winning her fourth race of the season, placing second with a time of 17:35.3. Patti was charging fast at Portland State’s Amanda Boman, who won with a time of 17:30.9. Patti won her first three races of the season at the Moda Health Alaska Invitational and the Sundodger Invitational.

• The Falcons placed all of their women’s competitors in the top-85 of the race and all five scoring runners in the top-33. Their No. 2 through No. 5 runners all finished within 10 seconds of each other, led by a 28th place finish by sophomore Mary Charleson in a time of 18:30.4.

• Senior Adam Avischious was the top men’s runner for Seattle Pacific, finishing in 36th place in a season-best of 26:18.9. He cut 24 seconds off his time at the Sundodger Invitational two weeks earlier. Sophomore Ben Halladay, who had been the Falcons’ No. 1 runner in their first three meets, placed 52nd in 26:37.8.

• Seattle Pacific has removed their next two regular season meets from the schedule and will not compete again until the GNAC Championships on Oct. 24. The Falcons had been scheduled to compete at the Western Washington Invitational this weekend and at the Emerald City Open on Oct. 17.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser did not compete last weekend. The Clan will compete the remaining two weekends leading up the GNAC Championships, beginning this weekend at the Western Washington Invitational

• The Simon Fraser men placed eighth out of 30 teams in the men’s college race at the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 26. Junior Oliver Jorgensen earned his second straight GNAC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week award after leading the SFU men with a 22nd place finish. The Simon Fraser men put their five scoring runners in the top-100 and their top three runners in the top-70.

• Junior Rebecca Bassett earned her second GNAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week award of the season after leading the Clan with a 26th place individual finish. Her time of 21:32.8 over the 6,000-meter course was 11 seconds off of her season best at the distance. Sophomore Paige Nock had the Clan’s other top-100 finish, placing 91st in a time of 22:48.9.

• Despite not competing, the SFU men moved up two spots to No. 12 in the USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll. The Clan is ranked fourth in the west region for the third consecutive week.

WESTERN OREGON
• After running full squads in their first two meets of the season, Western Oregon sent just a handful of competitors to the Willamette Charles Bowles Invitational on Saturday.

• The Wolves’ women placed 16th in the Women’s Cardinal Race. Junior Rachel Crawford was WOU’s top finisher, placing 62nd in a time of 19:17.8. The race was Crawford’s second of the season.

• Sophomore Matthew Haglund was the only WOU competitior in the Men’s Cardinal Race. Haglund finished 115th in a season best time of 28:17.0.

• Western Oregon last competed at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle on Sept. 19. The Wolves placed eighth in the men’s 8,000-meter open race, led by sophomore David Ribich’s 10th place time of 24:38.21.

• Junior Nicole Maurmann led a 16th place finish for the WOU women at Sundodger, placing 59th in a time of 22:59.64. Senior Stephanie Stuckey placed 80th in 23:15.16.

• The Western Washington Invitational will be WOU’s last full meet before the GNAC Championships. Those runners not competing at the conference meet will run at the Beaver Classic on Oct. 23 in Corvallis.

• Western Oregon will be the host of the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships, which will take place on Sat., Nov. 7.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• After competing each of the previous three weekends, Western Washington took the first weekend of October off. The Vikings welcome most of the conference this weekend for the Western Washington Invitational on Saturday, which will serve as a preview of the GNAC Championships course.

• The Vikings’ men became the second GNAC team this season to compile a perfect score this season, scoring 15 points to win the SMU Open on Sept. 26 (Alaska Anchorage has scored a perfect 15 twice this season). The Vikings’ women placed second, one point off a perfect score with 16 points.

• Sophomore Isaac Derline led a squadron of 10 Vikings’ runners to color the entire top-10 navy blue. Derline covered the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25:41. Junior Matthew Lutz was second at 25:50.84 and sophomore Andrew Wise placed third in 26:02.15.

• Junior Brittany Grant led seven Western Washington women in the top-10, winning the 5,000-meter race in a time of 17:48,94. Senior Taylor Guenther placed second in 18:21.03 and freshman Tracy Melville finished thrid in 18:31.90.

• The Western Washington men jumped two spots in the USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll to No. 18 and remained at No. 5 in the west region poll for the fourth consecutive week. The Vikings’ women moved up one spot to No. 10 and are third in the west region for the third consecutive week.

• Western Washington’s next two meets will take place on their home turf. The Vikings will host the Western Washington Invitational on Sat., Oct. 10, and then will host the GNAC Championships on Sat., Oct. 24, at Bellingham’s Lake Padden Park. It is the second time that WWU has hosted the GNAC meet. The first was in 2005.