YAKIMA -- Jessica Pixler said all of her conference cross country titles have been special in their own way. And now, the Seattle Pacific senior has a complete set from which to draw comparisons.
Pixler finished a four-year career sweep of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference meet on Saturday, leading from start to finish and cruising to a 10-second victory at Apple Ridge Run. Pixler (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake HS) finished the 6-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 3 seconds. That was a nine-second improvement from her 2008 winning time on the same course.
But while Pixler stayed in front, Alaska Anchorage became the first team since Central Washington in 2004 to knock the Falcons out of the top spot. The Seawolves, ranked second in the West Region and fifth in the nation, went 3-4-5-6-7 behind Pixler and Western Washington's Sarah Porter for the day's low total of 25 points.
SPU, ranked No. 3 in the West and No. 7 in the nation, was second with 48. Western Washington, No. 4 in the West and No. 8 nationally, was third with 64. All three teams will share the course again when they gather in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on Nov. 7 for the NCAA Division II West Regionals.
Pixler was in front even before the race hit the 200-meter mark, and gradually opened the margin on Porter, who also was second last year.
“I think I went out a little too fast, and this is definitely a slow course,” Pixler said. (Indeed, her three other 6K races this year have been well under 21 minutes.) “I went through the mile in 5:17, which was blazing fast, and I felt it a little bit later in the race.”
In comparing her crowns, Pixler said, “They've all been real different. Freshman year (2006) was probably the coolest because I was the underdog and I won it by out kicking two girls. And I was still a soccer player then.”
Added SPU coach Erika Daligcon, “For her to finish on such a strong note (for her conference career) is well deserved.”
Pixler's title earned her another GNAC Athlete of the Year award for women's cross country.
Falcon senior Jane Larson (Fall City, Wash./Cedar Park Christian HS) took eighth place in 22:20. The other three Seattle Pacific scorers also were in the top 15: sophomore Natty Plunkett (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) was 11th in 22:48; senior Lisa Anderberg (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak HS) took 13th in 22:57; and senior Kate Harline (Orem, Utah) was 15th in 22:57.
But just as Pixler had things wrapped up rather early, so too did Alaska Anchorage. Only Pixler and Porter were ahead of the Seawolves' pack, and only Larson was able to get in between them. By the finish, all five UAA runners were together, separated by a scant 12 seconds -- remarkable at any level, even more so when it's that far in front of the field.
“I told our women that at least they have a good sense of what their competition is going to be,” Daligcon said. “Overall, we ran well. Anchorage came out tough.”
The Falcons already are counting on giving Anchorage a closer run for it when Regionals arrive on the calendar.
“As nice as it would have been to win another conference title, our sights are set on something bigger,” Pixler said. “We trained through this race. We did two hard workouts this week, and I can certainly feel that in my legs.”
Daligcon concurred.
“We didn't really taper off that much,” she said. “They had some pretty good quality out there.”
Senior Suzie Strickler (Richland, Wash./Richland HS), in her first major race in two years after coming back from an injury, cracked the top 20 with an 18th-place finish. Strickler hit the finish line in 23:42. That earned her a spot on SPU's regional squad.
Strickler, after missing last year with a foot injury, recovered from that, but this fall has had to deal with a stress fracture. So much of training was not actual running.
“She put in a lot of hard work, but it paid off,” Daligcon said. “She was able to run and be a contributor.”
NCAA Women's Cross Country
GNAC Championships
Saturday, October 24, 2009
6K at Apple Ridge Run/Yakima, Wash.
Team scores -- 1, Alaska Anchorage 25; 2, Seattle Pacific 48; 3, Western Washington 64; 4, Northwest Nazarene 114; 5, Western Oregon 146; 6, Montana State Billings 167; 7, Alaska Fairbanks 196; 8, Central Washington 205; 9, Saint Martin's 255.
Top 10 -- 1, Jessica Pixler (SPU) 21:03; 2, Sarah Porter (WWU) 21:13; 3, Miriam Kipngeno (UAA) 22:02; 4, Shoshana Keegan (UAA) 22:06; 5, Ruth Keino (UAA) 22:12; 6, Hallidie Wilt (UAA) 22:16; 7, Laura Carr (UAA) 22:18; 8, Jane Larson (SPU) 22:20; 9, Lauren Briehof (WWU) 22:37; 10, Jaclyn Puga (NNU) 22:48.
Other SPU placers -- 11, Natty Plunkett 22:48; 13, Lisa Anderbergh 22:57; 15, Kate Harline 23:20; 18, Suzie Strickler 23:42; 42, Mary Williams 24:42; 50, Krysta Carrick 24:58; 64, Kelsey Brown 25:43; 65, Laura Moser 25:49.
