Complete individual results (PDF)
        Complete team results (PDF)

SPOKANE – They weren't even in the regional top 10 coming when they stepped up to the starting line. But by the time they reached the finish line, the Seattle Pacific Falcons had left some of those ranked teams in their dust at Saturday's NCAA Division II West Regional men's cross country championships.
 
On a sunny but cool morning, junior Seth Pierson ran to 26^th place individually, and the Falcons effectively used their pack running once again to snare seventh place in the competition at Plantes Ferry Sports Complex.
 
Seattle Pacific finished with 247 points. Among the regionally ranked teams they beat out were No. 8 Saint Martin's (which finished 10 points ahead of the Falcons at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships two weeks ago in Yakima), No. 9 Cal Poly Pomona, and No. 10 Brigham Young-Hawaii.
 
Alaska Anchorage successfully defended its regional title, edging Chico State for the crown, 37-39. Western Oregon edged Western Washington for third, 126-128. But both teams, along with Anchorage will return to Plantes Ferry on Nov. 19 for the D-2 nationals, giving the GNAC three representatives in that race.
 





Saturday's performance represented a significant jump from last year's regional competition in Bellingham. The Falcons improved by six spots and 125 points from their 12^th-place, 372-point finish in 2010. SPU had been ranked in three regional polls this season, but was not among the West's top 10 in the final list that came out on Oct. 25.
 
“I'm just pleased with the way they came out and raced today,” SPU head coach Erika Daligcon said. “We just talked about getting out on that line and racing every kilometer of it and not letting our mind wander. I'm encouraged by that and I'm looking forward to next year. And they're really satisfied with that performance and really encouraged by it, too.”
 
Pierson (Cashmere, Wash./Cashmere HS) ran near the front all the way, and completed the 10-kilometer course in 32 minutes, 10 seconds.
 
“I didn't my watch today (watches aren't allowed at regionals). I was just here to race,” Pierson said. “I just kept with a couple runners I knew, and once I thought I could drop them, I dropped them. I just kept going and felt good.”
 
Pierson acknowledged that he wasn't sure what to expect.
 
“My leg has been bothering me quite a bit, but I woke up this morning and it felt good,” he said. “I knew this would be my last race unless I went out hard, so I thought I would go for a nice run and see what I could actually do.”
 





While he was well in front of his teammates at the end, the rest of the Falcons behind him were bunched close together.
 
Freshman Turner Wiley (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah HS), junior AJ Baker (Au Gres, Mich.), senior Jacob Wahlenmaier (Everett, Wash./Cascade HS), junior Will Harrison (Tucson, Ariz.) and senior Nathanael Sleight (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) finished 49-60-61-64-65, separated by just 32 seconds. Wiley was the lead runner in the early going until Pierson moved ahead of him.
 
The Falcons accomplished what they did on Saturday without two of their top runner. Junior Jordan Wolfe (Bend, Ore.) and freshman Alex Horton (Kent, Wash./Kentridge HS) sidelined by injuries
 
Pierson became the sixth different runner to lead the SPU pack this fall. Wolfe and Baker did it two times each; Wahlenmaier, Horton and freshman Tavish Taylor (Port Angeles, Wash./Port Angeles  HS) each set the pace once.
 
Saturday's performance capped one of Seattle Pacific's best seasons in several years. The Falcons won their first three meets of the season, then recorded a school-record fifth-place finish at the high-profile Sundodger Invitational in Seattle on Sept. 17.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRTY
Division II West Regionals
Saturday, November 5, 2011
10 kilometers at Plantes Ferry Sports Complex  / Spokane, Wash.
 
Team scores (top 4 to nationals) – 1, Alaska Anchorage 37 ; 2, Chico State 39; 3, Western Oregon 126; 4, Western Washington 128; 5, Northwest Nazarene 200; 6, San Francisco State 211; 7, Seattle Pacific 247; 8, Humboldt State 250; 9, UC San Diego 252; 10, Saint Martin's 261; 11, Cal Poly Pomona 277; 12, Brigham Young-Hawaii 306; 13, Central Washington 321; 14, Grand Canyon 332; 15, Montana State Billings 342; 16, Alaska Fairbanks 449; 17, Cal State Monterey Bay 482.
Top 5 – 1, Micah Chelemo (UAA) 30:19; 2, Isaac Chavez (Chico) 30:20; 3, Barak Watson (NNU) 30:232; 4, Alfred Kangogo (UAA) 30:52; 5, Connor Kasler (WOU) 30:58.
SPU placers – 26, Seth Pierson 32:10; 49, Turner Wiley 32:51; 60, AJ Baker 33:18; 61, Jacob Wahlenmaier 33:19; 64, Will Harrison 33:22; 65, Nathanael Sleight 33:23.