Complete results
        PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons were just hoping to pick up in this year's Sundodger Invitational where they left off in last year's event.
 
They did – and then some.
 
AJ Baker raced into the top 10, and the Falcons had three finishers among the top 25 on Saturday on the way to a second-place finish in the men's Open Division race at West Seattle's Lincoln Park. SPU finished with 108 points.
 
That spot in the final standings was a new school record, beating last year's fifth-place finish, which at the time was the best-ever Sundodger performance by a Seattle Pacific team. Saturday's point total easily beat the Falcons' previous Sundodger low of 133, which was set in 1996.
 
“My goal was that the men would beat their finish from last year, so I'm just really thrilled for them,” head coach Erika Daligcon said.
 





The only team ahead of SPU was British Columbia, which had three in the top 10 and wound up with 48 points. The Falcons beat out Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals Western Washington (fifth with 166), Northwest Nazarene (ninth with 264), Central Washington (13^th with 375), Saint Martin's (16^th with 410) and Western Oregon (19^th with 463).
 
Seattle Pacific senior Baker (Au Gres, Mich.), running his fourth and final Sundodger as a Falcon, made it his best one by a long way. On a sunny, upper 50-degree morning, he completed the 8-kilometer course in 25 minutes, 23 seconds for 10^th place. That was 33 seconds faster than his previous Lincoln Park PR of 25:58, set last year – and far exceeded his 2009 freshman year performance when he placed 132^nd in 28:01.12.
 
“I wasn't sure where I was going to finish today. I just wanted to out and race hard,” Baker said. “To be in the top 10 was a great feeling. It was great to get up with those guys.”
 
Two other runners were close to Baker heading into the final 400 meters.
 
“I was screaming at him, 'You can get in the top 10,'” Daligcon said. “I think he had a great summer running through the mountains, and it renewed his excitement for the sport. It's fun to see that training pay off.”
 
Senior Jordan Wolfe (Bend, Ore.) stayed near the front of the 236-runner pack most of the way, running in the top 10 for part of the race and staying in the top 20 all the way to the finish line, as he crossed 19^th in 25:34 – an improvement of 37 seconds and 44 places from 2011.
 
Sophomore Tavish Taylor (Port Angeles, Wash. / Port Angeles HS), who had a strong race here as a freshman last year, did it again, placing 23^rd in 25:38. That was seven places higher. Senior Will Harrison (Tucson, Ariz.) factored in as the No. 4 scorer in 36^th overall (25:57), and senior Seth Pierson (Cashmere, Wash. / Cashmere HS) completed the scoring in 51^st (26:15).
 
“Second place at Sundodger is just amazing ,” Baker said. “Unbelievable. We especially had a great group today. All of our guys ran admirably.
 
“This is going to be good for our team confidence. People are going to be watching for us now.”
 
 
NCAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Sundodger Invitational
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012
8 kilometers at Lincoln Park / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team scores – 1, British Columbia 48; 2, Seattle Pacific 108; 3, Everett CC 128; 4, Seattle University 155; 5, Western Washington 166; 6, Whitworth 212; 7, Puget Sound 219; 8, Trinity Western 220; 9, Northwest Nazarene 264; 10, Lewis & Clark 265; 11, Linfield 300; 12, Clackamas CC 310; 13, Central Washington 375; 14, Pacific (Ore.) 383; 15, Whitman 392; 16, Saint Martin's 410; 17, Pacific Lutheran 419; 18, Seattle Running Club 446; 19, Western Oregon 463; 20, Green River CC 545; 21, Corban 557; 22, Highline CC 680.
 
Top 10 – 1, Chip Jackson (WWU) 24:55; 2, Jesse Baggenstos (NNU) 24:58; 3, Blair Johnston (TWU) 25:08; 4, John Ricardi (Unattached) 25:09; 5, Luc Bruchet (UBC) 25:11; 6, Habtamu Rubio (Evt) 25:11; 7, Jack Williams (UBC) 25:18; 8, Tim Huebsch (UBC) 25:19; 9, Aaron Campbell (Evt) 25:20; 10, AJ Baker (SPU) 25:23. Other SPU placers – 19, Jordan Wolfe 25:34; 23, Tavish Taylor 25:38; 36, Will Harrison 25:57; 51, Seth Pierson 26:15; 113, Ryan Alcantara 27:5; 149, Brian Comer 27:51; 158, Colin Wilkins 27:59.