By MARK MOSCHETTI
Seattle Pacific Sports Information
 
SEATTLE – Standing tall.
 
That's what Kyra Brannan does at so many track meets.
 
The 21-year-old Seattle Pacific senior has two conference long jump championships – one indoors, one outdoors. She has a chance for another outdoor title this weekend in what definitely is her favorite event. She has been part of four team titles – two indoors, two outdoors.

 

With speedy feet, she'll also be looking to make some big contributions on the oval as the Falcon women chase after yet another crown.
 
If all of that comes together, Brannan will have a chance to stand taller than anybody on the top step of the awards podium come Saturday afternoon in Monmouth, Ore.
 
But there was a time when standing tall wasn't so easy for the somewhat diminutive Brannan.


It didn't keep her legs from racing on a track.
 
But it did keep her heart from racing …
 
… on a roller coaster.
 
"I remember being so bummed that I couldn't ride because I was too short. I would cry," Brannan recalled of never quite measuring up on one of those "Must be this tall to ride" signs. "I was probably around 7 or 8 when I could finally ride.
 
"Ever since I got to an appropriate height, they create such an adrenaline rush in me."
 
For the next two days, Brannan will have multiple opportunities for big adrenaline rushes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships at Western Oregon University's McArthur Field.
 
On Friday, she'll start competition in the long jump at 3:40 p.m., seeking to add another crown to the one she captured in 2015. At 4:25, she'll trade those shoes for her sprinting spikes and head to the starting line for the 100-meter dash preliminaries. If the long jump is still going, she'll race back over to the pit, the return to the track at 5:55 for the 200-meter prelims.
 
Brannan's Saturday schedule will include both relays – the 4x100 at 12 noon, and the meet-ending 4x400 at 3:05 p.m. In between, she's hoping to have earned a place in the finals of the 100 and 200.
 
Those five events make her the busiest of all the Falcons this weekend. But SPU head coach Karl Lerum believes if anyone pull that off, it's Brannan.
 
"Kyra came in here as one of the top athletes in the Northwest, and she remains one of the top athletes in the Northwest," Lerum said. "And that's not easy to do."
 
JUST STAYING IN THE MOMENT
More often than not, thinking long-term is a good thing. Maybe that means organizing a to-do list on a Sunday night for the busy week ahead. Or booking travel plans months in advance.
 
Sometimes, though, long-term thinking can be a detriment … as Kyra Brannan found out the hard way last spring.
 
Just two weeks before the 2016 GNAC meet, she had posted her first-ever 19-foot long jump, going 19-1½ at the Spike Arlt Invitational in Ellensburg. That put her into the national top 25 at the time. But Brannan knew she would have to go even farther to make the cut for the NCAAs.
 
That was her mindset as she stepped onto the Western Oregon runway. She had a mark on her first try, but it was a short one. Then, she fouled on her second and third attempts, and didn't make the finals.
 
Just like that, no repeat title. And no trip to NCAAs.
 
"I definitely use that as a learning moment. But I'm not going to be stuck on that moment," Brannan said. "Last year was really trying to get a national mark, and that got too much of me. I was more focused on that and wasn't focused on getting a win. This year, I'm not going to focus on getting a high mark. I'm just going to focus on winning the conference."
 
No one appreciates that approach more than Lerum.
 
"Kyra has done such a good job of keeping her focus and keeping it to a step at a time," he said. "I know she's excited at the prospect of jumping at nationals. But she is fully focused on performing well at conference."

ALREADY POPPED A BIG ONE
As for getting a high mark? That native of Kennewick in Eastern Washington already has one: 19 feet, 7 inches, to be precise, achieved at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 14 in Azusa, Calif.
 
That still ranks 20th coming into the weekend, right on the Division II top-20 line. The closest one to her in the GNAC is sophomore teammate Geneva Lehnert at 18-10½. Anything farther than 19-7 would essentially guarantee her a trip to Florida. Otherwise, she'll just have to wait until early next week when all of the declarations are in to find out if she made it.

Either way, her only concern now is getting those 10 teams points for finishing No. 1. Knowing what she accomplished at Azusa makes her completely confident that she can do that again.
 
"I'm definitely more patient with my jumps, so I'm staying in the air more rather than just jumping and going to a quick landing," Brannan said. "It's becoming a little more second-nature.
 
Added assistant coach Audra Smith, "She trusts the process, and she has seen the success it has had because she has trusted it so much."
 
UPS AND DOWNS? BRING 'EM ON
Kyra Brannan's career path in track and field probably didn't have anything to do with her wanting to take a career path in roller coaster design.
 
On the other hand, both certainly have their share of ups and downs.
 
Take track. As down as she might have been feeling after last year's GNAC long jump. Brannan bounced back big-time: fourth place in the 100, fifth in the 200, third on the 4x100 relay, and fourth on the 4x400.
 
She thus had a hand in 20 of SPU's 148½ points – a big deal, given that the final winning margin ahead runner-up Central Washington was just five points.

 

As for coasters? Once she finally was tall enough to ride her first one, she was hooked – and has stayed hooked.
 
"I could probably ride day in and day out," she said. "But I always wanted something more thrilling. So I thought, 'I should just design my own roller coaster.'"
 
Her favorite is one called the Zipper, a mainstay at many community fairs and carnivals.
 
"It makes you go upside down a lot. The ride flips and your cart flips, and it's really fun at night," Brannan said in such a way that one could almost feel he adrenaline flowing even as she spoke.
 
Last summer, Brannan was able to go to Pennsylvania for an intern interview with a roller coaster company, where she said she was one of just three females in a group of 27. They were able to visit the well-known Hersheypark, with its 13 coasters. One of those is Skyrush, "which goes 70 miles per hour," she said enthusiastically. (Actually, it's even a bit faster at 75 mph, according to the park Website).
 
A mechanical engineering major with a 3.49 grade-point average, Brannan will move on from SPU in June ready and eager to get started on bringing her dream coaster to life.
 
But not before she sprints down the long jump runway again and steps onto the track for a few more races.
 
"Track is hard because it's mainly individual. But for two conference meets (indoors and outdoors), you become a team," Brannan said. "Everyone is working so hard together. Those experiences are the best, especially since we're always in the position of being able to win. It's so cool to see everyone really dig deep and excel.
 
"Seeing that and seeing everyone super-excited about it is such an awesome way to end every season."
 
And, knowing she has played a big role in that excitement …
 
… makes it that much easier for Kyra Brannan to stand tall.