Alumni inducted into the Falcon Hall of Fame
John Glancy, a school-record-setting runner and longstanding staff member; Virginia Husted, basketball and gymnastics coach; Cliff McCrath, five-time NCAA champion men’s soccer coach; and the 1978 men’s soccer team took their rightful places among the most distinguished athletes in SPU history when they were inducted into the Falcon Hall of Fame this year. The ceremony took place on February 11, as part of Seattle Pacific’s 125th anniversary celebration during Homecoming and Parents Weekend. The day continued with a women’s and men’s basketball doubleheader, followed by the All-Athletics Reunion.
Freshman gymnast earns title at SPU-hosted national championship meet
Darian Burns, a freshman and SPU’s 2017 Athlete of the Year, took a gold medal in the floor exercise at the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate Championships, with her career-best score of 9.900 — the third-best score in SPU’s history. The competition was hosted at SPU’s Royal Brougham Pavilion April 7–9. Burns is the Falcons’ third floor national champion in the last four years and only the second freshman to be honored as Athlete of the Year in the award’s 59-year history.
Women’s indoor track team wins conference title
They came into the meet as a slight underdog. But the Seattle Pacific Falcons came out on top, winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s indoor track and field title by the closest margin in GNAC history. Sparked by a 1-2-3 finish from freshman Scout Cai, freshman Brooke Benner, and sophomore Geneva Lehnert in the heptathlon, plus wins from Lehnert in the high jump and senior Kyra Brannan in the long jump, SPU edged pre-meet favorite Simon Fraser by 3½ points, 124 to 120½, on February 17 and 18 at Jackson’s Track in Nampa, Idaho. It was the team’s 11th conference crown.
Men’s basketball player earns conference freshman of the year honor
Tony Miller didn’t need much time to make an impact. Pouring in 514 points and grabbing 247 rebounds, Miller was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year for men’s basketball. He is the fourth Seattle Pacific player to earn that award. In addition, Miller was named to the All-GNAC second team. For the year, the graduate of nearby Woodinville High School averaged 19 points and 9.7 rebounds. He had 15 point-rebound double-doubles, ranking No. 10 nationally in that category. His point total was the second-highest and his rebound total was the third-highest in Falcon history.