| Fall Brings Two Great Northwest
Athletic Conference Championships
IT’S BEEN AN AWESOME autumn for the Seattle
Pacific University Falcons, who earned two Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) championships.
A motivated group of young men surprised
almost everyone but themselves by winning the GNAC cross country championship
in McKinleyville, California, on October 23. SPU’s previous best league finish had been fourth, and a year ago the Falcons took eighth in the GNAC. The men also earned their first trip to a national championship in
43 years with a third-place finish in the
West Regional. Nationally, they were 19th.
On the women’s side, the young Falcons came within seven points of retaining their GNAC title. Karen Dickson handily claimed first place in the conference race and earned
a trip to nationals by placing second in the West Regional. Dickson achieved the best national finish by a Seattle Pacific female in 17 years at the NCAA Championships November 20 in Evansville, Indiana. She finished
fourth overall.
Although SPU was the preseason favorite in women’s soccer, few would have predicted their unbeaten record through the regular season. This year’s GNAC champion, Seattle Pacific was the national leader in scoring defense, allowing just 0.22 goals per game, and holding opponents scoreless in 16 of 20 regular season games. The women hosted
the NCAA Division II Far West Regional Championships November 11–13, ending the post-season with a disappointing loss to
Seattle University.
The men’s soccer team was perhaps the most improved in the region, going 13-3-2 to nearly make the NCAA tournament. All three losses were to teams in the top 10 nationally.
Volleyball negotiated a difficult schedule to finish fourth in the GNAC with a 15-11 mark. The highlight came October 23rd, when the Falcons defeated nationally ranked arch-rival Western Washington at home.
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