Alex Moore Last Monday, sophomore Kristin Janney (left) and junior Linda Blake (right) run hurdles at Wallace Field during track practice.

The Seattle Pacific University men's and women's track teams crossed the Cascades over the weekend to compete in the Pelleur Invitational, hosted by Eastern Washington University.

Highlighting the Falcon efforts was All-American junior Danielle Ayers-Stamper along with junior Brandi McCoy and sophomore Karen Dickson. Ayers-Stamper came away with victories in the high jump and 100 meter hurdles while Dickson beat out the competition in the 1500 and McCoy bested teammate Victoria Perkins in the steeplechase.

The meet did not begin until the early part of the afternoon, and what was a pleasant morning in Cheney, Wash. turned into a cold and breezy afternoon come meet time.

Fresh off a national title in the high jump last month in Boston, Ayers-Stamper dominated even the division I competition, leaping an impressive five-feet-eight-inches. As for the hurdles, the junior led an SPU trio to the tape in 14.09 seconds as she was followed by sophomores Linda Blake (15.24) and Kelsey Cooley (15.25).

Ayers-Stamper will compete in her first heptathlon of the season this week when she flies down to California for the prestigious Mt. SAC relays.

Dickson and McCoy both turned in solid performances as Dickson finished the 1500 in 4:40.97 and McCoy put up a time of 11:57.45 in the steeplechase. Both races are considered to be among the most grueling in the sport of track and field.

There were others whose performances made the long bus ride worthwhile. In the women's pole vault, junior Amy Harris placed second with a vault of 11-feet-eight-inches and teammates Allie Hedges and Ally Studer jumped 10-feet-eight-inches and placed third and fifth, respectively.

Alex Moore Sophomore Sharon Bjella practices her high jump at Wallace Field.

Freshman standout Lauren VerMulm earned a fourth place finish in the javelin throw with a toss of 139 feet. Coach Jack Hoyt is optimistic about the potential he sees in the freshman.

The women also ran a season best time of 49.08 in the 4x100, beating out Eastern Washington University by 1/100 of a second.

The men's team was led by freshman Ryan Jewell who placed third in the 100 meters (11.21) and fourth in the 200 meters (22.49). The men also ran a season best in the 4x400, placing third with a time of 3:24.45.

As the Falcons reach the midway point of their outdoor season, several members have achieved provisional qualifying marks for the national meet, which takes place in Texas at the end of May. Thus far, SPU owns the nation's top mark in four individual events. Junior Chris Randolph leads the nation in the decathlon; Dickson has the best time by 80 seconds in the 10 kilometer and Ayers-Stamper and VerMulm own the top marks in the long jump and javelin.

Seattle Pacific also sits atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in several categories on both the men's and women's sides. The Falcons will look to build on the success of the indoor season which saw the women take home first and the men bring home fourth at the conference championships.

For the athletes that won't be competing at the Mt. SAC relays this weekend, they will head over to Ellensburg for the Spike Arlt Invitational. It will be a chance for the athletes to get accustomed to the track as the conference championships will be held there next month.