Rani Ban/The Falcon Junior Suzie Strickler pulls ahead of her competition during the 1500 meter competition.

Four points.

That was all that separated the SPU women's track and field team from a first-place finish at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships on Saturday.

"It was really disappointing, but we did all we could," freshman Melissa Peaslee said.

Western Oregon University (WOU) swept the competition at Tomlinson Stadium in Ellensburg, with both its men's and women's teams taking first place.

The Falcon women were two points behind going into the final event, the 4x400-meter relay, but finished fifth to WOU's third and took second place (of nine teams participating) with 158 points.

The SPU men's squad also fell short of victory, taking seventh place with 30 points.

"We were shooting to win the women's event, so they were disappointed to come in a close second," head coach Karl Lerum said.

On Friday, he said, they had a slow start and missed some opportunities, though they went into Saturday's events with a slim lead.

Despite what Lerum described as "a gritty day on Saturday," the Falcons could not make up for the missed chances and came up short.

The men ran an outstanding meet, Lerum said, but their lack of numbers caused them to score low points.

Individually, the Falcons continued their trends of success.

Sophomore Jane Larson set a GNAC record with her performance in the 3,000-meter run, coming in first at 4:29.66.

Peaslee won the pole vault competition, clearing 11-9. She said that she was OK with her performance but had wanted to go in and break some records.

Freshman Brittany Aanstad took first in the javelin, hurling it a distance of 147-10.

The young talent has Lerum optimistically looking toward the future.

"We have a good range of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who can continue to be big time performers," he said.

Peaslee said that the up-and-coming talent has the team excited for next season, especially the GNAC Championships in 2009.

"It's motivation. We think we will give them a run for the title next year," she said. "We're driven now, because we don't want to lose again."

Or take second. Second-place finishes seemed to be the theme of the weekend, with several Falcons coming in second in their respective events.

In the men's 1,500-meter run, sophomore Chad Meis and senior Brian Cronrath crossed the line less than a quarter of a second apart (3:58.06 and 3:58.28, respectively) to take second and third.

Junior Katie Hart claimed second in the women's 10,000-meter run in 39:23.60, and junior Suzie Strickler did likewise in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking in at 11:03.

Senior Michael Gavareski dashed to a second-place finish in 1:55.47 in the men's 800-meter run.

Lerum said that this season has been difficult because of "tough injuries to outstanding athletes. We haven't been able to have all of our best out there at the same time, so it's been a challenge."

Reigning national champion in the 1500, sophomore Jessica Pixler, has been out for several weeks now with a stress fracture in her leg. Other minor injuries have plagued the squad all season, which is drawing to an end.

SPU will be hosting the Ken Foreman Invitational this weekend. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at West Seattle Stadium.

The Falcons' final competitive preparation for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Championships will take place in Walnut, Calif., on May 22-24.

The season is basically over for a portion of the team, Lerum said. The Foreman meet is seen as a last-chance meet, where competitors with provisionally qualifying national times can try to guarantee themselves a spot in the NCAA Championships.

"The five athletes who do have automatic qualifying marks are tuning up and working on things they need to do," Lerum explained. "The others are trying to peak this Saturday and not wait for nationals, because they're not even sure of a spot right now."

The five athletes with qualifying marks are Larson in the 1500, Strickler in the steeplechase, junior Jeeni Schantin in the javelin, Peaslee in the pole vault, and Aanstad in the javelin.

According to Peaslee, some of the athletes who have automatic qualifying marks, including her, will still compete on Saturday; the choice is left to the discretion of the individuals.