NW Briefs | National title for Falcons’ Pixler
JOPLIN, Mo. - Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler won her first NCAA Division II cross country title, leading the Seattle Pacific women to a second-place finish overall at nationals.
Pixler, who completed the 6-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 29.1 seconds, was joined in the top 10 by teammate Jane Larson, who finished eighth in 20:55.5. Pixler’s time was a course record in conditions both she and coach Doris Heritage described as “perfect.”
Pixler’s time was 10.9 seconds faster than her mark in last year’s national meet in Pensacola, Fla., where she finished 10th overall.
The team finish was the Falcons’ best ever, besting their third-place finish in 1986.
The victory did not come without drama, as Pixler and another runner clipped heels, stumbled and fell midway through the race.
WWU in Elite Eight
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The Western Washington volleyball team earned its first trip to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals with a 30-28, 30-24, 30-23 victory over No. 1 seed Cal State San Bernardino in the championship game of the Pacific Regional.
Emily Castro had 14 kills and 13 digs for the Vikings, who improved to 24-4 with their 19th straight victory.
“We played obviously the best match that we’ve played all year long,” said Western coach Diane Flick.
The Elite Eight will be begin Thursday at a site to be determined.
Men’s basketball
Rob Diedrichs had 13 points and nine rebounds for Seattle Pacific, but the Falcons (1-1) scored just 19 second-half points on the way to a 53-49 loss to Cal State San Bernardino in Sodexho Tip-Off Classic at Brougham Pavilion.
• Seattle U. (2-0) beat Cal State Stanislaus 60-59 at the Elgin Baylor Classic. Ricky Berry nailed a three-pointer as time expired to beat the Warriors (0-2).
• Western Washington held Cal State Monterey Bay without a field goal for more than six minutes late in the second half on the way to a 82-77 victory at the Sodexho Tip-Off Classic. Ira Graham led the Vikings (1-1) with 17 points.
• Jake Beitinger scored a team-high 25 points to lead Central Washington to an 89-81 victory over Chico State in second-day action of the Tarp It Wildcat Classic in Ellensburg.
Women’s basketball
A career-high 20 points from Jessie Christensen helped lead Seattle Pacific past North Alabama 65-44 in the Sodexho Tip-Off Classic at Brougham Pavilion.
Christensen scored the final seven points for the Falcons (2-0).
• Seattle U. (2-0) cruised to a 82-29 victory over BYU Hawaii (0-2) at Connolly Center.
• Hanna Hull scored 15 points to lead Central Washington and the Wildcats (2-0) defeated Regis (Colo.) 96-60 at the Sodexho Tip-Off Classic.
Other volleyball
Eighth-ranked USC completed a sweep of the Washington schools with a 30-19, 30-19, 30-22 win over Washington State in Los Angeles. Brittany Johnson led the Cougars (9-21, 0-16 Pac-10) with 10 kills and 10 digs.
• Gonzaga fell 30-25, 30-23, 30-19 to San Francisco on Senior Day in Spokane. The Bulldogs (17-13, 5-8 West Coast Conference) completed their first winning season since 1994.
Swimming
The Washington State women fell 172.5-115.5 to Arizona State in Tempe. The Cougars got individual victories from Shawna Keller in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.85) and 200 breaststroke (2:18.09); Lina Daugvilaite in the 500 freestyle (5:08.63); and Rugile Mileisyte in the 100-yard backstroke (57.05).
Notes
• Emerald Downs riding champion Ricky Frazier posted the 3,000th win of his career with a victory (via disqualification) aboard Miller’s Turbo in the $45,000 Paradise Valley Stakes at Turf Paradise in Phoenix.
• Gianna Marchese and Guss Simpson each won gold, leading a group from the Magnolia Karate Academy that brought home 15 medals from last weekend’s Victoria International Karate Tournament in Victoria, B.C.
Compiled from sports-information reports and other sources.