A BREAKOUT SEASON: Over his first two seasons, Dan Flora saw most of his time as a runner in the middle of Pacific’s seven-man cross country lineup. In 2011, Flora went the mid-pack to the top of the pack.
Flora was the Boxers’ No. 1 runner in four of their seven meets. He earned Second Team All-Northwest Conference honors by placing 10th at the NWC Championships, clocking in with a personal best time of 25:51.59. The performance was the fastest for a Pacific men’s runner since Kellen Peters in 2006. Flora added NCAA Division III All-West Region honors two weeks later, clocking 26:12.6 at the West Region Championships to place 22nd.
The championships races were the cappers for an incredible breakout season for Flora, who grew up near Steve Prefontaine’s hometown of Coos Bay, Ore. (Flora’s hometown, North Bend, borders Coos Bay). Flora set the stage for his success at the Sept. 10 Lewis & Clark Invitational when his time of 26:48 over the primarily grass course cut nearly 40 seconds off of his personal best. From the start of the season to finish, Flora slashed almost 1 minute, 40 seconds off his 2010 best. In addition, Flora’s time at the NWC Championships moved to the junior up to No. 13 on Pacific’s all-time best list for 8,000 meters.
GO JOE: Not to be outdone by his fellow junior, Joe Deardorff also stepped up his pace to give the Boxers a good one-two punch. Deardorff traded places with Dan Flora for the No. 1 and No. 2 spots for much of the season. He too earned Second Team All-NWC honors by finishing two places behind Flora at the NWC Championships, placing 12th in a time of 25:58.78. The time was a personal best and moved him into No. 14 on Pacific’s all-time list at 8,000 meters.
Deardorff’s time at the NWC Championships marked a significant breakthrough that was a year in the making. After not running faster than his 2010 best of 26:15 for most of the season, his time at the championships marked a 24-second improvement on his personal best and a 55-second improvement off his best from earlier in the season. Deardorff capped his season by earning All-West Region honors, placing 30th at the NCAA Division III West Region Championships with a time of 26:22.1.
STEADY IMPROVEMENT: Jilinda Franklin assumed her role as the Boxers’ top returning female runner well, posting steady improvement from the beginning of the season to the end. After spending much of her time in the middle of the pack in 2010 (anywhere from No. 2 to No. 6), Franklin spent the entire 2011 year as either the No. 1 or No. 2 runner.
Franklin opened her season with a personal best, covering the 6,000-meter course at the Sept. 3 Puget Sound Open in a time of 24:45. Six races and 46 seconds later, she found herself as the Boxers’ top runner at the NCAA Division III West Regional Championships. Franklin finished in 72nd place in a time of 23:59.0 and also moved up to No. 12 on Pacific’s all-time list at the distance. From start of the season to the finish, Franklin dropped a total of 1 minute, 20 seconds off of her personal best.
CHANGING COURSE: After spending much of his first four years as head coach in a base-building phase, Tim Boyce finally started to see the climb upward that he expected to see in the Pacific men’s and women’s cross country programs.
The Pacific men, in particular, took some major steps forward thanks to the development of the program’s veteran runners and the addition of a couple of key newcomers. Pacific finished second as a team in three of their seven meets. At the Northwest Conference Championships, the Boxers rode the coattails of Second Team All-NWC performers Dan Flora and Joe Deardorff to a fifth place team finish. That is the Boxers’ best placing since 2002 (when the Boxers placed fourth) and an improvement of two places over the 2010 championships.
The Boxer men went on to perform well at the regional level, placing 10th at the NCAA Division III West Region Championships, held in Claremont, Calif. That was also Pacific’s best finish since 2002 and marked an improvement of three places over their 2010 race. Flora and Deardorff also set the pace, putting together a pair of top-30 finishes to earn All-West Region honors. From top to bottom, though, the Boxers performed well as a team unit. In six of their seven meets, the Boxers put a gap of no more than 1 minute, 44 seconds between their No. 1 and No. 5 runner.
While the Pacific women were not as successful in improving their places at the conference and regional meets, they made some critical strides towards becoming an even more competitive squad. The Boxers finished eighth at the NWC Championships and 18th at NCAA Division III West Regional meet, and had to battle through lineup changes due to injuries in each meet. Where the Boxers grew the most, though, was in terms lineup. Pacific fielded full lineups in six of the seven meets and never went incomplete.
The women also have benefited from a team that groups well. The Boxers had a gap of 1 minute, 42 seconds or less between the No. 1 and No. 5 runner in five of the team’s seven meets. They had a gap of just 1 minute, 10 seconds at the NWC Championships.
TALENTED NEWCOMERS: The 2011 successes of Pacific cross country were certainly helped by the addition of some newcomers that will become key players over the next few years.
On the men’s side, Jerry Sanchez provided a level of experience that was immediately beneficial to the Boxers. A junior transfer from the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, Calif., Sanchez provided Pacific an immediate top-three runner. Sanchez turned in a season best time of 26:29.66 at the NWC Championships, ranking him 19th on Pacific’s all-time list at 8,000 meters. He was Pacific’s No. 1 runner at both the Linfield Invitational and Pacific’s dual meet against George Fox.
Rachel Schreiber brought significant punch to the Pacific women as a freshman, spending most of the season dueling with Jilinda Franklin for the top spot on the team. Schreiber announced her arrival in Forest Grove by running 24:52 at the Puget Sound Open on Sept. 3. She eventually improved to a time of 24:16.59 at the NWC Championships, ranking No. 14 on the Boxers’ all-time list at 6,000 meters. Her performance at the NCAA West Regional was hampered by injuries, but will be looked to as a key player for the Boxers over the next three years.
Caitlyn Reilly also brought some speed that will benefit the Boxers. The freshman from Reedsport, Ore., Reilly spent the entire season as one of the top four runners in the women’s lineup. She also saw some of the most significant improvement of any individual runner over the course of the season, dropping 1 minute, 16 seconds from start of the season to the NWC Championships. Her season best of 24:04.04 at the conference meet ranks No. 13 on the Boxers’ all-time list at 6,000 meters.
CONFERENCE MEET PREVIEW: The Oct. 15 Boxer Rebellion meet was not only a chance for teams to experience Pacific’s newly adopted home course, but to also get a preview of the course for the 2012 Northwest Conference Championships.
The Boxer Rebellion was the first race in recent years for the Boxers at the Sunset Grove Golf Course, located three miles north of Forest Grove. Pacific had also run an intrasquad meet there in 2010. The course, comprised of three loops around the course for the women and four loops for the men, proved to be a fast and spectator friendly track. Head Coach Tim Boyce hopes to use Sunset Grove for the championships, which Pacific will host next October. Pacific last hosted the championships in 2003 on a course through the Pacific campus and adjacent Lincoln Park.
SEASON SUMMARY
Men’s NWC Championships Finish: 5th of 9 (138 pts.)
Men’s West Region Championships Finish: 10th of 18 (285 pts.)
Men’s Top Time (8,000 Meters): Dan Flora, 25:51.59 at NWC Championships, Oct. 29
Women’s NWC Championship Finish: 8th of 9 (205 pts.)
Women’s West Region Championships Finish: 18th of 20 (501 pts.)
Women’s Top Time (6,000 Meters): Rachel Schreiber, 23:23.77 at NWC Championships, Oct. 29
SEASON HONORS
Men’s Cross Country Second Team All-Northwest Conference: Dan Flora, Joe Deardorff
Men’s All-West Region: Dan Flora, Joe Deardorff
Northwest Conference Men’s Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Week: Dan Flora (Week of Sept. 5-11)
