A CAREER WELL RUN: Returning to the track to utilize her final season of eligibility was the right call for Samantha Lee, who continued a long line of standout women’s distance runners.

Lee continued to be a record-setting performer for the Boxers. She established a new record mark in the women’s 10,000 meters, running 37:31.84 at the Mar. 4 Linfield Erik Anderson Memorial Icebreaker. The time bettered the former mark set by Sarah Smith in 2005 by over 30 seconds and was just seven seconds off of the provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Division III Championships.

In addition, Lee obliterated her own record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running an outstanding time of 11:14.17 at the Apr. 29 Pacific Twilight. The time was also an over 30-second improvement over her record time of 11:46.97 set at the 2010 Pacific Twilight meet.

Lee qualified for the Northwest Conference Championships in every distance from 800 meters to 10,000 meters. She earned All-Northwest Conference honors with a third place finish in the 10,000 meters in 38:34.24 and placed sixth in the 5,000 meters with a season best time of 18:18.51.

DUELING SPRINTERS: The event has not been a strong suit for Pacific in recent years, but a number of Boxers emerged in 2011 as significant factors in the sprint events. In the women’s 100 meters and 200 meters, the Boxers benefited from a pair who pushed each other towards school records.

Junior Nicole Smith and freshman Kelli Aken-Pagdilao dueled all season for Pacific sprint superiority. Smith set a school record in the 100 meters at the Mar. 12 Pacific Preview, running 13.05 seconds to slip just under Brooke Barker’s previous record of 13.08 seconds. Smith lowered the mark under 13 seconds in the first of two preliminary heats in the event at the NWC Championships, clocking in at 12.85 seconds.

The new mark lasted all of five minutes. In the second heat, Aken-Pagdilao cruised her way to a record time of 12.85 seconds to claim the record mark. Both athletes placed in the 100 meters in the championship meet, with Smith placing fifth in 13.12 seconds and Aken-Pagdilao placing sixth in 13.14 seconds. Both also scored points for Pacific in the 200 meters. Smith placed fourth in a Pacific single season best 26.66 seconds and Aken-Pagdilao placing fifth in 26.74 seconds.

On the men’s side, sophomore Vince Mull put together a breakout performance at the NWC Championships in his specialty, the 100 meters. Mull clocked a time of 11.02 seconds in the meet’s preliminary heats, which ranks as the sixth best time in school history and the best 100 meters run by a Pacific athlete since 1979. Mull went on to finish fourth in the final with a time of 11.26 seconds.

MASTERING THE BARRIERS: Pacific’s veteran hurdlers did not disappoint as the Boxers scored points at the NWC Championships in the hurdles on both the men’s and women’s sides.

Nathan Gilpin capped off a stellar career with a pair of strong performances at the NWC Championships. Gilpin earned All-NWC honors in the 400-meter hurdles, placing third with a time of 56.20 seconds. The mark ranks as the seventh fastest time in school history. He just missed qualifying for the finals in the 110-meter hurdles, running the ninth fastest time of the preliminaries with a time of 16.13 seconds.

Sophomore Michael Hunker, meanwhile, scored points for the Boxers in both disciplines. Hunker was one place behind Gilpin in the 400-meter hurdles, placing fourth in a time of 56.50 seconds, the ninth fastest in school history. Earlier in the meet, Hunker managed a fourth place finish in the 110-meters with a time of 15.80 seconds. He went on to lower his season best in the high hurdles to 15.50 seconds at the Apr. 30 Pacific Twilight, which ranks as the sixth best time in school history and the best by a Pacific athlete since 1978.

On the women’s side, junior Jenna Matsumoto led the way with a pair of NWC Championships finals appearances in the hurdles events. Matsumoto finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 16.52 seconds after running a season best 16.47 seconds in the preliminary heats. In the 400-meter hurdles, Matsumoto placed fifth in 1:08.33 to lead three Pacific athletes who qualified for the final. Kori Bellwood placed seventh with a season best of 1:08.33 while Jessica Head placed eighth in a time of 1:10.60.

THERE’S STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: Along with quality, track and field teams are often more successful when they increased their quantity. Pacific had their biggest squad in recent history in 2011 with 60 total athletes coming out for the team. A total of 39 men competed for the Boxers, with 15 of those athletes being crossovers with the football. In addition, a total of 21 women were out for the squad.

Those numbers translated into a significantly increased presence at the Northwest Conference Championships. A total of 21 men qualified for the NWC meet in 19 different events. The increase translated into an improvement to a sixth place NWC Championships finish with 57 points. Likewise, a total of 16 Pacific women qualified for the NWC Championships in a total of 21 events. The Boxers’ 42 points was their best since 2007.

MAKING THE JUMP: Pacific continued to have a strong presence in the jumping events, thinks in part to some football crossovers. Freshman Kelson Kawai contributed a pair of fifth place finishes at the NWC Championships, going 5 feet, 11.25 inches in the high jump and a season best 43 feet, 7 inches in the triple jump. Kawai went even higher at the May 7 Mt. Hood Track & Field Festival as he cleared 6 feet, 4.75 inches in the high jump.

Taylor Hickson provided a one-two punch in both of the horizontal jumps. Hickson finished sixth at the NWC Championships in the long jump with a season best 21 feet, 5.5 inches. He also placed sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 43 feet, 1.5 inches.

On the women’s side, Annie Mutchler showed the potential she has to be a major factor for the Boxers over the next three years. Mutchler placed fifth in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 33 feet, 10.75 inches. She also represented the Boxers in the NWC Championships in the long jump and high jump.

MULTI-EVENT PERFORMERS: After a recent absence in capable multi-event performers, Pacific found some talent that will serve the team will over the next few years in both the decathlon and heptathlon. In the women’s seven-event festival, Kasey Fisher proved to be an immediate point scorer. The sophomore finished sixth in the Northwest Conference Multi-Event Championships with a total of 3,717 points. The finish is the second best point total in school history. Fisher benefited with having competed in a couple of heptathlons during her high school career.

Chloe Hallyburton finished ninth in the conference heptathlon with her total of 3,090 points to mark an improvement of over 700 points from her first ever multi-event from earlier in the season. Hallyburton also competed in the high jump and the 400-meter hurdles and was selected to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District Track & Field/Cross Country Second Team.

Later in the season, Pacific coaches realized that they have had another high-scoring multi-eventer right under their noses. Nicole Smith finished with a total of 3,337 points in her first ever heptathlon at the West Coast Invitational on May 11 and 12. Smith accomplished the third best point total in school history with little to no practice in the heptathlon’s throwing events.

In the decathlon, Aaron Koford just missed scoring points for the Boxers at the NWC Multi-Event Championships, finishing ninth with a total of 5,274 points. The effort is the fourth best point total in school history. Taylor Hickson competed in one decathlon this season. His total of 4,971 points at the Pacific Preview just missed qualification for the NWC Multi-Event Championships.

ADD NORTHWEST CONFERENCE PLACERS: Alex Florence placed sixth in the 200 meters in his only appearance at the NWC Championships, running 23.30 seconds after a time of 22.90 seconds in the preliminaries…John Fredericks concluded his Pacific career with a fourth place finish in the pole vault, clearing a height of 13 feet, 8.25 inches…Aaron Koford posted a seven-foot best in the discus to finish eighth with a throw of 140 feet, 10 inches…Avery Neal notched a fourth place finish in the 800 meters with a season best time of 1:57.17…Pacific’s 400-meter relay team of Alex Florence, Aaron Koford, Michael Hunker and Vince Mull ran to a third place finish with a time of 43.13 seconds. The quartet finished just a hair behind Whitworth, which won the event in a time of 43.03 seconds.

RECORD SETTERS: The already mentioned accomplishments of Samantha Lee and Kelli Aken-Pagdilao were three of six records set by Pacific athletes in 2011. Murphy Busek bettered his own record in the men’s hammer throw with a chuck of 155 feet, 8 inches at the Apr. 16 Rich Allen Classic. The women’s 400-meter relay team of Aken-Pagdilao, Kori Bellwood, Jenna Matsumoto and Nicole Smith set a record at the Apr. 30 Pacific Twilight meet, running a time of 50.33 seconds.

Pacific also set a record in their first ever running of the men’s 3,200-meter relay team. The quartet of John Gillem, Steve Stoller, John Cushman and Avery Neal ran 8:08.59 in the event at the Pacific Twilight. The event was contested in order to aid NAIA squads at the meet who were trying to qualify for the NAIA National Championships.

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL TWILIGHT: The fourth running of the Pacific Twilight may have been the best yet and further solidifies the meet’s reputation as one of the best small college meets in the regional. The two-day meet attracted nearly 1,000 athletes to Lincoln Park Stadium on Apr. 29 and 30. It was a record-setting event with 14 meet record and 11 stadium records falling.

The pole vault provided the most excitement with a pair of performances that ranked among the nation’s best. Clackamas CC’s Keisa Monterola went 14 feet, 1.75 inches in the women’s pole vault, ranking as the No. 3 mark in the U.S. by a foreign collegian this season (as of June 1 by Track & Field News) and was the nation’s best junior college mark in 2011. On the men’s side, Eastern Oregon’s Robbie Kunke cleared 17 feet, 3 inches, which was the second mark in the NAIA this season. In addition, unattached competitor Jere Summers went 179 feet, 8 inches in the women’s discus, setting a stadium with a top-20 U.S. performance.

Former University of Washington All-American and current Nike athlete Jordan Boase olbiterated the stadium record in the 400 meters with a world-class time of 46.28 seconds.  The Twilight proved to be Boase's final warm-up before competing in the first IAAF Diamond League meet of the season in Doha, Qatar.