April 30, 2008

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - It was a good throw, not quite Monika Gruszecki's best in the javelin, but not far off. That it stood up to make the freshman from Western Washington an NCAA Division II national champion in 2007 was a surprise.

Gruszecki's mark of 145 feet, 8 inches on her third attempt was the shortest winning effort in the history of the NCAA II outdoor championships. Her personal best of 146-10, accomplished in her collegiate debut, ranked fifth going into nationals, nearly 20 feet behind the top mark of 164-8.

"It was phenomenal what happened at nationals last year," Gruszecki said. "I don't know if it was the field or the weather or climate, but whatever it was, people just did not perform up to what was expected of them. That is, everyone but me, which was kind of lucky."

Before Gruszecki's victory, the shortest winning throw at nationals was 151-8 in 2001. Five times in the previous eight years, the champion had thrown over 160 feet.

"She was in the right place at the right time last year," said Western coach Pee Wee Halsell. "The top two throwers were injured, and she threw the closest to what she had thrown going in. Sometimes at nationals, you're going to get those opportunities."

Making Gruszecki's win at nationals even more improbable was that, just a few weeks earlier, she had injured her ankle playing soccer.

"I was worried about [my ankle] because you're running sideways on your last few approach steps and if you have a rolled or sprained ankle it makes it really difficult to throw," Gruszecki recalled.

The injury proved to have little effect on Gruszecki, whose winning toss was 10 inches better than the second-place effort. Thus, the Meadowdale High School graduate became Western's first NCAA individual track champion since the school changed national affiliations in 1999 and just the eighth overall.

Gruszecki is one of three Western national champions in the javelin. Joan Williamson won the NAIA women's title in 1984 and Dave VanderGriend took the NAIA men's crown in 1968.

This year, Gruszecki ranks sixth nationally and fourth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Her best throw this season -- 144-9 -- came at the WWU Ralph Vernacchia Team Meet.

"She's a champion, she's always going to be a champion, but she knows that she needs to improve," Halsell said. "As far as I'm concerned, she's already better than last season. She's throwing much more consistently."

The three GNAC throwers ahead of her in the national ratings are all from Seattle Pacific University, and the rivalry is a friendly one.

"We travel to the same places a lot, so we usually see each other in the airport, things like that," Gruszecki said. "They're more like my buddies."

The 5-foot-4 sophomore from Lynnwood has thrown more than 140 feet in all four of her meets this season. But she knows that her chances of winning again are slimmer.

"I think I'd be lucky to win again because people are training harder this spring," Gruszecki said. "They saw what happened last year."

But don't count her out. Gruszecki wasn't supposed to win last year, either.

Also at WWU

Softball: Freshman Samantha Rutherford (Inglemoor of Kenmore) hit .357 over the past six games, driving in five runs and scoring three. She has lifted her batting average 20 points.

Rowing: WWU competes in the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta this weekend on Lake Natoma near Sacramento, Calif. The top-ranked Vikings are taking their varsity eight, second varsity eight and novice four shells.

Track and field: Junior Heidi Dimmitt (Wenatchee) will look for her second consecutive title in the 400-meter hurdles at the GNAC Championships this weekend at Ellensburg. Her NCAA Division II national provisional -- and season-best -- time of 1:02.34 leads the league.

Seattle Pacific

Track and field: Senior Monica Anderson (Bremerton) established a season-best in the pole vault (11-9 ¾) at the WWU Twilight Meet.

Seattle U.

Softball: Senior right-hander Erin Martin (Valencia, Calif.), already the GNAC record-holder with 84 career victories, tied the conference record with her 33rd career shutout in Sunday's 8-0 victory over Central Washington.

Track and field: Twenty-four Redhawks -- nine men and 15 women -- are scheduled to compete at the GNAC Championships this weekend in Ellensburg. SU is looking for its first individual conference champion since 2005 and its first male individual title since 2002.

Washington

Baseball: Junior left-hander Nick Haughian (Marysville-Pilchuck) leads the Pac-10 with 84 strikeouts, eighth in the NCAA. He's ahead of pace to become only the fourth Huskies pitcher to strike out 100 or more in a season. Tim Lincecum did it three times; Jeff Heaverlo and Jake Kringen each did it once.

Women's golf: The Huskies will head to next week's NCAA Central Regional in Austin, Texas, with a lineup featuring three freshmen and two sophomores. Freshman Anya Alvarez (Jenks, Okla.) leads the squad with a 76.35 stroke average.

Washington St.

Track and field: Incoming freshman Shaun Swartz (Coquitlam, B.C.) won the high jump with a leap of 6-10 ¾ at the Cougar Invitational, tying the meet record set in 2001 by WSU's Matt Alverson.

Other colleges

Eastern Washington: Only four years removed from an 0-11 season, the men's tennis team will play in its first NCAA tournament. The Eagles face No. 3 UCLA on May 10.

Evergreen State: Shooting guard Jonny Sarysz (Lindbergh of Renton) will play basketball for the Geoducks. He averaged 14.7 points for South Puget Sound Community College last season.

Gonzaga: Junior second baseman/shortstop Evan Wells (Capital of Olympia) looks to extend his 16-game hit streak this week. He has also reached base safely in all but two games this season, including the past 21 contests.

Northwest: Marks by senior Beth Knudtson (Issaquah, 5,000) and junior Shayna Prause (Arlington, javelin) at the WWU Twilight Meet have qualified them for the NAIA National Outdoor Championships in St. Louis, May 22-24.

Pacific Lutheran: The softball team's four-game sweep of Puget Sound to end the season gave outgoing head coach Rick Noren 402 career wins. He is leaving to become athletic director at Life Christian Academy in Tacoma.

Puget Sound: UPS rowing beat Pacific Lutheran in all five races contested on American Lake at the Meyer Lamberth Cup.

Saint Martin's: Freshman Sam Washington (Lincoln of Tacoma) won the shot put with a school-record throw of 53-4 ¼ at the WWU Twilight Meet. The mark moved him up to 16th nationally.

Whitworth: Keith Ward is stepping down as head baseball coach after 11 seasons in which he posted a 177-252-1 record.

Joe Abraham has been named softball coach and director of intramurals. He will become the school's first full-time softball coach and the fourth coach since Whitworth added softball as a varsity sport in 1998.