TACOMA, Wash. — After six years under the leadership of
Adam Frye the torch has been passed to
Trey Henderson as the leader of the Pacific Lutheran University men's and women's track & field programs. Frye's leadership saw the Lutes steadily improve with both programs placing runner-up at the 2022 Northwest Conference Championships before the women placed 12th at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. With Henderson at the helm, the Lutes look to continue that success as they open the 2023 season on Saturday at the University of Washington.
A big reason for that success was the work of Henderson who as the throws coach the previous five years mentored two national champions, six All-Americans, and eight NWC Champions. But for Henderson, the role of coach goes beyond the accolades with his athlete first approach.
"I think (for our program) philosophy there are two aspects: the competitive and the relationship. I always say to people I'm relationship based. I've always believed that the student-athlete has a big role in their career, and their process, and their journey. It's not just coaches dictating. That's kind of the home base for me. You have to put the athletes needs and wants first and you have to be conscious of allowing them to have feedback and allowing them to have a voice in what they're doing," said Henderson.
"The track record over the past few years of competing at nationals and conference titles individually, that's the standard. But we're not going to ever negate the process and the relationships to get to that. Competitively it plays into that. It's important to have a great understanding of your student-athletes and how they work and how they tick. That's how you produce on the track and how you produce in big meets."
Henderson and the Lutes will benefit from the return of several national qualifiers from a season ago.
"We're bringing back some people that have experienced the highest level of Division III track but there are also some spots for people to step up. We're bringing back a lot of experience in the throws, the jumps, and distance events."
Headlining that group is
Ava Nelson who won the national title in the javelin last spring while also earning West Region Field Athlete of the Year and NWC Field Athlete of the Year accolades. A three-time All-American and a three-time NWC Champion, Nelson looks to add a few more pieces of hardware to her collection before capping off her collegiate career.
But Nelson isn't the only returning NCAA qualifier for the Lutes with pole vaulters and All-Region performers
Lily Luksich and
Kristine Nguyen back after having a banner season in 2022.
"Excited to see the work that they are doing with (vault coach)
Pat Licari to see where they continue to grow to. The ceiling is really high for them."
In the throws, the Lutes return
Peyton Santos who was All-Region in the discus and
Georjina Soliai who placed runner-up at the NWC Championships in the shot put in her first season in the sport.
On the track,
Sarah Paquet is back after qualifying for the NCAA Championships in cross country as is
Joan Park who was runner-up in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NWC meet.
In the sprints, the women look to replace six-time All-American and two-time national champion
Bailey Forsyth.
Lorin Cox finished sixth in the 100-meters last spring at the league meet and headlines the sprint group as a team captain along with the veteran leadership of
Tabitha Messineo in the multi-events.
"You don't replace Bailey but it's an opportunity for someone to step to the forefront. We're a good mix of young and experienced and at the conference level we have had scorers in almost every event group. That's what I'm looking forward to with this group, seeing the experienced ones come back and continue to grow and progress, and then seeing who is going to make their own name this year."
The distance crew will be anchored by
Sarah Paquet who was an NCAA qualifier in the fall in cross country and was the NWC 10K Champion in 2021 along with
Joan Park who was runner-up in the 3,000-meter steeplechase last spring.
Along with the returners, Henderson is excited about the new crop of incoming student-athletes, including
Virginia Arthur in the multi-events.
For the men, the Lutes return four All-Region performers including two that competed at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships last spring.
Darius Chaffin headlines the returners after winning the NWC title and earning All-American honors in the javelin. Chaffin was a newcomer to the sport last January but was a quick study, improving 47 feet from his first meet to the national championships, currently owning the third best throw in program history after placing seventh at the NCAA meet.
In the distance events, the Lutes return
Ryan Stracke who was runner-up at the NWC Championships in both the 1,500-meters and 10,000-meters. Stracke finished the season 11th in the 5,000-meters at the NCAA Championships and had a banner fall in cross country, winning his second straight NWC title and qualifying for the NCAA meet. In addition to Stracke, the distance crew boasts two more cross country All-Region performers in
Logan Werner and
Owen Ladinig.
Larson Fairbairn and
Masum Real anchor a strong throws group. Fairbairn was All-Region in the discus while Real was the NWC Champion in the shot put and runner-up in the discus, earning NWC Field Athlete of the Year accolades.
Wyatt Tayon was fourth at conference in the shot put and also placed in the discus while the squad is excited to see what newcomers
George Sonko and
Noah Childress can do.
Grady Lemma adds juice to the sprints, winning NWC Freshman of the Year last spring. Lemma was the NWC Champion in the 400-meter hurdles and was third in the 110-meter hurdles. In addition, the Lutes return
Kellen Meade who was third in the 100-meters and fourth in the 200-meters and
Keola Sanchez who was eighth in the 400-meters.
"There's a ton of talent across the board and I think we have a good amount of depth this year to build off what we did last year. This year is about taking that next step as a team and challenge each person to take that next step individually. As coaches that is our job, but that group has the right mentality to embrace that, and to embrace the pressure of following up a second-place finish, and going forward and always trying to max out your points."
The Lutes first step starts on Saturday with the first of four regular season indoor meets. The outdoor season gets underway on March 3 at the Ed Boitano Invitational while the Lutes host two meets this spring— the PLU Open on March 10-11 and the PLU Invitational on April 1.
"Indoor allows you to get an early competitive jump on the year. Obviously our indoor season isn't as long or as in-depth as it is in the Midwest and some of the other parts of the country but you want to take advantage of every competitive opportunity. You can't replace competitive experience, and as you get your young athletes into some of these meets, indoor or out, the earlier they can taste that the better. That is always how I have viewed it, we are building experience really early, we are building competitive fitness. The mental prep to go through a full season, when you can start that in January and got to UW and go compete against some really good athletes, it is only a net gain."
The Lutes open the year on Saturday at the UW Indoor Preview Meet, sending 11 student-athletes to the meet held at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle.
