Setting the Scene: The Lutes are on the road this weekend with the women's rowing team down in Northern California for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Lake Natoma while the men's and women's track & field programs head north to Bellingham for the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational.
 
SATURDAY:
T&F at Ralph Vernacchia Invitational in Bellingham, Wash. (9 a.m.)
WROW at WIRA Championships in Sacramento, Calif. 
SUNDAY:
WROW at WIRA Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
 
All-Conference Attaways: It was a big week for the Lutes with All-Conference teams being announced for women's rowing, men's and women's golf, and softball. 15 total Lutes were recognized across the four sports including Paola Garcia of softball earning NWC Rookie of the Year.
 
Welcome to Luteville: The Lutes announced this week the hiring of Melissa Charron as the department's new head athletic trainer. Charron returns to the Pacific Northwest after spending the past three years at Southwest Minnesota State University. Learn more: LINK
 
Men's Track & Field: The Lutes won three titles over the weekend, finishing third overall at the 2023 Northwest Conference Championships. 
 
Ryan Stracke set the tone, winning the 10,000-meters in 30 minutes, 40.61 seconds, before Masum Real successfully defended his crown in the shot put with a winning toss of 52 feet, 0 ¾ inches. Grady Lemma, Keola Sanchez, Steele Swinton, and Kellen Meade closed the meet by winning the 4x400-meter relay in 3:21.91. 
 
PLU scored 133.5 points in the team standings, finishing just 9.5-points shy of runner-up Whitworth University. 
 
Women's Golf: Pacific Lutheran closed the year on a high note, placing third at the NWC Championships in Woodburn, Oregon. PLU finished the two-day tourney with a team score of 696 (341-355), finishing two strokes ahead of Pacific University.
 
Emily Fisher headlined the weekend, placing ninth with a 166 (82-84) while Madison Hull was 11th. Fisher along with Sara Rhodes were honored by the NWC earlier this week, both grabbing Second Team All-Conference accolades.
 
Women's Track & Field: Ava Nelson was runner-up in the javelin while five Lutes finished third overall in their respective events, helping PLU to a third place showing at the NWC Championships.
 
Nelson took second billing in the javelin with a throw of 139' 11" while getting third place finishes from Georjina Soliai (shot put), Esther Brutus (400-meter hurdles), Sarah Paquet (10,000-meters), Tabitha Messineo (hammer), and Kristine Nguyen (pole vault).
 
The Lutes scored 89 points to place third overall, enjoying a seven-point spread on host and fourth place Willamette University.
 
Softball: Pacific Lutheran (27-16, 18-10 NWC) finished one win shy of making the championship game over the weekend at the 2023 NWC Tournament hosted by Linfield University.
 
The Lutes allowed a trio of late runs in the tournament opener, falling 3-0 to George Fox University. Second-seeded PLU scored three runs in the third inning the following day, downing fourth-seeded Whitworth University 4-0 before getting bumped out of the tournament by top-seed Linfield 8-3 later in the day.
 
A Kennedy Kila home run put the Lutes up 2- in the third inning and the score was tied until the Wildcats broke things open in the fifth inning.
 
On Thursday, the Lutes had 10 student-athletes earn All-Conference accolades, including Garcia earning NWC Rookie of the Year. Garcia was among the three Lutes earning First Team All-League, joining Kila and Rylie Wada. Full All-Conference release: LINK
 
Men's Golf: PLU closed out the season with a fifth place showing at the 2023 NWC Championships in Oregon.
 
Koen Solis led the way, placing 12th overall after shooting a 150 (72-78) for the tournament. PLU carded a team tally of 613 (305-308) finishing 15 strokes back of Whitworth.
 
On Wednesday Josh Cross was recognized by the league office and was named Second Team All-NWC. Cross finished 29th at the NWC Championships and was third at the NWC Fall Classic in October.
 
Women's Rowing: The Lutes came up short in their quest for a seventh straight league title, placing third at the 2023 NWC Championships on Lake Vancouver.
 
The PLU varsity eight was third overall, covering 2,000-meters in 7:36.23 while the second varsity eight was second in their race, clocking an 8:10.42.
 
On Monday, Jessie Dougherty and Julez Johnson were recognized by the NWC, both securing All-Conference accolades.