While the vast majority of Seattle Pacific University students packed up their suitcases to travel back home on Nov. 24, many winter athletes did not. They had to stay and sacrifice valuable time with their families to continue competing. These teams included the men’s basketball team, the women’s basketball team, and both the men’s and women’s track teams. 

Athletes who did not live close enough to the university to commute home between games had to move into temporary housing on campus for break. The teams were able to have a nine-day break during Christmas, but quickly resumed play on Dec. 30. 

During the break, the SPU women’s basketball team captured five wins and took four losses, which brought their overall record to 7-7. Their conference record is 3-1. 

The women played during the first week of class and gained a victory against Simon Fraser University on Jan. 6, 66-64. Senior forward and guard Ashley Alter led the team during the game and scored a total of 18 points. Senior guard Kaprice Boston and senior forward Natalie Hoff tied for the second-most points scored at 17.

Alter leads the team in total points scored for the season with 170. Alter also holds the team record for the most three-pointers at 16. Hoff has the second-most points scored with 153. She has also scored 32 free throws for the team, which is the most on the team so far this season.

Additionally, the SPU men’s basketball team played eight games over the break. Five of the games resulted in wins for the Falcons, but the team also lost three of those games. Over break, the team increased their overall season record to 8-6. In conference play, the team has a record of 1-2. 

This season, senior guard Divant’e Moffitt overwhelmingly leads his team in total points scored at 257. The closest athlete to his record is graduate student guard Harry Cavell, who has scored a total of 187 points for the team so far this season. 

Cavell had one of the best individual performances of the season during the break, scoring 24 points in one game against the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. Even though the Falcons lost this game to the Seawolves, 88-83, Cavell was able to set this record for the team. He also moved into the Top 10 of all-time scorers in SPU men’s basketball history. He is currently in the No.8 position with 1,338 total points. 

Finally, the SPU women and men’s track team competed in their first indoor meet on Saturday, Dec.11, and broke a school record as they helped break in the track at the Podium, a new indoor track in Spokane, Washington. 

Sophomore Jeff Gordon was unable to compete indoors in the winter of 2020 due to the pandemic shutdowns, so he made sure to make the most of his indoor debut. 

Gordon broke SPU’s long-standing 60-meter dash record as he clocked in a time of 7.12 seconds. He broke former Falcon Ryan Jewell’s record of 7.15 seconds, which he set in 2005. Gordon also won his heat in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.48 seconds, coming in 11th place overall.

Sophomore David Njeri started the season off well, as he proved why he had won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference outdoor triple jump championship in May 2021. Njeri broke his previous personal record, as he jumped a total distance of 14.95 meters, coming in second. 

The SPU winter teams have had their hands full this season as they continued to intensely train and compete while everyone else said their goodbyes to the school before the next quarter. Their hustle did not falter. The results and victories showed the outcome of their dedication and hard work during the break that they hope to continue going into the rest of the winter season.