As they near the end of a season, coaches take time to evaluate how far their team has come and what is left for them to accomplish.

Such a time came following the Women’s Intercollegiate Rowing Association’s Championships (Saturday, April 27, to Sunday, April 28) and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s Multi-Event Championships (Monday, April 29, and Tuesday, April 30).

For larger divisions, the WIRAs are the deciding regatta for whether rowing teams enter the GNAC championship. However, Division II in the Pacific Northwest only has four competing teams; therefore, the WIRAs become an occasion for rowers to compete with teams within and outside their division and conference.

Head coach for women’s rowing Caitlin McClain describes the WIRAs as an opportunity for the Falcons’ extensive roster to compete in the same regatta and support each other.

“WIRAs is the culminating event for the whole team, where everyone gets to race. There are events from Varsity 8+ all the way to Novice 4+. It’s the opportunity for us to come together as a whole team and celebrate the boats and the people on the team,” McClain said. “After this point, it does transition into conference championships for rowing.”

In their final heats at the WIRAs, the Falcons’ Varsity 8+ finished third place with a time of 7:00.526, the Junior Varsity 8+ placed third in their heat at 7:25.163, and the Varsity 4+ took second with a time of 7:56.741. McClain saw these results as a testament to her rowers’ hard work and commitment to each other and the sport. She is eager to see how they will advance in the coming regattas.

“A podium position is an achievement, but the part people don’t see is how hard-fought those races were. Racing so close to other crews in our division [shows] the composure the athletes have,” McClain said. “The whole team took the work we’ve been doing and put it into practice in a high-pressure scenario. We’re in a really good place going into conference championships. [WIRAs] was a good checkpoint and a nice way to end the [regular] season.”

Head track and field coach Karl Lerum and sophomore physiology major and heptathlon runner Hannah Chang perceived the GNAC Multi-Event Championships similarly.

Chang was the sole representative of SPU at the Multi-Event Championships, a circumstance she also experienced in 2023. She finished in third place in the overall event and scored 4,365 points for SPU — helping to put the team in fourth place in the GNAC.

“I also competed as the sole Falcon last year, so I felt pretty comfortable with that fact. After every multi-event that I do, I feel very happy, very grateful, and proud of myself because it’s a lot of work doing some events over the course of two days,” Chang said. “I’m very happy about the fact that I PR’d, and I feel like now I know all the things that I need to work on going into next year.”

Chang competed in seven events over two days. On the first day, she finished second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.64, fourth in the high jump (1.54 meters), ninth in the shot put (8.21 meters) and third in the 200-meter run (26.56). On the second day, Chang finished ninth in the long jump (4.87 meters), seventh in the javelin (28.55 meters) and second in the 800-meter run (2:31.52).

Multi-event athletes often only achieve their personal best in some events, but the goal is to meet their midline level and string together a good score at the end of the line. Lerum expressed his admiration for Chang’s performance across the two-day event. 

“Hannah Chang did a great job,” Lerum said. “Hannah definitely had some events where she was happy about the result. Every multi-event is a memorable experience. I’m proud of her result. She worked hard for it.”

As McClain saw the WIRAs as a checkpoint before the GNAC tournament, Lerum saw the Mulit-Event Championship as a transition to competing as a team rather than as individuals.

“It’s an exciting time of year for [us]. All the competitions throughout the year are invitationals so we’re racing against all levels of college, so it’s a chance to race and compete with our peers the rest of the year,” Lerum said. “It’s a special time for us to race against our true peers but also compete as a team. Much of the season is very individual- and PR-focused, whereas a conference championship gives you the chance to compete as a team to score points toward a team goal.”

Chang is thankful for Lerum and her team’s support and looks forward to their time to shine at the 2024 GNAC Championships.

“The fact is I’m always thinking about [and] supporting my team. We’re looking at a very good regular GNAC conference meet in a couple of weeks, and we’ve all been working super hard together on this past year, so I’d say we’re going to do really well,” Chang said.