Bothell resident Stephenie Spencer’s standout opening weekend to her collegiate career was recognized by the Northwest Conference as the league’s first Women’s Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Week of the season.
Spencer won her first collegiate race Saturday, taking top honors at the Linfield Harrier Classic with a time of 24-minutes, 38.70-seconds over 6,000 meters. The performance ranks Spencer No. 23 on the Pacific all-time list for the championship distance.
“What a great way to start off the season for Stephenie,” said Pacific Head Coach Brent Ericksen.  “She ran a patience race, running faster splits for each two kilometers as she went and then really came on at the end. I am really looking forward to seeing how she and the rest of the team progresses once we get into better race shape.”
Spencer found herself with the pack for the first 4,000 meters of the race, but came on strong over the final 2,000 to surprise the four-team field. A surge in the final mile allowed Spencer to post an 11-second victory over second place Erica Koranda of Clark CC. The effort led the Pacific won to a third place team finish with 69 points.
Spencer comes to Pacific with impressive credentials. A 2014 graduate of Bothell (Wash.) High School, Spencer earned all-state honors after finishing in 29th place at the 2013 Washington State Cross Country Championships. On the track, Spencer was a conference and regional meet qualifier in the distances and placed second in the 5,000 meters at June’s Border Duel, a high school invitational meet featuring top athletes from Oregon and Washington.
Pacific will step away from competition for the next two weeks. The Boxers return to the race course on Sept. 20, participating in the University of Washington’s Sundodger Invitational at Lincoln Park in Seattle.