High mileage. With the big trophy meets looming, the time has come for Seattle Pacific University and the other cross country teams to expand their range. This Saturday’s (Oct. 8) Western Washington Invitational at Lake Padden is the first opportunity for the men to run 10,000 meters while the women will race over 6k for the second time. Among the other teams expected in the field are Central Washington, San Francisco State, Seattle University and Victoria. Next week the Falcons host the alumni at Green Lake, and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships are Oct. 22, also at Lake Padden.

A big difference. Coach Doris Heritage will get a better idea of how her teams will fare at the conference and regional level following this week’s meet. The 13th-ranked women will perform at full-strength for the first time and the men will be covering the same distance as the NCAA West Regional Nov. 5 in Chino, Ca. To date, the males have not run farther than 8k, and the extra distance will represent a huge step for those harriers whose strengths are in the track events between 800-3000 meters. Currently, SPU is listed at No. 3 among West women’s teams and No. 7 in the men’s regional coaches poll. The top three teams at the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships, also scheduled for Southern California.

All together now. With many of the newcomers missing the Saint Martin’s meet and Heritage opting not to race last week, this upcoming event represents the first time the entire squad will stand shoulder to shoulder at the start line. Meredith Crane (Jr., Yakima, Wa./Davis), who was the GNAC runner of the week after winning the Saint Martin’s title in record time, ran in a separate section of the Sundodger. With Crane being joined by Josie Lavin (Sr., Bremerton, Wa./Bremerton), Karin Rhode (Fr., Bellingham, Wa./Mount Baker) and Mary Moriarty (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Ballard), the top four SPU runners will be together for the first time since Sept. 10. The men’s team, which has been hurting physically, should also be intact and in good form.

A Lacey day. Crane collected her second win in three races and both the men and women placed second overall at Saint Martin’s. Crane coasted to a comfortable, 27-second win, completing her 5000 in a course-record 17 minutes, 33 seconds. Rohde came in fourth for the Falcons in 18:24. Victoria, with five of the top 12 finishers, won the women’s team prize with 26 points. With its scorers all among the first 19, SPU had 38. In the men’s 8k, Carlo Lozano (So., Seattle, Wa./Blanchet) was clocked in 26:40, taking a season-best seventh place. John Riak of host Saint Martin’s won in 25:49. Victoria again dominated the team scoring with 20 points and the Falcons next with 63.

Lerum named coach. Karl Lerum, a former assistant coach and past All-American in the decathlon, has been named the new SPU head coach of men’s and women’s track and field. Lerum succeeds Jack Hoyt, who resigned in August after six seasons. Lerum becomes just the fifth coach in the SPU program’s 55-year existence. Earlier, he was an assistant at both SPU and Trinity College, a competitive Div. III program Hartford. Lerum was a four-time All-American from 1995-98 at Pacific Lutheran. He finished second in the NAIA decathlon in 1997 and ’98 and third in ’96.

Saint Martin’s Invitational results.

Men's team scores: 1-Victoria 20, 2-Seattle Pacific 63, 3-Western Oregon 88, 4-Saint Martin's 104, 5-Western Washington 121, 6-Highline CC 142
Men's individuals (8k): 1-John Riak, SMU, 25:49; 2-Kris Swanson, VIC, 26:05; 3-Steve Murenbeeld, VIC, 26:13; 4-Richard Mallie, VIC, 26:14; 5-Logan Burke, VIC, 26:17; 6-Graeme Hill, VIC, 26:38; 7-Carlo Lozano, SPU, 26:40; 8-Bul Nyoup, WWU, 26:50; Geoff Martinson, VIC, 26:55; 10-Nic Crawford, WOU, 26:59
Other SPU finishers: 11-Bjorn Bostrom, 26:59; 12-Brian Cronrath, 27:00; 17-Eddie Strickler, 27:26; 18-Doug Gibson, 27:32; 33-Mike Zetterberg, 28:10; 46-Michael Gavareski, 29:05; 54-Ryan Phillips, 29:46; 64-David Duke, 31:21.

Women's team scores: 1-Victoria 26, 2-Seattle Pacific 38, 3-Western Washington 101, 4-Saint Martin's 114, 5-Western Oregon 124
Women's individuals (5k): 1-Meredith Crane, SPU, 17:33; 2-Linda Huych, unat., 18:00; 3-Tiffany Evans, VIC, 18:23; 4-Karin Rhode, SPU, 18:24; 5-Adrienne Attorp, VIC, 18:27; 6-Christi Heisterman, VIC, 18:27; 7-Leah Burley, VIC, 18:28; -Karen Steen, unat., 18:34; 10-Janelle Probst, SMU, 18:36
Other SPU finishers: 11-Josie Lavin, 18:41; 16Megan Wrightman, 19:18; 19-Becky Knox, 19:26; 23-Kaitlin Rhode, 19:34; 26-Brandi McCoy, 19:42; 28-Tracy Kuhn, 19:54; 35-Nikki Jensen, 20:13; 38-Teona Perkins, 20:18

Coaching staff. Coach Doris Heritage (28th year) has guided the SPU women to 10 top-10 national finishes and conference titles in six of the last 10 years. The men won the ‘04 crown. In 1996 the Falcons won the West Region and her teams finished as high as second in the AIAW (1979, ‘80) and third in the NCAA (1983, ‘86) championships. Twenty harriers have been All-America, including two national champions. The world’s premier distance runner of the Sixties, she won five consecutive world cross country titles from 1967-71, and was a member of the 1968 and ‘72 U.S. Olympic teams. Heritage has coached the U.S. world cross country championship team, served as an assistant at many international meets, including the 1988 Olympics, and is a seven-time women’s conference coach of the year at SPU. In January of 2003 she was inducted into the Falcon Legends Hall of Fame Heritage was already a member of the National Distance Running, U.S. Track & Field and U.S. Track Coaches halls of fame. Assisting is Lane Seeley, a physics professor at Seattle Pacific.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.