Break time. A busy but successful winter will be ushered out Saturday (Mar. 18) when the Seattle Pacific University track and field teams are deployed across town at the Husky Preview. After that, the Falcons get some relative slack time over spring break, with a just couple low-key local meets. Some athletes will run at the Puget Sound Open Mar. 24 and others at the Spring Break Open in Edmonds Mar. 25.

She’s all that. Seattle Pacific’s list of All-Americans grew in Boston last week as Teona Perkins (Jr., Kennewick, Wa.) finished sixth in the NCAA Division II indoor high jump. Perkins was among five jumpers to all clear 5 feet, 7 inches, but she lost the tiebreaker since her first three successful leaps came on her third attempt. Jennifer Green of Central Missouri won the competition with a best height of 5-8. Perkins also ran a qualifying heat of the 800 meters but did not advance to the final, finishing 14th in 2:16.36. In the mile, Mary Moriarty (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Ballard) was eliminated in the preliminary heat, running a time of 5:07.72, which ranked 13th. The top 11 advanced. In the pole vault, Amy Harris (Sr., Corvallis, Or./Crescent Valley) cleared 11 feet, 11 inches along with five others, but she lost a tiebreaker, based on fewer misses. Angie Aguilar of Abilene Christian took first at 12-11. SPU placed 38th overall with three points. Lincoln (Mo.) was the team champion with 87 points.

Then there were 3. Two meets into the outdoor season and the SPU women already have three athletes with NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Lauren Ver Mulm (So., Mount Vernon, Wa.) was victorious in her first javelin competition of the season and Karin Rohde (So., Bellingham, Wa./Mt. Baker) did likewise in the steeplechase at the Peyton Invitational. Ver Mulm threw the spear 134-1 to finish ahead of teammate Molly Barnes (Jr., Burien, Wa./Highline) at 130-3. Rohde lowered the school record set just a week earlier by nine seconds to 11 minutes, 15.81 seconds. It was a PR by 26 seconds.

Winners circle. Anna Soule (Jr., Puyallup, Wa./Emerald Ridge) was the Falcons’ sole double winner in the Peyton meet, dashing to titles in the 200 (26.30) and 400 meters (59.41). Other victors for the women were Brandi McCoy (Sr., Richland, Wa.) in the 1500 (4:49.85) and Linda Blake (Sr., Richland, Wa.) in the 100 hurdles (15.33). Chris Randolph (Sr., Lone Tree, Co.) and Eddie Strickler (Jr., Richland, Wa.) picked up wins for the men. Randolph won the javelin with a near-personal record of 177-7 and Strickler got his second 400 win of the young season in 50.28. Both also ran on the 1600 relay which was first in 3:26.40.

SPU Coaches. In October, Karl Lerum became just the fifth person to take the helm of the Seattle Pacific program’s 56-year existence. A former assistant coach and past All-American in the decathlon, Lerum succeeds Jack Hoyt, who resigned after six seasons. This is the first head coaching position for Lerum after four seasons as an assistant, including two at Trinity College, and serving under Hoyt at SPU during 2000 and again in 2003. 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... Doris Heritage, the coach of cross country and track runners from 800 meters up, is a member of eight halls of fame for both athletes and coaches. The other assistants are Duncan Atwood, Aaron Bass, Cyrena Bell and Howie Kellogg.

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 Website.