Push begins. Although the warm weather still awaits, the track and field season cannot. The championship portion of Seattle Pacific University’s schedule is right around the corner, and Saturday (Apr. 22) represents an excellent opportunity for athletes to qualify for both the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and NCAA Division II meets next month. The Falcons altered their plans and will now go to Pullman, Wash., for the Cougar Invitational. The GNAC multi-event meet begins Monday (Apr. 24) in Ellensburg.

Status report. Four weekends remain before the NCAA settles on its qualifiers and so far SPU counts 11 qualifying marks (nine women, two men), and hopefully those marks will be improved and the ranks swelled by the top-flight competition at Washington State. Coach Karl Lerum is taking 25 athletes to the Palouse, and both Kelsey Cooley (So., Missoula, Mt./Hellgate) and Linda Blake (Sr., Richland, Wa.) are entered in the conference heptathlon. Cooley was the runner-up last season and Blake won the title in 2004.

Already there. The reigning GNAC athlete of the year, Chris Randolph (Sr., Lone Tree, Co./Denver Christian) will bypass the multi-event meet and concentrate on defending his NCAA decathlon crown, and he will likely become the favorite following his record-smashing performance last week. Randolph rose to the occasion at the Mount SAC Relays, raising his career-best score by 312 points to 7612 to finish third. It erased not only his own GNAC record but also broke the 36-year-old school record set by the legendary Steve Gough. Randolph established four personal records during the final five events, and had six PRs altogether. He won the top flight’s 400-meter dash (48.95) and was second in the 110 hurdles (14.82) and the final event, the 1500 (4:25.83). His score met the USATF secondary qualifying standard and automatically qualifies him for the NCAA Championships. Randolph’s pole vault clearance of 14-11 and his hurdles clocking each rate No. 2 on SPU lists. His other marks were 21-10 3/4 in the long jump, 42-1 1/4 in the shot put, 6-6 in the high jump, 137-6 in the discus and 182-7 in the javelin.

Looking good. A few others own provisional qualifying marks which currently rate among the top 10. Lauren Ver Mulm (So., Mount Vernon, Wa.), who was fifth in the Mount SAC javelin, is No. 5 on the Div. II list while high-jumper Teona Perkins (Jr., Kennewick, Wa.) is No. 8. Karin Rohde (So., Bellingham, Wa./Mount Baker and Brandi McCoy (Sr., Richland, Wa.) stand seventh and 10th, respectively, in the steeplechase. For the men, Doug Gibson (Jr., Yakima, Wa./Riverside Christian) is No. 13 in the steeple.

Just added. New to the provisional list in the last couple weeks are Mary Moriarty (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Ballard) in the 1500 and Molly Barnes (Jr., Burien, Wa./Highline) in the javelin. Moriarty won the Shotwell Invitational in 4:43.74 and Barnes took last week’s Arlt Invitational with a heave of 135-4.

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.