The Falcons Online -- Seattle Pacific University Athletics

Randolph Repeats As SPU Athlete of Year
5 Take Excellence Award; Blake, Knudson Get Top Grades
June 1, 2006

Tale of the tape

Featured speakers at the banquet were outgoing seniors Randolph and basketball’s Jenny Poe...Binetti’s award was accepted by his parents. Binetti is currently in Italy, playing for Climamio Bologna in the semifinals of the national championships...SPU won the 2005-06 GNAC All-Sports championship and the ‘04-05 academic all-sports title as well (the ‘05-06 academic has yet to be determined). The women were No. 1 in the GNAC all-sports standings for the third year in a row. The Falcons finished with six (men’s soccer, women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, gymnastics) teams among the nation’s top 20. Women’s soccer, women’s cross country, volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s indoor and outdoor track accounted for a record six GNAC championships. Gymnastics won its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title... Individually, there were 12 All-America athletes, 12 all-region and 54 all-conference. There are three Academic All-Americans (with spring teams still to be announced), eight academic all-region and 73 academic all-conference...One of the year’s highlights was the induction of the final charter members into the Falcon Legends Hall of Fame. Those inducted were Jim Ballard (basketball), Tosca Lindberg (basketball/volleyball), Dr. Wes Lingren (tennis coach/faculty athletic rep.) and John Terwilliger (rowing)...Each of the three first-year head coaches made successful debuts, with Chris Johnson leading volleyball to its first conference title and an NCAA tournament berth; Julie van Beek guiding women’s basketball into the West Region championship game and Karl Lerum winning both indoor and outdoor GNAC women’s track titles...Ron Grady, the namesake for the athlete of the year award, was a standout member of the freshman basketball team who died of cancer at age 19 in 1967...The Falcons’ Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), comprised of members of each varsity team, organized several community service projects over the year. Along with other groups in the GNAC, they conducted a raffle with donations going to the Make A Wish Foundation. Last month hosted more than 50 Coe Elementary School students for activities and lunch on campus. To wrap-up the year, they conducted an all-sports dodgeball tournament which was won by the men’s basketball team.

He does it again, only better. For the second year in a row, Chris Randolph (Sr., Lone Tree, Co./Denver Christian) has been voted Seattle Pacific University’s top athlete. The NCAA Division II decathlon champion and national field athlete of the year, Randolph took home the Ron Grady Athlete of the Year award for 2005-06, as well as one of five Falcon Awards for Excellence from the annual athletic awards banquet, held June 1 at Upper Gwinn Commons.

Randolph is the eighth Falcon to become a multiple athlete of the year winner, and the first male since Steve Gough in 1969-70. A year ago, Randolph shared the award with Danielle Ayers-Stamper. Last week, he won his second straight NCAA crown by a margin of nearly 800 points. His SPU and GNAC record score of 7872 is No. 3 among Americans this year, and was 561 points greater than his winning score last year. He also won the conference indoor long jump and the outdoor 400, and was fifth at the USA indoor heptathlon championships.

Head coaches of the 14 varsity sports voted for athlete of the year, and the ballot was packed with worthy candidates, including three national athletes of the year in their respective sports, and five GNAC players/athletes of the year.

Excellent, indeed. The Falcon Award for Excellence, the highest honor for career achievement in athletics, academics and leadership, was presented to five seniors by President Philip W. Eaton. Honorees were Randolph, basketball’s Tony Binetti (Sr., Enumclaw, Wa.), volleyball’s Katie Ralph (Sr., Port Orchard, Wa./South Kitsap), soccer’s Allison Teague (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian) and basketball’s Mandy Wood (Sr., Port Angeles, Wa.).

Binetti was a three-year starter who grew to be a All-American and GNAC player of the year as a senior. A business major with a 3.54 GPA, he was voted academic all-district twice and an NCAA postgraduate scholar. He finished ranked No. 3 in career steals, No. 5 in assists and No. 8 in scoring.

After transferring to SPU as a sophomore, Ralph established herself as a leader on and off the court, earning the program’s ambassador award twice and serving as co-captain two seasons. She led the GNAC in blocking for two seasons. Ralph is a business administration major with 3.48 GPA.

Unrecruited, Randolph developed into a legend in track and field. He won back-to-back NCAA decathlon championships and graduated with a total of two outdoor and five indoor school records. Twice an academic all-conference selection, he’s a psychology major with a 3.15 GPA.

Teague played a bigger role in the soccer program’s development into a national power through her leadership. Three times she was voted most inspirational and twice academic all-district, she won a key starting role as a senior. She is a business administration major with a 3.93 GPA.

Wood produced four solid years, her role growing with each season. She was a key reserve for two regional champions, then more prominent in the 2005 run to the NCAA championship game. As a senior she led the team in scoring and was voted all-region. She set school and GNAC records for three-point shooting and finished No. 8 in career scoring. Wood is an education major with a 3.74 GPA.

Top of the class. Track’s Linda Blake (Sr., Richland, Wa.) and basketball’s Jeff Knudson (Sr., Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) were recipients of the Clifford McCrath 101 Scholar Athlete Award, presented by the Washington Athletic Club’s 101 Club. Blake, a chemistry major with a 3.94 GPA, and Knudson, a biology major with a 3.55, owned the highest GPAs among the graduating seniors.

Our Dean’s List. A total of 28 scholar athletes were recognized for maintaining a GPA of 3.50 or higher over the past three quarters, dating back to spring of 2005. The complete list: Blake, track & field; Christie Chinaka, gymnastics; James Coggan, soccer; Ashley Domres, gymnastics; Michelle Everson, soccer; Michael Gavareski, track/cross country; Megan Giske, rowing; Alyssa Given, volleyball; Jeff Hallenbeck, soccer; Allison Hedges, track & field; Heidi Jacobson, soccer; Rebecca Knox, track/cross country; Jean Kolb, soccer/track & field; Brittney Kroon, basketball; Tracy Kuhn, cross country; Andrew Macha, soccer; Jennifer Marsh, track & field; Brandi McCoy, cross country/track; Victoria Perkins, track/cross country; Ralph, volleyball; Kaitlin Rohde, track/cross country; Karin Rohde, track/cross country; Aubrie Stavig, gymnastics; Edward Strickler, track/cross country; Mollie Taylor, soccer; Claire Walter, rowing; Jeanne Webster, soccer; Megan Wrightman, track/cross country.

Blanketed with awards. Receiving embroidered personalized blankets for earning four-year letters were 24 seniors: Binetti, basketball; Blake, track & field; Jeremy Bonner, soccer; Mike Bushmaker, basketball; Everson, soccer; Carli Grant, basketball; Amy Harris, track & field; Hedges, track & field; Knox, cross country/track; Knudson, basketball; Jean Kolb, soccer/track & field; Brittney Kroon, basketball; Josie Lavin, cross country/track; Nick Letts, Soccer; Megan Lienhard, soccer; Shannon Lovejoy, soccer; Chelsey Myers, volleyball; Erin Pierce, Soccer; Randolph, track & field; Jaynie Reynolds, gymnastics; Sean Sandin, soccer; Teague, soccer; Ross Vaillancourt, soccer; Wood, basketball