The passing of a track legend

When Lawson Van Kuren arrived in Cheney nearly a half century ago to begin his teaching and coaching career he was given his choice of what he would like to coach at Fisher Junior High School.

It was 1966 and Fisher principal Jack Philleo told his new hire he could take on wrestling or track.

While it's not exactly certain how things might have turned out had he chosen wrestling, money has it Van Kuren would have plowed the same energy he did into track and field, the sport in which he had legendary credentials.

Van Kuren lost his battle with cancer June 26, 2015 at age 73, but his memory will live on through his long and dedicated attention to the sport of track and field in Cheney - and beyond.

"Their contribution to track and field in our community will never be matched," Eastern women's track and field coach Marcia Mecklenburg said in a statement. "We will miss Lawson deeply, and our thoughts and prayers go out to Ruth and their family."

Van Kuren's association with Cheney began when he attended Eastern Washington State College to complete a degree in education in 1966. A masters degree would follow in 1970.

He and his wife Ruth, who Van Kuren first met in 1959 while attending the State B Basketball Tournament in Spokane, founded the Cheney Track Club in 1972 and so began their decades of dedication to the sport of track and field.

Starting with 50 members, the club grew to 160 in just a year. Eventually, more than 2,000 members - ranging in age from 2 to 70-plus - participated in the club over the next 35 years.

They put Cheney on the track map regionally as the club hosted the Inland Northwest Junior Olympics Championships and several Region XIII Championships. The Van Kurens also hosted the Cheney Marathon and 20-kilometer races for 10 years. They served for many years in an officials training capacity for U.S.A. Track and Field.

Many a notable athlete got their start with the Cheney Track club, most recently, Sanne Holland, a "hyperactive kid" who "thrived" as a result of the Van Kurens' work, her dad, Kurt Holland said in a Feb. 12, 2015 Cheney Free Press story.

Holland won back-to-back state titles in the 3,200-meter run in 2011 and 2012 for Cheney High School. Holland earned a full ride to Colorado State University to run cross country where she was named the Mountain West Conference's Freshman of the Year in 2013.

Lawson served as meet director for the 2006 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Cheney, and he was honorary meet director when the event returned to Roos Field this past May.

Earlier this year, the track at Cheney Middle School was named in their honor. The sign at the Lawson and Ruth Van Kuren Track and Field will bear one of the couple's simple, but powerful, sayings reading, "Do your best."

The phrase is one of three things Cheney High School alumnus and current Freeman boys basketball coach Marty Jessett said in a Feb. 12, 2015 story in the Cheney Free Press. The others were inclusion and commitment.

"I think maybe what many don't fully understand about the Van Kurens' contributions to the track community of Cheney Schools is that for the past three decades, the Van Kurens haven't just helped out our track meets, the Van Kurens organized and ran the track meets," Cheney Middle School Principal Mike Stark said in his remarks at the dedication ceremony.

In all, the Van Kurens have been involved with track and field for more than 40 years, including 30 as EWU track and field officials. Because of this, they will be honored on Oct. 10, as recipients of the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame Service and Contribution Award.

The couple received a 25-year year award from the Spokane Sportswriters and Broadcasters in 1997. Lawson was inducted into the Washington State Athletic Director's Hall of Fame as the first Junior/Middle School athletics director also in 1997.

See the full Van Kuren obituary in Neighbors.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.