Eastern Washington University Athletics

The Van Kurens have been Eastern track and field officials for more than 30 years, and were organizers of the Cheney Track Club for 35 years. Lawson served as Meet Director for the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2006 that were held in Cheney, and was honorary meet director when the meet returned to Roos Field in 2015. That was the fourth Big Sky meet hosted by EWU that the Van Kurens have worked as head officials. They have also been a part of the annual WIAA State Track and Field Championships (for smaller schools) which have taken place at EWU every year since 1996 – Lawson mostly as facilities coordinator and head shot put judge, and Ruth as head javelin judge and team check-in coordinator. They have also worked countless other championship and regular season meets throughout the Inland Northwest at the collegiate, high school, middle school and youth levels. They started the Cheney Track Club in 1972 with 50 children taking part, and grew to 160 in 1973. Eventually, more than 2,000 persons – ranging in age from 2 to 70-plus -- participated in the club in the next 35 years it was under the direction of the Van Kurens. During that time, they annually 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. In 1974, the CTC hosted 10 events that year alone. The Cheney Track Club produced two national champions and hundreds more who participated in national championship events. They also served for many years in an officials training capacity for USATF. The long-standing motto of the Van Kurens and their club was “Do Your Best.” Lawson served the Cheney School District for 30 years as a middle school mathematics teacher, cross country coach, track and field coach and athletic director. Ruth was an instructional aide at Betz Elementary School for 17 years and a substitute in the district for another 19, and also mentored young student-athletes. They met at the State B Basketball Tournament in Spokane in 1959. Lawson graduated from Eastern in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in education, and in 1970 received his master’s degree in education. Ruth and their children, Carol and Cathy, also attended Eastern. Lawson was inducted into the Washington Secondary School Athletic Administrators Association (WSSAAA) Hall of Fame in 1997 as the first junior/middle school athletic director to be honored. Also in 1997, they received a 25-year year award from the Spokane Sportswriters and Broadcasters. They also were given the Community Leadership Award from the Northeast Washington Association of School Administrators. The new track at Cheney Middle School was renamed in their honor on Jan. 28, 2015, and in the same year they were honored by Eastern Washington University, at the Big Sky Conference Championships and at the WIAA State 1B, 2B, 1A Championships taking place for the 20th time at EWU’s Roos Field. After a hard-fought battle with cancer, Lawson passed away on June 26, 2015, at the age of 73. Married for more than 50 years, Lawson and Ruth spent most of those years involved deeply with the sport of track and field.