COLLEGE DIVISION NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : The Loneliness of Long Distance a Reality for Christ College Runner

Running track for Christ College Irvine, which no longer has a track and field coach, requires self-discipline and ingenuity. It wouldn’t be trite to say Genevieve Graff has gone the extra mile.

In fact, Graff has gone over the Continental Divide for coaching, receiving her training schedule by telephone from a coach in her hometown of Longmont, Colo.

But the long-distance advice doesn’t make the training any easier for the sophomore middle-distance runner. There are no organized practices and therefore no external source of motivation.

“I end up talking to myself a little in a schizophrenic way,” Graff said. “Like a coach would say, ‘OK, you need to do this.’ I try to remind myself that I’m not out there to enjoy the nice weather.”

Thus far, Graff’s self-discipline program has been effective. Saturday, she won the 1,500-meter race at the UC San Diego Invitational in 4 minutes 37.04 seconds, a stadium record and the fastest she has run in the event.

After running the 1,500 only twice in college, she has qualified for the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics national championships in Stephenville, Texas, next month. Last month, Graff ran a 4:43.75, which was the fastest time reported to the NAIA in the first national rankings of the season.

Something of a neophyte in the longer middle-distance events, Graff ran her first high school metric mile for Skyline High School a few weeks before the Colorado state championships, in which she finished third in the 1,600 and second in the 800.

During the summer following her graduation, she won the 1,500 at the Junior Olympic national championships in Spokane, Wash., and a few hours later in Pullman, Wash., she finished second in the event at the Junior Nationals.

Graff, who was offered a partial track scholarship to Colorado, decided to come to Christ College Irvine for the chance to run and to play basketball.

During her freshman year, Graff was worn down by that combination. She finished sixth in the nation at the NAIA cross-country championships in Kenosha, Wis., and started for the CCI basketball team. But she developed knee problems that forced her to skip track season.

Tim McIntire, who coached Graff in junior Olympic competition and now coaches her by telephone, said she has the potential to be one of the best runners in the country.

“I really believe if she were to give herself a 100% chance in running, she would go a long way,” McIntire said. “How far? It’s hard to tell because she’s always run track as a sidelight.

“I do keep bugging her. I keep telling her that she’s going to have to make the decision someday. You can’t keep doing both and keep having them both improve.”

Graff hears such advice from McIntire often and realizes that she has more talent as a runner than as a basketball player, but can’t seem to stay away from the gym.

Before the last basketball season, Graff had decided that it would be her last but she changed her mind during the season, in which she averaged 10 points and four assists.

She was a co-captain and helped the Eagles, 4-23 the season before, finish 21-7, losing to Fresno Pacific in the first round of the NAIA District 3 playoffs.

“I have more gifts in running than basketball but there’s something about being on a team that is hard to let go of,” Graff said.

Graff is facing the temptation of practicing with the basketball team during a one-week spring practice session next week. McIntire, of course, recommends that she concentrate on track during track season and she says she will probably attend the practices but limit herself to shooting.

“I know it’s probably the best thing that I don’t play,” Graff said. “It’s just hard for me once I get in the gym to go through with it and say, ‘No, I can’t play.’ ”

Tom Raper of CCI competed in the invitational heat in the 110 high hurdles at the UC San Diego Invitational Saturday in a field that included Al Joyner, brother of Florence Griffith-Joyner. Raper, a junior, finished fourth in the heat in 15.60 seconds and won the college division competition. He won his 100-meter heat in 11.15 and finished second in the college division competition.

Streak stopper: The Southern California College baseball team’s 10-game Golden State Athletic Conference winning streak ended Tuesday, when Point Loma Nazarene (15-23, 2-11 in conference) defeated the Vanguards (24-16, 10-3), 10-9, in 10 innings.

SCC had scored five runs in the top of the ninth to tie the score.

Bad news, good news: Cal State Dominguez Hills pitcher Vincent Aguilar pitched a perfect game against Chapman in the first game of the CCAA doubleheader Saturday. It was the first perfect game by a Dominguez Hills pitcher and extended the Panthers’ losing streak to 14 games.

But Chapman ended the streak by defeating the Toros, 4-1, in the second game.

The Chapman softball team, which retained its No. 2 ranking in the NCAA Division II poll released Wednesday, has one of its most important trips of the season this weekend.

The Panthers (32-6, 5-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.) play doubleheaders against No. 15 Cal State Bakersfield Friday and No. 11 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Saturday.

Newest Panthers: The Chapman men’s basketball team on Wednesday announced the signing of LaVern Broadnax, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Rancho Santiago, to a letter of intent.

Broadnax, who teamedwith Chapman’s Rog Middleton at Tustin High School, averaged nine points and four assists for the Dons, who won two state championships in his two seasons as a starter.

Broadnax joins Cypress College guard Brian Kenney, who signed a letter of intent at Chapman last week.

SCC recruits: The Vanguard men’s basketball team has signed two forwards from community colleges. Michael Jones, a 6-6 forward from Mesa (Ariz.) College, averaged 13 points and six rebounds a game and was a third-team all-state selection. Keith Randolph, who last played during the 1989-90 season at MiraCosta, averaged 20 points and seven rebounds. Randolph scored 27 points for the South team in the 1990 state all-star game at the Bren Center before sitting out a season to concentrate on academics.