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--> --> Oct. 28: Ashland boys pick up first title since 1993 By Tim Trower For The Tidings GRANTS PASS - The Ashland and Crater cross country programs have been virtually inseparable in recent years. It's fitting, then, that each, in relative landmark fashion, will send their boys teams to the state championships. "I really, really wanted Crater to make it to state," admitted Ashland coach Bob Julian Jr., "as long as they were behind us." That's exactly how it played out in the Southern Oregon Conference district meet Saturday at the All-Sports Park. Ashland won the boys title with 58 points, and Crater followed with 65, comfortably ahead of the rest of the field. In the no-big-surprise category, peerless Lauren Jespersen of Klamath Union claimed his third straight league title, cruising to a 25-second victory and conserving energy for defense of his state crown. Jespersen clocked 15 minutes, 54.8 seconds. Roseburg's Adam Wadsworth was second in 16:18. The top two teams and top seven individuals qualified for state next Saturday at Lane Community College in Eugene. For Ashland, it's the first SOC championship since 1993 and the Grizzlies' first trip to state in four years. For Crater, it's the first-ever trip to state. The parallels hardly end there. Julian and Crater coach Justin Loftus both ran for Ashland High and are good friends. Julian coached Crater - including some runners on this year's team - before moving to Ashland last year. The two teams also attend a summer camp together. But while they have a close association, neither was willing to give an inch over the 5,000-meter course. Crater appeared in terrific shape through the first mile, with seven runners ahead of Ashland's No. 3 man. "We were out of it," Julian said. "Crater was killing us. What I was really impressed with was, we didn't panic. We just gutted it up and started passing people." Andy Wright, the Grizzlies' top runner, who placed third with a time of 16:23.3, concurred. "Everybody on our team was paying attention to where the Crater guys were, whether they were ahead or behind," said Wright, only a sophomore. "All of us had guys we wanted to beat." And they did just that. David Richardson (eighth), Jeff Olsen (12th), David Morgan (16th) and Kyle Novak (19th) all improved on their placings from the pre-district meet in September. Crater was led by Jeremy Firestone's seventh-place finish. The Comets also had Chase Maloney (ninth) and Isaac Stoutenbursh (10th) in the top 10. Perry Dickson, who is normally the No. 2 or 3 man for Crater, had his appendix removed earlier this month and battled to 37th place. In his stead, Greg Dallaire (18th) and Geoff Donaldson (24th) came up with yeoman efforts to get Crater over the hump. The Comets, having never been a factor in the team race before this year, served notice by winning the pre-district meet on this very course. "I'm just kind of in awe," Loftus said, "and I'm glad it's over. It's been a big weight on us. Being first at pre-district put a lot of pressure on us." But Crater responded. "It feels great," Firestone nodded. "It would have felt better if we took first. But we've never done this, so all the hard work we've done has paid off a lot." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing