Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 29, 2004 Two Grizzlies come up short By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Nine is the loneliest number that you'll ever know. Maybe this isn't an absolute, but as a competitor at the Class 4A state track and field championships, nine can be heartbreaking. On Friday afternoon at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus, nine became the unlucky number for the Ashland High track and field team. The Grizzlies qualified four athletes to the state meet - three girls and a boy - all of whom had a shot at bringing home medals. But Friday was not the day for the first two Ashland athletes. Sophomore Natalie Hemphill and junior David Morgan each experienced heartbreaking ends to record breaking seasons, with ninth place finishes that left them out of their respective final events. "It was a little disappointing. Kids ran their guts out but we didn't quite achieve but what we wanted to achieve," second-year Grizz head coach Bob Julian Jr. said. "It was a pretty solid day but things didn't quite pan out like we had hoped." Natalie Hemphill, the SOC runner-up in the girls' 800 meters, entered the state meet seeded fifth in the event. With preliminary heats, however, nothing was guaranteed. Hemphill finished in 2 minutes, 20 seconds, one of her top times this season, but ended up ninth in the field by tenths of seconds and didn't qualify for finals. "She just missed out," Julian said. "She was in the first heat and she was leading most of the last lap until about 100 meters to go, then three girls out-kicked her." Two passed Hemphill coming onto the home stretch. Still in third place, Hemphill would have automatically qualified for the finals. But it wasn't meant to be. She was out-leaned at the line and her final time didn't register fast enough to earn a spot in the finals. "You learn from those kind of things," Julian said. "It's good to get some experience up here and take your beating sometimes. It being her first year up here she couldn't really get out. Everybody's good and she couldn't quite get around them. It turned into kind of a nightmare." Hemphill qualified for the state cross country meet last fall after finishing fifth in the 800 as a freshman at the SOC championships. David Like Hemphill, Morgan was making his first trip to the state track meet, although he'd earned All-State status during the cross country season. His school-record marks of 8:35 for 3,000 meters ranked him among the top-five in the state and in clear contention for third place if things went well. The race wasn't bad - he did run a second lifetime-best of 8:42 - but it wasn't particularly good either. "He was right in the lead pack at the mile," Julian said. "The 3,000-meter field was so stacked that, if you're not on your A-game, it's tough." After the first mile, the race became more challenging. The eventual winner kicked things up a few notches and strung out the talent-laden field, which Morgan had a hard time responding to. Still, in his second year of competitive running, Morgan placed ninth overall and was the fourth non-senior to cross the line. The top-four 3,000-meter competitors will graduate at the end of this school year. Looking forward While both Grizz runners were disappointed in their ninth-place results, each can return to state next year in both cross country and track. "Those kids are really motivated now," Julian said of Hemphill and Morgan. "They've got cross country coming up in the fall and they'll be ready. They'll move up another level." Moreover, the Ashland stint at the state meet hasn't expired yet. On Saturday, senior triple jumper Erika Boehnke and sophomore high jumper Hannah Clark will compete. Each has a good chance of medaling if the loneliest number nine doesn't come prowling around again. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams