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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 29, 2004 Grizz XC picks it up for conference AHS boys' and girls' teams, trio of individuals could all win titles By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings The boys race at the SOC cross country district championships will be a good one. Featuring three of the best prep harriers in the Northwest, the race could be a preview of the battle for the individual state championship. Andrew Mariman | Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland Junior natalie Hemphill leads a pack of Grizz girls during a four-way meet at Lithia Park earlier this month. The girls' squad will contend with Crater and North Medford for the SOC crown. Ashland High seniors David Morgan and Andy Wright will take on Crater's Isaac Stoutenburgh The three have a strong rivalry, dating back three years. This season, they have met just twice in serious contests. Morgan and Wright beat Stoutenburgh at the Yreka Invitational early in the season; Stoutenburgh got the pair back at the Puma Invitational. "I think all three of them have a huge challenge on their hands, but they all could do it," Ashland head coach Bob Julian Jr. said. "Whatever happens, there'll be a rerun of it next Saturday at state." Morgan and Wright aim to go 1-2 against Stoutenburgh this time and think they could even be pushed to sub-16-minute times over the 5,000-meter course at Lost Creek Lake's Stewart State Park if conditions don't get too wet or icy. "It's going to be a little bit treacherous [if the course is wet]," Julian said, explaining the majority of the races will be run on paved trails at the park. "If anything, we may have a little bit of an advantage because we've run over the course when it was pretty wet." The boys team competition mirrors the individual title race -Ashland and Crater vying for the SOC championship, although the Grizzlies admit they'll have a better shot at defeating Crater at the state meet, not the district level. "Crater, they're just about unbeatable in terms of trying to beat them at district" Wright said, noting the Comets have too much depth for the Grizzlies to muscle them out of first place. "Our third and fourth runners just need to have a race where they can step it up and get some confidence going into state." North Medford and Roseburg could also challenge for the two state-qualfying positions, which will force Ashland to come together as a team if the Grizzlies want a chance at bettering their 2003 fifth-place team finish at the state meet. "I wouldn't say the boys are a shoe-in," Julian said. "We know we have to perform, not just to beat Crater, but to get the spot. If everyone runs to their potential race, then, yeah, we should make it." The girls could, too Although the Ashland girls' cross country team has been back and forth, up and down all season, don't count the Grizzlies out of a top-two finish just yet. "We can still be a threat to make it to the state meet," Julian said. "I believe our girls team has as much depth as anyone else, except maybe Klamath Union." The title race for the girls appears more muddled than the boys, as half the conference has a decent shot at winning if their runners have strong races. However, Ashland will probably compete without Aria Hemphill and Hannah Clark, who have raced varsity this fall, are nursing significant injuries that will sideline them this weekend. Freshmen Jordan Kling and Savannah Julian will take their places in the varsity race. "We will have to be firing on all cylinders in the girls if we're going to make it [to state]," Julian said. "We can't have one person run a sub-par race." Still, the Grizz girls also boast an individual winner just like the boys' team does. Junior Natalie Hemphill was an individual state qualifier in 2003 and raced in the 800-meter at the track state championships in the spring. "She has just about the same challenge as everyone else," Julian said. "I wouldn't consider her the favorite, but she's definitely up there. She feels like she can be competitive." The SOC district championships begins at noon on Saturday at Stewart State Park with the varsity girls, followed by the varsity boys and JV races. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Isotoner Slippers Dsw Shoes Ceramic Piggy Banks Fanny Mae Eloans Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Citibank Student Loans Acs Loan Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation helzberg diamonds Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams