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--> --> Nov. 2: Grizzlies have sights set on Top 10 finish at state meet By Sarah Petersen Ashland Daily Tidings Here we go again. The Ashland High girls are headed to the OSAA state cross country meet in Eugene on Saturday for the fifth straight year. The Grizzlies finished second at the Southern Oregon Conference cross country championships behind Klamath Union and have revenge on their minds. "We have two goals for the state meet," Grizz head coach Bob Julian said. "One is to get in the top ten as a team and the other is to beat KU because they beat us at districts. These goals are totally obtainable for us and are realistic." Some of the tough competition at state the Grizzlies will be facing are defending state champ Mountain View, Bend, Sunset, Grant and South Eugene. "We only have one senior," Julian said. "We are really young and we are not quite at the same level as some of the other teams. But we should do pretty well ... We'll be right in the mix with all the other teams." The Grizz are led by junior Therese McCaffrey, who finished fourth at the district meet with a time of 20 minutes and 14 seconds. "Therese has one goal and that is to get in the top 24 which would qualify her for the NIKE Boarder Clash," Julian said. "She's capable of reaching her goal." Junior Mariah Mayfield's 10th-place effort at districts (20:47) qualifies her as a Grizz stalwart at state. "Mariah is a solid team leader," Julian said. "She rallies everyone to run with her. Therese and Mariah seem to run much faster at the big races." Freshman newcomer Rihana Patterson dashed in with the time of 20:59 for a 17th-place finish at districts. "Rihana is talented and has improved with every meet," Julian said. "She probably has the most speed on the team and I am looking forward to seeing her run at state." Juniors Claire Chavez and senior Gretchen Buettner will fill the fourth and fifth slots for Ashland. The Grizzlies top runner junior Kendall Clark has been injured all season with an inflamed shin and will join the Ashland squad as the sixth runner for the state meet. "Kendal has been injured since the second race of the season," Julian said. "I didn't even know if she would finish the race at districts, but somehow she did. Right now she is a wild card. I wouldn't be surprised if she did really well at state and I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't finish at all. But either way we are going to get out there and run for fun." The Ashland girls are slated to run at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Lane Community College in Eugene. SOU senior setter Sabrina Garboden sets up a teammate. Tidings file photo 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