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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels March 31, 2004 Ashland High tracksters have talent, lack depth By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings When it comes to the Ashland High track and field teams, there hasn't been a lot to talk about the past couple of years. Neither the boys' nor the girls' team has won a conference dual meet in two years and each squad has had a tough time rising above eighth place at the district championship. Ashland high seniorErika Boehnke leaps over a hurdle during track and field practice Tuesday at the Ashland High School track. Boehnke is one of just two seniors on the Grizzlies' 2004 squad. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings Some days, fielding complete relay teams has been a challenge. With just two seniors - Adam Troutman on the boys' side and Erika Boehnke on the girls' - to lead the 45 athletes on this year's teams, second-year head coach Bob Julian Jr. sees the Grizzlies slowly coming around, not faltering. "We're really young and we're not very big, but we have some quality," Julian said. "We've been at the bottom of the barrel the past couple of years, but we have some kids who can compete at a higher level." A tough road to run The Grizz track and field teams fit into a growing trend in which none of the program's coaches actually work at Ashland High during the school day. Most of the Grizzly club sports, as well as traditional athletics such as swimming and girls' basketball, are in similar situations. Without a liaison between the classroom and the stadium, recruiting new athletes proves difficult. Even staying connected with athletes' lives to know why someone didn't come to practice or if an athlete is attending class, can be difficult. "There's not one teacher at this school who's a track coach," said Julian, who had taught at Ashland High before moving down to Ashland Middle School this academic year. "When you don't have a coach at school, it's hard." To combat the recruiting problems the teams have had, more effort has been directed at the track and field program at the middle school. When Julian's father and longtime Grizz head track coach, Bob Julian Sr., retired in 2002 he refocused on the middle school program to grow the Ashland track program. Though just one class of athletes has graduated from the middle to the high school teams, the difference can be seen. "We do have a lot of freshmen," Julian said. "They could be good." Nothing to lose Out of the two squads, the boys' team touts more numbers and more experience. The Grizz guys seem to have a go-to-guy for just about every event, especially the distances. "I'll put our distance squad - they'll match up with any track team in the state distance-wise," Julian said. In the fall, the boys' cross country team placed fifth at the Class 4A state championships. With such a talented, knowledgeable group, the Ashland boys will give any SOC team a run for their money in the 800, 1,500 and 3,000 meters. The only problem the Ashland boys have is achieving the same depth across the other 15 events in track and field. But the Grizzlies think they're building the foundation for better years to come, with younger athletes and a lot of raw talent. "Last year we didn't have that many graduating seniors," Troutman said, noting how many boys' on the team are returning for their second or third season. "We just have more experience." Aside from Troutman, who will contribute in both the javelin and the middle distances, the Grizzlies will rely on juniors Andy Wright, David Morgan Colin McGinnis, Matt Gilmore and Nelson Kling, as well as sophomore Cameron Barleen, Jaxon Williams, Ryan Pittman and Dylan Steves. Wright holds the freshman school record in the 3,000-meter run and earned first-team all-state honors in cross country last fall. Morgan came in third in the 3,000 at district as a sophomore and garnered second-team all-state honors in cross country. "Morgan's our top returning district placer on the team," Julian said. "He's in great shape and looking to break some records this year." Barleen will help Wright and Morgan out in the distances, while Kling, McGinnis and Steves will handle the sprints. On the field, Kling will also work in the horizontal jumps as Williams takes care of the discus and the shot put. Pittman returns to better his fifth-place high jump finish at district as a freshman. Gillmore's specialty is the pole vault. Last year he was the best sophomore vaulter in the SOC, boasting a personal best of 13 feet and a sixth-place award at the 2003 district meet. "They've been working really hard," Julian said, adding that the best is yet to come. "I expect us to really move up in the conference as far as scoring points." Bigger isn't better There may be 45 kids out for Grizzly track and field, but that doesn't mean the athletes divide equally between the two squads. The girls' team comprises just about a third of the Ashland tracksters, leaving some gaps in events and requiring the girls to take on a larger workload. "The girls are a lot smaller," Julian said. "My goal is that the girls have a good experience with track this year. It'd be nice to beat someone at district, too." The squad boils down to four girls with substantial experience. "I think we have a lot of strong individuals," Boehnke said. "As a team, we don't have a lot of people, but I think we can do well individually." Boehnke, the lone senior, will high jump, long jump and hurdle for Ashland. As a freshman, she qualified for state in the high jump, but hasn't been back since. "She's got a chance to go to state in all three of those events," Julian said. "She's a veteran of the team and has turned out to be a great team leader this year." Sophomore Hannah Clark will provide talent in the sprints and the jumps for Ashland. Adeka Stipkova, a senior from the Czech Republic, has experience in the throws. "She's going a good job," Julian said of Stipkova. "She's done it (the throws) before in the Czech Republic. In the distances, sophomore Natalie Hemphill will pace the Grizzlies. As a freshman participating in school sports for the first time, she came in fifth at district in the 800 meters. She also ran at the cross country state meet in the fall. "She's looking really good," Julian said. "Her goal is to make it to state in the 800 meter." Getting it rolling Unlike a lot of other track and field programs, the Ashland teams didn't compete in non-conference meets during the preseason to gauge their abilities going in to conference competition. So when the Grizzlies start their season Thursday at South Medford, anything could happen. "Hopefully we can win a few of the dual meets this year," Troutman said. "I think it helps the team to have a win. I think it just helps the morale." Even though the teams don't have the numbers to dominate other SOC programs, Ashland has the talent to turn some heads. They're excited to see what they can do. "We're all feeling pretty positive right now," Julian said. 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