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Mail Tribune's Top 10 Sports Stories of 2019 By Tim Trower of the Mail Tribune Dec 31, 2019 04:41 PM A A It was another year of excellence in the Rogue Valley sports arena, and another year of ranking the Mail Tribune’s best stories. As is always the case, there were some very obvious choices in 2019, and many more stories that captured the fancy of at least some of the panelists we enlisted to vote. Nine voters cast ballots, and they came up with 25 stories they deemed worthy of making the list. The No. 1 story, fittingly, was EJ Holland, who ran his way onto the list in 2018 and continued striding right into 2019, wowing onlookers near and far. The Ashland High senior continued to validate his standing as one of the country’s best schoolboy distance runners by placing sixth at the cross country national championships and repeatedly setting records from spring through fall. Holland’s was the only story to receive votes from every panelist, collecting four firsts, two seconds and three thirds. No. 2, Southern Oregon University’s first-ever national championship in softball, and No. 3, Esperansa Morales’ stirring performance while becoming the youngest Pear Blossom Run winner in history at age 10, each were on all but one ballot and each nabbed one first-place vote. All other stories were left off at least two ballots. Cyclocross national champion Clara Honsinger, a former Ashland High and University of Portland athlete, received the other top vote and was No. 8 overall. There were 33 stories to choose from, meaning 76 percent of them got votes, accentuating the wide range of outstanding achievements and the diverse interests of the voters. The selection panel was made up of current and former sports staff members and other newsroom personnel. As also happens yearly, those members expressed the difficulty in narrowing their choices to 10. Last year, the top stories were: 1, Crater baseball’s state championship, paced by Larson Kindrich; 2, former Cascade Christian linebacker Dante Olson starring at Montana; 3, Holland and his distance-running exploits for Ashland. Here are the Mail Tribune’s top 10 sports stories of 2019: EJ Holland 1 With track in the spring and cross country in the fall, the Ashland running sensation provided regular content for the Mail Tribune sports section. The year culminated in the fall with the senior overcoming a poor start to place sixth at the high school national cross country championships, earning first-team All-America honors. He qualified for nationals by winning the Northwest Regional in record time, and before that wowed spectators at the Oregon prep championships by shattering the meet mark with a 5,000-meter time of 14 minutes, 30 seconds at Lane Community College in Eugene. It was his second cross country state crown — leading Ashland to its first team title in 26 years — and sixth overall, including track. The time bettered the recognized meet standard for all classifications by 15 seconds and lowered his personal best by more than 21 seconds. In track while still a junior, Holland was no less dominant, running the fastest 1,500 in the country in the regular season, then demolishing his own state-meet records in rainy weather at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham. He lowered the 3,000 mark to 8:13.10 and the 1,500 to 3:51.92. The performances resulted in him being chosen for the all-USA boys track and field team released by USA TODAY High School Sports, in conjunction with Track and Field News. SOU Softball 2 -- The Southern Oregon University softball team made history when it captured the school’s first national championship, downing Oklahoma City, 8-3, on a marathon day lengthened by weather delays. The Raiders finished with a 52-8 record and reaped a bundle of team and individual awards. Jessica Pistole was named coach of the year and later left SOU to take over the University of San Diego program. Pitcher of the year Gabby Sandoval went 36-4 with a 1.19 ERA and limited OKC to seven hits and one earned run in the title game. A grand slam by Eagle Point’s Paige Leeper was the Raiders’ big hit in a game delayed eight hours by rain and lightning. Sandoval and Allie Stines were first-team All-Americans, and World Series MVP Lauren Quirke made the second team. All were juniors. Esperansa Morales 3 -- In one of the most remarkable performances in the 43-year history of the Pear Blossom Run, tiny 10-year-old Esperansa Morales of Klamath Falls became the youngest women’s division winner in Medford’s storied 10-mile race. The fifth-grader, running alongside her father, Sergio, covered the course in 1 hour, 3 minutes, 24 seconds. Her time computed to a 6:21 average per mile. She beat runner-up Denise Piter, 28, of Medford, by nearly 2 minutes. Piter’s time was 1:05:20. It was Morales’ second 10-mile race. A year earlier, she was the first entrant as young as 9 to finish the Pear Blossom, collecting that age-group record in 1:14:59. In 2019, the youngster with Olympic dreams had a goal of breaking the 10-14 age-group mark; she did so by 7 1/2 minutes. Seth Brown 4 -- It took awhile for former North Medford slugger Seth Brown to make it to the major leagues, but after nearly five full seasons in the minors, he did so Aug. 26 for Oakland against Kansas City. Brown, 27, had two singles and drove in a run in his first two at-bats in a 19-4 victory. He became the first A’s player in history with 10 hits in his first five games and had seven straight hits in one stretch. He was the first Oakland rookie in 17 years with two triples in a game. Brown, a 19th-round pick in 2015 out of Lewis-Clark State, hit .297 with 37 homers and 104 RBIs in 112 games and was MVP at AAA Las Vegas. With Oakland, he batted .293 in 26 games, with 13 RBIs, eight doubles, two triples, 11 runs and no homers. Crater Football 5 -- Crater enjoyed its finest season behind quarterback Trever Davis, running back Gavin Acrey, talented receivers and dominant linemen to advance to the state championship for the first time in history. The Comets went 11-2. Their primary drawback in a season of firsts? Being in the same conference as defending 5A champion Thurston, which accounted for Crater’s only losses, including 14-10 in the title game. Crater shut out six opponents during the season and outscored three playoff opponents 128-24 to get to the final. First-team all-state choices, on offense, were the senior Acrey, junior wide receiver Trevor Jaasko, senior lineman Jacob Memmott and senior kicker Davis. On defense, it was senior linebacker Tyler Ennis, back Acrey and punter Davis. Nate Bittle 6 -- Crater’s basketball phenom saw his game and stock rise, setting records at the Class 5A state tournament, then participating in USA Basketball camps in hopes of making its 12-member team for international competition. Bittle, now a 6-11 junior for the Comets, was the last player cut in the selection process for the team that traveled to Brazil for the FIBA Americas U16 Championship. Before that camps were held and cuts made in Colorado and Minnesota. At the state tournament in March, Bittle set all-time, all-class records with 21 blocked shots in three games as Crater (20-7) placed fourth. He set the 5A record with 33 field goals, tied the record for rebounds with 43 and averaged 28.3 points, 14.3 rebounds and seven blocks. He ended the year this week as the leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker in the renowned Les Schwab Invitational. Dante Olson 7 -- The former Cascade Christian star football player continued his decorated linebacking career at Montana, smashing records and earning national recognition as arguably the best defensive player in the FCS. That distinction will be announced Jan. 10 with the Buck Buchanan Award, for which Olson was one of three finalists last year. Olson was chosen first-team All-American by all five organizations who put together FCS teams. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder led all NCAA divisions in total tackles with 179, breaking his own school record as well as the Big Sky Conference mark. He became Montana's all-time tackle leader in only two seasons, making 397 stops. Olson made the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which will be honored at the Sugar Bowl today, and will play in the East-West Shrine Bowl. Clara Honsinger 8 -- The former Ashland High athlete pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the U.S. Cyclocross National Championships when she defeated perennial champion Katie Compton in Lakewood, Washington. Competing for the first time in the elite women’s division, the 22-year-old Honsinger won the race in 50 minutes, 16 seconds, thereby ending Compton’s remarkable reign. Compton, 41, had claimed 15 straight national championships, a string that dated to 2004. Compton (51:36) was third behind Honsinger and Rebecca Fahringer (50:45). Honsinger, a former NCAA Division II champion, lives in Portland and races for Team S&M. She won the under-23 national title last year, her first U.S. championship. She capped this year in Belgium representing the U.S. in World Cup events. Sam Gaviglio 9 -- The former Ashland High and Oregon State right-handed pitcher found a home in Toronto and a niche as a reliever for the Blue Jays. He led all American League relief pitchers in innings with 95 ? while appearing in 52 games. He posted a 4-2 record and a 4.61 earned run average. The 29-year-old had previously been a starter for three teams -- Seattle and Kansas City prior to arriving in and starting for Toronto. One of Gaviglio’s most memorable outings was April 27 at Oakland, when he retired all 12 batters he faced, setting a career high with four innings of relief and five strikeouts in a game out of the bullpen. He became just the fourth reliever in team history to have a perfect bullpen performance of retiring 12 batters or more. Brett Wolfe 10 -- The longtime North Medford baseball coach stepped down after a hugely successful career. Only the second coach the school had known, Wolfe guided the Black Tornado for 25 years before stepping down. Wolfe was a former Medford High pitcher and later pitching coach under the school’s first mentor, Jim McAbee, before taking over the reins. Wolfe helped make North Medford a leading contender in the state each spring, earning nine conference titles in his 25 seasons to go with state championships in 2007 and 2014 and a runner-up showing in 2000. Wolfe wrapped up his North Medford career with a 494-198-1 record, putting him 12th on the state's all-time list. Kerry Curtis, himself a former North Medford standout player, was selected as Wolfe’s successor. Others Receiving Votes __ The Southern Oregon University volleyball team wins the Cascade Conference regular season and tournament titles to get to nationals. __ The North Medford football team rebounds from a three-win season to go 8-3, make the state playoffs and get to the second round. __ Dylan Wu secures status for 2020 on the Korn Ferry Tour by placing second in his second event. Shoots 66 in his PGA debut. __ Grants Pass Downs debuts a commercial meet in the fall, replacing Portland Meadows as the state’s premier horse track. __ Matt Hedges repeats as the Southern Oregon Golf Championships men’s regular champion, then turns pro. __ The Medford Mustangs rebound from a 7-13 start to win 13 straight games, improbably capturing their sixth straight state championship. __ The Medford Rogues advance to the Golden State Collegiate Baseball League championship series before losing to five-time champion Top Speed. __ Medford swimmers Aaron Ghiglieri and Mark Hageman break long-standing Oregon masters state records. __ Central Point golfer Kiana Oshiro makes the U.S. Women’s Amateur, is second at junior college nationals and shines for LSU. __ The Southern Oregon Spartans are bought by Dylan and Brie Martin, thereby keeping junior hockey in the Rogue Valley. __ Central Point’s Dylan Pearce, an Oregon State pitcher, is drafted in the 31st round by the St. Louis Cardinals. __ Prep track: North Medford junior Jaida Ross and Crater senior Cody Le Bel win state titles in the shot put and pole vault, respectively. __ St. Mary’s, behind repeat champion Baylee Hammericksen’s seven-shot victory, wins its fourth straight state girls golf title. __ Prep wrestling: In boys, Cascade Christian’s Gabe Vidlak and Rogue River’s Dylan Houser win state, as do girls Kyleigh Lopez, of North Medford, and Emma Truex, of Phoenix. __ Freshman Marcus Reyes-Gentry wins the first swimming state titles for Crater, taking the 500-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke. 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