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Black Tornado girls, Ashland boys run away with team titles in State of Jefferson ASHLAND ' North Medford was out of uniform, but it certainly wasn't out of contention. The girls cross country team left its blue collars at home, but the symbolism was evident as the Black Tornado ran away with the team title Saturday at the State of Jefferson cross country meet at Lithia Park. North Medford, which doesn't have the individual star it had the past two seasons in Danielle Jordan, nevertheless placed three runners in the top eight and scored 49 points to outdistance runner-up Ashland, which tallied 73. It's just a blue-collar group that shows up every meet and comes ready to race, regardless of who's here, said Black Tornado coach Pete Voskes. Hannah Hodgkinson of Pleasant Valley High in Chico, Calif., ran away with the individual 5,000-meter crown, clocking 19 minutes, 24.07 seconds. She came in nearly a full minute ahead of runner-up Hannah Hemphill of Ashland, whose time was 20:23.00. — In the boys meet, the powerful tandem of David Morgan and Andy Wright catapulted the Grizzlies to the team win. Morgan successfully defended his crown from last year, clocking 16:16.85, and Wright was second in 16:43.53. Ashland scored 57 team points to second-place North Medford's 101. This was just another in a string of fine showings for the Black Tornado girls, who a week ago placed eighth at the prestigious Stanford Invitational and earlier won the Yreka, Calif., Invitational. They go about it almost without notice. On Saturday, Brittney Dunn ' one of four sophomores among the top five North Medford girls ' placed fourth in 20:38.84. She was followed by senior Brianne Hwang (sixth), Jade Severson (eighth), Caitlin Whispell (13th) and Statia Smith (19th). Voskes admits he doesn't have a runner to go out and stomp the field. But, he said, we're a team in every sense of the word. We're only as strong as our fifth and sixth runners. Hwang is the elder stateswoman and lives up to the role. She came in at 20:57.85. Brianne is our catalyst, said Voskes. She gathers up this team and leads it every week. She keeps this group focused. Much of the focus in the girls race was on the back of Hodgkinson, a sophomore whose first tour of the trails and roads of the upper park was more than 18 seconds faster than last year's winning time by Kendel Nelson of Crater. Nelson, who is nursing a foot injury, didn't run at full speed and finished 10th in 21:27.15. Hodgkinson's personal-best time is 18:56, which she achieved two weeks ago in Nevada. But this was her first win in an invitational. So, she said, this is pretty exciting for me. Hemphill ran a strong race, even if it didn't match the 18:50 she turned in at the New Balance meet earlier. She and Dunn were shoulder-to-shoulder about 2& 189; miles in when the Ashland leader made her move at the base of a long, gradual climb. That's when I knew it was time to turn it on, said Hemphill, who was motivated because it was a North Medford runner she was dueling and because Dunn had run a faster time than her at Stanford a week earlier. I knew if I was going to distance myself from her, it would have to be on the up-hill, said Hemphill. She has a better stride (on the flats) than I do. The boys race figured to be a more scintillating battle than what actually materialized. Morgan certainly did his part, continuing what he admitted has been a most excellent season. But Wright didn't have a good race, and Isaac Stoutenburgh of Crater was one of several Comets who took this weekend off. Morgan, Wright and Crater's Jake Keyser were in a pack until the former picked the spot for his move on the course's lower loop. That's where I wanted to open a huge gap, he said. He pulled away from Keyser, who in turn, surprisingly, moved ahead of Wright. Morgan figured Wright would shadow him all the way, but it wasn't to be. Wright had to conjure a gutsy kick in the last 1,500 meters to overtake Keyser. I didn't have it mentally or physically, said Wright. I fell out of the race mentally with about 2,000 to go. Justin Loftus, the Crater coach, was pleased with Keyser's effort in the absence of his teammates. The Comets, the defending district champions who are ranked fifth in the state ' two places ahead of Ashland ' have plenty of important meets ahead. We put a lot of our year into the next month, said Loftus. It will all come together then. Everybody's going to all these big meets, and it's hard to be patient. But patience is a virtue, right? South Medford placed two boys in the top 10: Zach Harris, fourth in 17:28.45, and Scott Rowan, 10th in 18:04.12. State of Jefferson Invitational At Lithia Park, Ashland BOYS TEAM ' Ashland 57, North Medford 101, South Medford 114, West Valley 120, Yreka 166, Crater 167, Corvallis 193, Pleasant Valley 197, Hidden Valley 197, Henley 274, New Hope Christian 291, North Valley 296, Phoenix 319, Mazama 338, Illinois Valley 362 INdivIDUAL ' 1, David Morgan, Ash, 16:16.85; 2, Andy Wright, Ash, 16:43.53; 3, Jake Keyser, Cra, 16:53.47; 4, Zachary Harris, SM, 17:28.45; 5, Jordan Fairley, WV, 17:38.86; 6, Pat Crowl, WV, 17:41.71; 7, Brice Peters, Yre, 17:44.20; 8, Matt Baker, WV, 17:52.32; 9, Spencer Bonney, Ash, 17:58.62; 10, Scott Rowan, SM, 18:04.12; 11, Cameron Barleen, Ash, 18:05.38; 12, Kevin Jantzer, Pho, 18:07.63; 13, Micheal Mrkvicka, NHC, 18:08.72; 14, Nathan Kobinsky, SM, 18:11.10; 15, Jeremy Natho, HV, 18:12.42; 16, Sean Hunter, Cor, 18:14.13; 17, Clint Huntley, NM, 18:16.14; 18, David Levya, NM, 18:18.13; 19, Ryan Matz, PV, 18:22.07; 20, Sam Curtis, NM, 18:26.72; 21, Brandon Reavis, Cra, 18:33.85; 22, Darrell Terry, NM, 18:38.81; 23, Zach Witt, Maz, 18:45.27; 24, Garrett Frierson, NM, 18:45.55; 25, Paul Rapet, SM, 18:46.12; 26, Ryan Deroo, Cra, 18:47.10; 27, Robert Clark, NV, 18:47.67; 28, Brandon Hoisington, Yre, 18:52.75; 29, Ric Nielson, NM, 18:53.16; 30, Phillip Bazarth-Dreher, Cor, 18:59.33; 31, Zach Schlichtling, Yre, 19:03.75; 32, Richard Zhu, NM, 19:04.07; 33, Sean Gama, PV, 19:04.71; 34, Tanner Arndt, Ash, 19:07.60; 35, Shane Reno, WV, 19:07.92; 36, Dennis McCaffrey, Ash, 19:11.81; 37, Steven Heberle, PV, 19:12.22; 38, Paul Maurer, Hen, 19:13.03; 39, BJ Bishop, HV, 19:16.53; 40, David Butler, Hen, 19:18.51; 41, Dustin Filipek, HV, 19:19.89; 42, Caleb Renno, IV, 19:20.56; 43, Adam Cole, Cor, 19:21.08; 44, Graham Baker, IV, 19:23.64; 45, Levi Roudebush, NV, 19:25.31; 46, Jon Allaire, NHC, 19:25.31; 47, Solomon Fernandez, Yre, 19:29.31; 48, Blake Fstep, HV, 19:30.04; 49, Ryan Nicholes, Cor, 19:31.01; 50, Justin Faudree, Ash, 19:31.32; GIRLS TEAM ' North Medford 49, Ashland 73, Pleasant Valley, Calif. 96, Yreka, Calif. 126, Corvallis 127, South Medford 144, Crater 163, West Valley, Calif. 170, Mazama 199, Phoenix 223, Illinois Valley 309, Henley 341. INdivIDUAL (5,000 meters) ' 1, Hannah Hodgkinson, PV, 19:24; 2, Natalie Hemphill, Ash, 20:23; 3, Natalie Hickman, PV, 20:33; 4, Brittney Dunn, NM, 20:38; 5, Jasmine Klauder, Maz, 20:40; 6, Brianne Hwang, NM, 20:57; 7, Danielle Robberson, Yre, 21:16; 8, Jade Sverson, NM, 21:23; 9, Sophie Distefano, Ash, 21:26; 10, Kendel Nelson, Cra, 21:27; 11, Gina Davis, Yre, 21:29; 12, Chelsey Boehnke, Ash, 21:30; 13, Caitlin Whispell, NM, 21:35; 14, Haley Davis, PV, 21:42; 15, Jan Frodsham, SM, 21:44; 16, Juliana Houston, Cor, 21:46; 17, April Bradshaw, SM, 21:51; 18, McKenzie Jones, HV, 21:57; 19, Statia Smith, NM, 21:59; 20, Brittney Williams, WV, 22:05; 21, Riley Swanson, Cra, 22:06; 22, Krista Yardley, Yre, 22:14; 23, Alyssa Taylor, Ash, 22:18; 24, Emma Penunuri, Cor, 22:19. 25, Amy Birdseye, Cor, 22:27; 26, Alicia Preston, NM, 22:38; 27, Sharon Tenorio, PV, 22:45; 28, Allegra Fety, RR, 23:02; 29, Kathryn Bailey, Cor, 22:53; 30, Hannah Clark, Ash, 22:54; 31, Michelle Bennett, WV, 22:55; 32, Nichole Barry, WV, 22:59; 33, Raechel Dombras, SM, 23:01; 34, Amanda Selanders, RR, 23:02; 35, Tonya Bowers, Yre, 23:15; 36, Rachel Novak, Hos, 23:17; 37, Cessna Johnston, WV, 23:25; 38, Holly Dillemuth, Pho, 23:36; 39, Kaela Ash, Maz, 23:39; 40, Sahmura Gonzalez, SM, 23:29; 41, Chloe Rahmun, Cor, 23:31; 42, Jordan Kling, Ash, 23:33; 43, Samantha Abel, HV, 23:33; 44, Erin Moss, Pho, 23:42; 45, Victoria Mayfield, Ash, 23:43; 46, Adrian Wai, Cor, 23:44; 47, Olivia Clark, Cra, 23:45; 48, Jenna Cunningham, Cra, 23:45; 49, Bailey Barker, Maz, 23:59; 50, Brandi King, SM, 24:00. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail