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Adams, Glantz, Giles sign letters By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN Three North Medford High girls athletes signed NCAA Division I-A letters of intent to play major-college sports on Wednesday. Seniors Steph Adams and Erin Glantz, who have played for North Medford's back-to-back state softball championship teams, will take their talents to the highest level of collegiate softball next year. Glantz signed with Georgia Tech and Adams with Oregon State. The third signee from North is basketball player Ashlee Giles, a 5-foot-7 shooting guard. She signed a basketball letter of intent with the University of Portland. Adams, a 5-foot-7, 145-pound third baseman and three-time first-team all-state player for North Medford, hopes to crack OSU's starting lineup quickly. She said her goal is to start for the Beavers at third base as a freshman. "They lost two infielders, and I hope to take one of those spots," Adams said. "If not, I'll play the outfield just to get in there. I don't want to sit around waiting to play." Adams hit .358 with a .554 slugging percentage and 36 runs batted in last spring. "She really helped herself by hitting for power in a tournament in Colorado last summer in ASA ball," said Binney. "That attracted some coaches to her." Glantz, a Southern Oregon Conference all-star as a first baseman during the last two seasons, will be a catcher for the Yellow Jackets. "Catcher is my best position," said Glantz. "I like catching because you're in on every play. I want to be around the action." Glantz will move to catcher for North next spring for her senior season. Glantz played behind two-time first-team all-state catcher Missy Coe, who is now at Oregon as a catcher. "Erin played behind an exceptional catcher in Missy, but she's a very good catcher herself," said North Medford softball coach Larry Binney. "I expect her to have a good college career as a catcher." Glantz batted .414 and drove in 20 runs for North Medford last season as a junior. She plans to major in engineering at Georgia Tech. Giles played the best basketball of her junior season at the state tournament at the Chiles Center, according to North Medford coach Mike Kay. That will be her home arena in playing for Portland. "She's worked hard to get better," said Kay. "She has nice size to be a shooting guard or a small forward. "We will ask her to carry much of the load for our team this year. She's very quick, strong and she can D-up (play defense). She's extremely tough mentally, and she plays the game with a lot of passion." Giles said she wanted to select a college as soon as possible so she could concentrate on her senior season for North Medford. "I feel like the pressure is off," said Giles. "Now, I can go relax and play." Giles said Portland proved to be the most comfortable fit for her talents. "Since I wanted to go there, my final decision was easy," she said. "I like the gym, the campus and the people there. I wanted to go to a school fairly close to home, so it all worked out." Giles is the fourth North Medford player in Kay's three years as head coach to sign a letter of intent with an NCAA school. The others are Jill Carrigan (Colorado Christian), Dolinda Meeker (University of the Pacific), and Ericka Brosterhous (Oregon State). Glantz and Adams give Binney nine players at the NCAA Division I level in the past 10 years. The others are Terri Walker (Oregon State), Angie Jacobs (California), Lisa Woods (Oregon State), Nicole Milne (Oregon State), Marie Bowie (Nebraska), Angie LeRoy (Oregon) and Coe (Oregon). Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,