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Jet Ski racer wins title, then wrecks By FRANK SILOW In the span of a couple of hours, Jet Ski racer Dan Langston experienced the exhilaration of victory and the pain of crashing at the 18th annual Skat-Trak World Finals Oct. 10 in Lake Havasu, Ariz. Because of mechanical problems with his Jet Ski, Langston didn't even have time for practice prior to his first of two attempts on the slalom course. But the 33-year-old Medford resident needed just his first run to win the world slalom title by one 1/100th of a second with a time of 23.5. "I went on the slalom course to just see how the boat would run," said Langston. "I didn't even have time to fine tune it." A little later, Langston crashed in the closed course race when his boat got hit in the left rear three-quarters of the way through the first lap. He spun out, then got hit by two other boats. "I looked up and was thinking, `Get the heck out of the way,"' said Langston. "I couldn't lift my arm so I knew it was broken up." Langston was hospitalized overnight with a dislocated shoulder, and his boat was destroyed. "The most terrifying time was trying to get out of the water before the boat and me sank," said Langston. "The most frustrating thing was I knew I was out of the race. I can deal with broken bones, I just can't deal with being out of the race." The crash hurt Langston's pride, but he is not disenchanted with the sport. "We'll spend a bunch of money to get up and running," said Langston. "We're going to go for it again next year." Terisa Peterson of Central Point competed in the beginners class at the Jet Ski championships. Peterson finished in the top 10 in the world in the closed course and the top 15 in the slalom against about 75 other men and women. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.