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94 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, May 26, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Britt Festival Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 13, 2005 Kling conquers the field in long jump By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Jordan Kling was as nervous as a cat in a room full of pit bulls when the girls long jump competition began at the Southern Oregon Conference district track meet Thursday at North Medford High. Kling entered the meet with impressive credentials. Her personal record jump of 17 feet, 6 inches achieved at a dual meet on May 3 in Ashland was, in fact, the best mark coming in. But as a freshman, Kling wasn’t accustomed to the pressure that clings to rookies in big meets. A mark of 16 feet on her first jump only added to her anxiety. Kling improved to 16-10 on her second jump, however, and eventually sailed to 17-4 and brushed aside all challengers. "After my first jump I said to myself, oh no, I’m not going to make finals," Kling said. "But my second jump was a lot farther and after that I was able to relax a little bit and just do my best." Advertisement Two-time defending champion North Medford jumped out to the first-day lead with 32 points, followed by South Medford and Roseburg with 24 each. Ashland, which saw Natalie Hemphill join Kling in the winner’s circle following her victory in the 3,000-meters, is in fourth place with 20 points. Kling wasn’t among the top half-dozen long jumpers at the start of the season. But after working diligently with Grizzly jumps coach Brian McKinnis to improve her technique, she steadily improved her marks and then popped the big one in the May 3 dual meet against North Medford. "I’d been scratching a lot in earlier meets, but I’ve worked on my rhythm right before I hit the (take-off) board and that’s really helped," said Kling, who has crept within 3½ inches of Julie Boozer’s 31-year-old school record. "Concentrating on the step before the board helps you hit the board and not scratch. "Once you’re not worrying about scratching, then you can stretch out and kick your legs up and just go for it. "Two months ago, I never dreamed I’d be where I’m at now," Kling added. North Medford’s Irene Kendig (16-10¼ ) edged out two-time defending champion Kaylyn Knutson (16-9½ ) for second place. In Thursday’s other finals: Hemphill led wire-to-wire to win the 3,000 in 10:46.06. Her time was 25 seconds off her lifetime best, but she chose not to run her hardest under the warm afternoon sun. "I was just basically going for the win," said Hemphill, who beat runner-up Kendel Nelson of Crater by seven seconds. "The heat was a factor and I’ve got some tough races Saturday (1,500 and 4x400 relay)." South Medford’s Andrea Herman threw a lifetime best of 117-11 to claim the discus. Roseburg’s Valarie Groshong nabbed the other state-meet berth with a toss of 109-3. Crater’s Myriah McMillan, the favorite going into the competition with a best of 125-8, could only manage 104-8 and had to settle for fifth place. "I hadn’t been throwing that well in practice," Herman said. "I’d been dropping my left shoulder and not keeping my head up, but I got rid of those things today. I had a good first throw (116-5) and just took it from there." Groshong surpassed South Medford’s Katie Singler on her next-to-last throw to win the javelin competition with a mark of 128-7. Singler punched her ticket to state with a lifetime-best toss of 127-3, but Eagle Point’s Alyssa McClellan, who entered the competition with an SOC-leading mark of 130-4, managed only 120-9 and wound up third to complete her season. North Medford, meanwhile, saw its young sprint crew shine in the qualifying heats as the Black Tornado tries to give outgoing head coach Mark Hodges his third straight district title. Sophomore Sara Weeks and junior Molly Brophy posted the two fastest times in the 100, Brophy and sophomore Haylee Godfrey registered the second- and third-fastest clockings in the 200 and sophomore Ashley Berry had the sixth-quickest time in the 400. The Tornado also got a pleasant surprise when freshman Natasha Minor recorded the fourth-fastest time in the 100 hurdles. "We put ourselves in good position to do a lot of damage Saturday, but Klamath came through unscathed," Hodges said. "It (the title) is still up for grabs." GIRLS TEAM SCORES — 1, North Medford, 32; 2, South Medford, 29; 3, (tie) Roseburg, 24; 3, (tie) Crater, 24; 5, Ashland, 20; 6, Eagle Point, 13; 7, Klamath Union, 9; 8, Grants Pass, 5. DISCUS — 1, Andrea Herman, SM, 117-11; 2, Valarie Groshong, R, 109-03; 3, Hayley Buckbee, R, 107-04; 4, Paige Reaves, C, C, 107-02; 5, Myrlah McMillan, C, 104-08; 6, Brittany Farrer, SM, 98-05; 7, Kara Fiegi, KU, 94-02; 8, Amanda Potts, GP, 93-05. JAVELIN — 1, Valarie Groshong, R, 128-07; 2, Katie Singler, SM, 127-03; 3, Alyssa McClellan, EP, 120-09; 4, Salina Sychla, EP, 116-08; 5, Megan Ross, NM, 108; 6, Caitlyn Nelson, C, 103- 06; 7, Annie Mannenbach, EP, 100-04; 8, Amanda Potts, GP, 97-09. LONG JUMP — 1, Jordan Kling, A, 17-03; 2, Irene Kendig, NM, 16-10¼ ; 3, Kaylyn Knutson, SM, 16-09½ ; 4, Ashley Chambers, NM, 16-03; 5, Lisa Louie, NM, 16-02¾ ; 6, Claire Edwards, KU, 15-11¾ ; 7, Kendall Gallop, SM, 15-10¼ ; 8, Courtney Cameron, GP, 15-09½ . 3,000 METERS — 1, Natalie Hemphill, A, 10:46.06; 2, Kendel Nelson, C, 10:53.50; 3, Brittney Dunn, NM, 11:07.25; 4, Brianne Hwang, NM, 11:13.29; 5, Avery Dumbeck, KU, 11:13.69; 6, Jenna Cunningham, C, 11:25.83; 7, Lorine Cruz, GP, 11:28.34; 8, Riley Swanson, C, 11:30.91. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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