Document text
Ashland's Bakke on track to be a Duck Prep Notebook By GREG STILES Nick Bakke doesn't remember Brian Crouser, who once tossed the javelin 312 feet, wearing Oregon's lemon and lime track singlet. The Ashland High senior hasn't heard of Reidar Lorentzen or Les Tipton or "Multiple Mac" Wilkins. But Bakke knows the Ducks' list of Olympic throwers is as impressive as they come. Thus, the 18-year-old Bakke has cast his lot with Oregon and track and field. In doing so, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound all-state tackle has decided to leave the gridiron behind. "I pretty much think that's what's going to happen," Bakke says. Oregon began recruiting Bakke after he placed second in last spring's state track finals. He visited the campus in January and was impressed with new coach Martin Smith's approach. "He said they want to manufacture a Pac-10 championship team that's strong in the throws and distances," Bakke says. "They have a big tradition and I'm coming from a good tradition in Ashland football. Winning is always fun." Bakke is aware of Art Skipper, the current national prep record holder (259-10) from Sandy, who threw for the Ducks in the early 1990s. "He's not that old to me, but he's almost a legend," Bakke says. Bakke threw 205-1 in the 1998 state meet. He has yet to surpass the 200-foot mark this season, although he thinks a couple of throws against South Medford might have gone for career bests. "It was pretty windy weather against South," Bakke says. "I had some real nice throws, high and straight. But the wind would catch them and knock them down. If there was no wind, it easily would've gone over 200." WHITEHEAD MAKES GRADE -- Crater senior Mike Whitehead qualified for the Oregon Cultural Exchange wrestling team in a freestyle tournament at Barlow High in Gresham Saturday and Sunday. Whitehead won two preliminary matches before having to win two of three matches against Oregon City's Chris Henry, the state freestyle champion. Whitehead won the first match 4-1 in overtime and then pinned Henry in overtime. The exchange team will compete in Austria and Hungary June 14-26. Whitehead placed first in the Class 4A state meet at 189 pounds. QUARTER LIMITS -- What appeared to be as easy as a PAT kick turned out to be a fourth-and-long. Southern Oregon Conference football coaches figured a request to raise the quarter participation for Class 4A players to six per week would sail through the voting uprights at the recent Oregon Athletic Directors Association gathering in Sun River. The proposal, however, was sacked. "I was surprised," says Ashland athletic director and football coach Jim Nagel. "I'm kicking myself. I thought it would go through without opposition. The coaches were strongly in favor of it. The athletic directors I talked to were in favor, but I guess I talked to the wrong ones. Probably because the athletic directors I talked to were football coaches or ex-football coaches." Had the ADs approved the proposal, it would have gone on to the OSAA for final approval. The OSAA generally goes with recommendations from athletic directors. "They were afraid coaches were going to abuse it," Nagel says. "I can't for the life of me see a coach taking a varsity starter and playing them two quarters in a JV game, just because they could." Two factors led football coaches to propose the idea: When the outcome of a game is obvious in the third quarter, coaches would like to get younger players on the field. "It's nice to put the backup kids in the game when you are ahead by 40 points," Nagel says. "People accuse you of running up the score. But you can't play those other kids until the fourth quarter, because they've already played four quarters in the JV game.'' The best kicker or punter in the school might be a sophomore, who's not ready as a varsity regular at other positions. "Do you jeopardize the future for the present?" Nagel queries. "If the sophomore kicker is a quarterback or receiver, do you hold him out and go with your next-best kicker? You have to make a choice." CHANGE OF SEASONS? -- Golf has been a spring sport staple for Oregon high schools since the end of World War II when Grant of Portland won the first of three straight state titles in 1945. Girls began playing for state championships in 1975 and a majority of the state's schools offer the sport. However, even with new courses popping up around the state, demand has outstripped supply. "The demand on courses in the metropolitan area and down in the (Willamette) valley is such that a lot of schools can't get on to practice," says OSAA assistant executive director Virginia Yankoskie. An ad-hoc committee designated next month to explore seasons, playoffs and tournaments will examine whether boys and girls seasons should be shifted to the fall or if one would play in the fall and the other in the spring. SOC athletic directors indicated they would be opposed to splitting the seasons. "One group would be playing all summer, leading into their tournament and the other would be coming out of winter," Crater's Dan Speasl says. "If there's a change, it should be for both." NO MORE CO-COACHES -- Phoenix's two-year experiment with co-head football coaches is over. Joe Hagler, who shared duties with Les Aaker in 1997 and 1998, will be head coach as he was the previous five years. Aaker, a teacher at Crossroads alternative school, resigned after last season. He handled the offense, while Hagler was in charge of defense. "If both people are on the same page and share the same philosophy it could work out," says Hagler, who is also the school's baseball coach. "It was stressful on all ends. It was real hard for the kids and there was some turmoil. Kids gravitate to the coach that responds to them and that made it real tough." The Pirates were 2-7 last year. Hagler says there were 54 boys in the program at the end of the season. "I think we'll have 75 or 80 next year and both the seventh- and eighth-grade classes have good baseball and football players," Hagler says. "We're looking for freshmen games after just having varsity and JV the last three years." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.