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North relay sprints to top of charts Photo by Bob Pennell North Medford's short relay runners, from left, are Emily Dunn, Denali Tice, Jennifer Abbott, Keri Cain and Jamie MacLauchlan. Five girls share duties on 4 x 100 relay that set the best time in the state last week at the Grants Pass Rotary meet By DON HUNT By its nature, track and field is an individual sport. Beat your opponent to the finish line or jump or throw the farthest and you win. Simple as that. The exceptions are the 4 x 100- and 4 x 400-meter relays, where teamwork, handoffs and timing are every bit as important as the speed of the participants. The North Medford High girls 4 x 100 relay team has blended all those elements into a smooth-as-silk, slick-as-a-whistle entity, and the result is the fastest time in the state. "We work out as a team, warm up as a team and perform as a team," Black Tornado coach Mark Hodges says. "When you're out there passing that baton from one runner to the next while running full speed, you've got to trust each other." The foursome of Keri Cain, Emily Dunn, Denali Tice and Jennifer Abbott rocketed around the track in 49.04 seconds at the Grants Pass Rotary meet last Saturday, shattering the school record and setting the fastest time in the state. Interestingly, the record run was accomplished without Jamie MacLauchlan, the relay team's regular third leg who was sidelined with a hamstring pull. Tice filled in and the team didn't miss a beat. "To be honest, I was just praying to get the stick (baton) around the track," says Hodges, noting that Tice and the other three sprinters had practiced handoffs together for only one day. "Our exchanges were adequate, but there's a lot more potential for getting that stick around the track faster." MacLauchlan, a senior soccer standout who is out for track for the first time since junior high, is expected to rejoin the relay in time for the Southern Oregon Conference district meet, which kicks off Thursday at Crater High. "It doesn't really matter which four of the five we have in there because they've all got good speed," says Hodges, noting that all five have run the 100 in 12.8 seconds or faster. "But Jamie has been a part of that relay all season. She's a senior, and she's the leader. If she's healthy, she's in there." The relay starts with Cain, a senior who transferred to North from Rogue River last fall. Cain wasn't even sure she would go out for track, but Hodges, who roamed the halls and recruited more than 40 girls to come out, wouldn't take no for an answer. Cain's job is to get out of the blocks quickly and aggressively run the opening turn. "Running the turn takes quite a bit of technique," Hodges says. "You've got to know how to lean and then aggressively work your left arm back and forth. Keri has really improved in those areas." Dunn, who runs the second leg, could wind up being the most talented of them all. The freshman has already set school records in the long jump (16-7) and triple jump (34-7) while registering a best of 12.6 in the 100. Hodges says he knew Dunn was special when he took her to an indoor meet in Eugene in February. "She made it to the finals of the 55-meter dash and held her own against Abbott and the Benson (Tech) girls," Hodges says. "She was right on their heels." Tice, a sophomore who normally competes in the 200, 400, triple jump and 4 x 400 relay, admits she was nervous when she joined the shorter relay last week. "I was afraid I might screw it up," she says. "But then we got the (school) record and I was like, `Wow, that was fun."' Tice will likely return to her other four events at the district meet, but Hodges is thrilled to have such a capable alternate. Abbott is the fastest of the bunch but has yet to be pushed while running the anchor leg of the relay. "I've been ahead every time I've gotten the baton," says Abbott, who has run the 100 in 12.2. "My job has been pretty easy so far _ get the baton and stay ahead." The Tornado has yet to be beaten to the finish line. It was disqualified in a dual meet against South Medford on April 27 _ the day MacLauchlan pulled her hamstring _ but still made it to the finish line in front. MacLauchlan, who brings a tenacity and toughness to the team, suffered her injury well before she advanced the baton to Abbott, but refused to let up. "She's such a competitor that there was no way she was going to pull up, even if it meant hobbling along on one leg," Hodges says. "That's just the way Jamie is. I wish she would have dropped to the track the instant she felt some pain, but that's not her nature." Not that MacLauchlan is alone in her discomfort. Sprinters are a notoriously fragile lot, and each of the five Tornado speedsters is battling soreness in one part of her body or another. "Sprinters are like race horses _ you hold your breath every time they're out on the track," Hodges says. "I've always been conservative when training them. You back off at the first sign of injury." Injuries, dropped batons, disqualifications _ a lot of bad things can happen to a relay team. If the Tornado's 4 x 100 squad can sidestep such perils, it should win the district meet and contend for a state championship on May 27 at Hayward Field in Eugene. "It's great to have the school record and the best time in the state," Hodges says, "but until we get the stick around the track at the state meet, we're not going to start bragging." 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