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Julian gears up for move to Crater By DEENA MANNING Bob Julian Jr. is racing toward a new finish line now. After coaching at Hidden Valley High for the past five years, Julian has taken over the cross country coaching duties at Crater. Julian succeeds Hugh Barnhill, who will help out Julian this fall and then likely retire. "I am 62 years old and this coming year will probably be my last," said Barnhill. "I just finished with a bout with cancer. "Bob has a lot of experience in running and will bring a lot of energy to the program. I am looking forward to working with him.'' Julian will have his work cut out for him as the Crater boys team lost four of seven runners to graduation. "It will be a transition time," Julian said. "We are going to do the best we can with the kids we have. "In the future, I would like Crater to be known for its good distance runners. But for now, I want to concentrate on introducing the kids to running and help them develop a love for the sport." At Hidden Valley, Julian led the boys cross country team to a second-place finish at district, while the girls team produced a second-place showing at state. In track, the Mustangs had two seniors, Dan Reid (1,500) and Jesse Johnson (800), win district titles. Alanna Steinert also earned a state berth with a second-place showing in the 3,000 at the district meet. Now, Julian has a new challenge awaiting him at Crater as he will most likely help out with the track program in the spring along with coaching the boys cross country team in the fall. Julian will teach social studies and science at the school. "Crater has not really had a distance running tradition," Julian said. "I am enthusiastic about the sport and I will have a good chance to recruit some people through teaching there." Julian comes from a long line of runners in his family. His father, Bob Julian Sr., is the cross country and track coach at Ashland High, while his sister, Rebekah, helps out with the Ashland High track program in the spring. His brothers, Tim and Pete, have also been standout runners. Pete Julian will compete in the 10,000 meters at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships today in Eugene. Bob Julian Jr. said he was looking forward to coaching in the same conference as his father. "I just want to have a competitive team," the younger Julian said. "There are always some good distance runners at Ashland and I want to establish the same thing at Crater." Like Pete and Tim, Bob Julian Jr. ran for Ashland High. He made the cross country state championships three years and finished second in the 3,000-meters at district his senior year. Bob Julian Jr. went on to run at Southern Oregon University for three years before transferring to the University of Oregon. At SOU, he won the steeplechase at the district meet. "I achieved some of my best times after college," Bob Julian Jr. said. "I have run in some races this past year and I am still pretty into it." For now, Bob Julian Jr. has his sights on the boys cross country program at Crater. "I know that the boys team has never qualified for state," he said. "I am going to look at that as a challenge." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.