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90 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, May 25, 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 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 15, 2005 Brophy, Weeks lead way as Tornado collects its third straight SOC crown By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Three weeks ago, North Medford High track coach Mark Hodges had reason to worry about his female sprinters. They had just performed dreadfully at the Centennial Invitational. They lacked experience. They lacked confidence. And their fastest runner — sophomore Justine Lawson — was sidelined with a foot injury. "The girls really felt low after that meet," Hodges said. "They didn’t believe in themselves, and they just didn’t seem to have the toughness that a lot of our former sprinters had." But Hodges stayed patient with the group and Saturday, with Lawson still out, they did a 180-degree turnaround at the Southern Oregon Conference district meet at Bowerman Field. Sophomore Sara Weeks and junior Molly Brophy went 1-2 in the 100-meter dash, Brophy finished second in the 200 and sophomore Irene Kendig took third in the 400 as the Tornado claimed the district title for the third straight year and for the fourth time in the past six years. Advertisement Weeks, Brophy and Kendig joined freshman Angela Leverich to also win the 4x100 relay. North Medford piled up 140½ points, while surprising South Medford scored 123 to blow past pre-meet favorite Klamath Union (109) for second place. Roseburg was a distant fourth with 88½ . "The girls kept believing in the workouts," Hodges said. "We looked like a completely different team today than we did at the Centennial meet." Weeks and Brophy jump-started the effort with their 1-2 finish in the 100. Weeks, who hit a huge personal record during Thursday’s qualifying race when she clocked 12.57, hit the tape in 12.73, ahead of Brophy’s 12.78. Weeks and Brophy outraced Klamath Union’s Lydia Marsalli and Claire Edwards, who were seeded 1-2 coming into the meet but finished 3-4 Saturday. The victory was hugely satisfying for Weeks, who got off to a slow start this season after battling mononucleosis over the winter. "I just wanted to step up and show what I had," said Weeks, who added a fifth-place showing in the 300 hurdles. "I ran a 12.94 (100) against Ashland in our last dual meet. That was my first time under 13, and it gave me a lot of confidence going into this meet." North Medford’s only other victory Saturday came from senior Lisa Louie, who cleared 10-9 to outduel Eagle Point freshman Jenna Boren and win the pole vault. The Tornado got runner-up showings from sophomore Haylee Godfrey in the high jump (5-4) and freshman Ashley Chambers in the triple jump (34-1). North Medford qualified seven competitors in seven events to next week’s Class 4A state meet in Eugene. The top two finishers in each event advance. South Medford also enjoyed an enormously successful meet. It started in the triple jump pit, where sophomore Kendall Gallop stunned the field with a winning leap of 34-4. Gallop, who didn’t take up the event until halfway through the season, reached a lifetime best by 2½ feet on her final jump to leapfrog three other competitors. "Honestly, I was just hoping to make the finals (top eight)," a giddy Gallop said moments after her winning leap. "On my last jump, I ran faster than I had all day and really stretched out on my second phase. That’s been the weak part of the event for me, but I finally nailed it." Jan Frodsham had the best day of all for the Panthers. The junior won the 100 hurdles in 16.13, the 300 hurdles in 47.13 and ran a leg on South Medford’s 4x400 relay squad that took second and clocked 4:04.98 for a seven-second PR. April Bradshaw, who fueled the relay effort with a 59-second split, gave Grants Pass standout Katelyn VanBrunt a bit of a scare in the 800. VanBrunt, who owns the state’s fastest time at 2:14.96, triumphed in 2:18.13, narrowly ahead of Bradshaw in 2:19.46, yet another Panther PR. Like North Medford, South Medford also qualified seven competitors in seven events to the state meet. "It was a banner day for the Panthers," South Medford coach Bill Rowan said. "At our first meet, we had six events where we didn’t have a single girl who had ever been in a varsity meet. "I’m don’t know if I’ve ever had a team come along further than this one." Marsalli won the 200 for Klamath Union in 25.8, freshman teammate Katie Gilbert claimed the 400 in 1:00.13 and Stevie Denson tossed the shot put 38-10½ for the Pelicans’ third victory of the meet. 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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