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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 16, 2005 Runners from Ashland, left, and North Medford fight for position at the start of Saturday�s race at Lithia Park. Pack mentality leads to North Medford victory Five runners crack the top 11 as the Tornado boys capture the State of Jefferson meet By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune ASHLAND — It’s taken months, but the North Medford boys cross country team is seeing the fruits of its labor. The Black Tornado got a strong performance through the ranks for the second straight meet and cruised to the championship in the State of Jefferson Invitational Saturday at Lithia Park. "Their hard work is now starting to pay off," said North coach Pete Voskes. "They’re starting to learn how to race. Before, they were kind of surviving the race." The Tornado placed five runners among the top 11 and scored 41 points, well ahead of runner-up Ashland, which scored 60. Eighteen teams competed. Advertisement In the girls competition, sophomore Ashley Gilkey of Hidden Valley breezed to the title on the 5,000-meter course, helping to dash the hopes of Ashland senior Natalie Hemphill, who had placed second in this meet the three previous years. But Hemphill, who was ill and hadn’t trained the previous five days, came in third and sparked the Grizzlies to a one-point team victory over North Medford, 67 points to 68. The boys individual winner was Kenshin Scoggin of Cottage Grove. He toured the tough course — made even more challenging by rain-slickened surfaces that caused many runners to slip and fall — in 16 minutes, 57.88 seconds. New Hope Christian’s Michael Mrkvicka was second in 17:00.81, and Garrett Frierson was the first North runner across the finish line, placing third in 17:17.23. Frierson ran one of his best races, but he preferred to talk about the emergence of the Tornado as a team. Last week, North had five runners eclipse the 17-minute barrier for the first time and placed fourth in the Puma Invitational in Bend. "It’s been amazing how the guys are coming back up for us," said Frierson, who usually runs second to teammate Rick Nielsen. "If it weren’t for the whole team, me and Rick might get good placings, but we wouldn’t go anywhere as a team." On Saturday, Richard Zhu edged out Nielsen and was the first of four straight Tornado runners into the finishing chute. Zhu was eighth in 17:39.60 and Nielsen ninth in 17:43.19. Then came Sam Curtis (17:52.11) and Darrell Terry (17:54.37). On the eve of the race, Frierson came up with a strategy. He would latch onto runners from Ashland, which, behind Crater, figures to be North’s chief district competition for a berth in the state meet. First it was the Grizzlies’ Cameron Barleen, then his teammate, Spencer Bonney. "A mile into the race, I caught up with Cam and stayed with him, then I went after Spencer," said Frierson. "Coming around the last couple of turns, I gave it everything I had and was able to put Spencer behind me." Bonney placed fourth and Barleen sixth. South Medford’s top runner, Zach Harris, came in between them. As strong as he ran, winning wasn’t in the cards for Frierson. "It’s always in the back of my mind — ‘Hey, it’d be nice to win,’" said Frierson. "But so far, I haven’t proven to myself that I’m that good." He acknowledged that, with the likes of Crater’s Isaac Stoutenburgh and Jake Keyser in the Southern Oregon Conference, victory is not easily attained. "But each race, I’m getting closer and closer," said Frierson. Winning is becoming old hat, however, for Gilkey, who last week captured the Chieftain Invitational. On Saturday, her triumphant time was 19:25.05. Defending champion Hanna Hodgkinson of Pleasant Valley in Chico, Calif., was second in 19:31.25, followed by Hemphill in 19:56.07. Gilkey, whose goal was to finish in the top five and to just try and run with Hemphill, benefited from a different race approach. In the Chieftain, she went out so fast, she collapsed from over-exertion moments after finishing. "I always go out way, way too fast and just die," she said. "My goal this time was to run the first mile in six minutes and progress and get faster from there." She was in about 15th place after a mile but still had the leaders in her sights. Over the next mile, she caught and was running shoulder-to-shoulder with Hemphill and Hodgkinson. She then took off over the third and final mile. "It’s like the best thing I’ve ever done," Gilkey said of her negative-split tactic. "I felt awesome. That last little hill definitely took some oomph out of me and I started panting pretty hard. But I feel it’s the best race I’ve ever run, even though it wasn’t a PR or anything." Hemphill briefly tried to stay with Gilkey when the latter made her move, but she had nothing left. "It’s very disappointing," said Hemphill, who will be the favorite in the SOC district meet in two weeks. "Usually, I know how far I can push my body," she said, "and then I can go a little farther. But being sick, I was going my hardest the whole time, but my body wouldn’t go." State of Jefferson Invitational At Lithia Park, Ashland BOYS TEAM — North Medford 41, Ashland 60, Roseburg 136, Crater 142, Pleasant Valley, Calif., 163, Corvallis 218, South Medford 221, New Hope Christian 262, Phoenix 268, Henley 271, North Valley 274, Yreka, Calif., 291, Cottage Grove 299, Lakeview 358, Klamath Union 363, Mazama 412, Cascade Christian 418, Illinois Valley 441. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 50) — 1, Kenshin Scoggin, CG, 16:57.88; 2, Michael Mrkvicka, NHC, 17:00.81; 3, Garrett Frierson, NM, 17:17.23; 4, Spencer Bonney, Ash, 17:22.65; 5, Zach Harris, SM, 17:29.32; 6, Cameron Barleen, Ash, 17:30.19; 7, Paul Rapet, SM, 17:34.59; 8, Richard Zhu, NM, 17:39.60; 9, Rick Nielsen, NM, 17:43.19; 10, Sam Curtis, NM, 17:52.11; 11, Darrell Terry, NM, 17:54.37; 12, Matt Miner, Ash, 17:58.99; 13, Brice Peters, Yre, 17:59.84; 14, Jake Wilton, Ros, 18:00.50; 15, Tanner Hickman, PV, 18:03.18; 16, Ryan Santana, Cra, 18:03.45; 17, Tanner Arndt, Ash, 18:07.13; 18, Mitchell Lofstedt, Ros, 18:07.60; 19, Trevyn Payne, Ros, 18:10.76; 20, Levi Roudebush, NV, 18:11.15; 21, Kevin Cook, Ash, 18:12.26; 22, Caleb Jacobson, Cra, 18:13.79; 23, Caleb Howard, Lake, 18:15.35; 24, Steven Heberle, PV, 18:15.78; 25, AJ Riggs, Ros, 18:17.60. 26, David Levya, NM, 18:18.19; 27, Logan Storie, Cor, 18:19.62; 28, Darrick Waugh, Hen, 18:20.53; 29, David Butler, Hen, 18:20.83; 30, Jeramiah Richardson, HV, 18:27.96; 31, Josh Paul, NM, 18:28.26; 32, Duncan Green, PV, 18:28.80; 33, Blake Estep, HV, 18:31.11; 34, Brian Kroeker, Triad, 18:33.26; 35, Curtis Yungen, Cra, 18:33.55; 36, Sean Hunter, Cor, 18:34.52; 37, Jerrod Puckett, Cra, 18:34.98; 38, Nathan Lee, CC, 18:38.14; 39, Elliott Jantzer, Pho, 18:38.79; 40, Dennis McCaffrey, Ash, 18:40.24; 41, Luke Peyralans, Cra, 18:43.43; 42, Graham Baker, IV, 18:44.12; 43, Jesse Hastings, Glendale, 18:44.53; 44, Jon Carlson, NV, 18:45.04; 45, Joey Nelson, SM, 18:47.90; 46, Jason Arbour, HV, 18:48.44; 47, Jacob Bowdoin, NHC, 18:49.46; 48, Chris Anderson, CG, 18:52.06; 49, Kip Hamilton, NV, 18:53.69; 50, Jordan Schwarz, PV, 18:54.48. GIRLS TEAM — Ashland 67, North Medford 68, Pleasant Valley 87, Hidden Valley 113, Yreka Union 126, Corvallis 145, South Medford 190, Roseburg 192, Henley 249, Illinois Valley 252, Lakeview 260. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 50) — 1, Ashley Gilkey, HV, 19:25.05; 2, Hanna Hodgkinson, PV, 19:31.25; 3, Natalie Hemphill, Ash, 19:56.07; 4, Natalie Hickman, PV, 20:03.96; 5, Jade Severson, NM 20:12.58; 6, Beth Dunfield, Cor, 20:18.98; 7 Emily Morehouse, NV, 20:19.77; 8 Haley Beal, Ash, 20:53.49; 9, Riley Swanson, Cra, 21:00.70; 10, McKenzie Jones, HV, 21:04.50; 11, Katie Wilson, Ros, 21:08.21; 12, Brittney Dunn, NM, 21:08.94; 13, Jan Frodsham,SM, 21:12.60; 14, Haley Davis, PV, 21:13.79; 15, Aria Hemphill, Ash, 21:13.79; 16, Katie Waugh, Hen, 21:15.24; 17, Tanika Woolfolk, NM, 21:31.95; 18, Statia Smith, NM, 21:32.82; 19, Gina Davis, YU, 21:35.29; 20, Lindsay Gasik, StM, 21:36.66; 21, Heather Gegenhuber, Ros, 21:37.12; 22, Ami Martin, YU, 21:44.27; 23, Sophie Distefano, Ash, 21:51.39; 24, McKensie Yeoman, IV, 21:57.02; 25, Davina Leyva, NM, 21:57.63. 26, Emma Penunury, Cor, 22:03.25; 27, Hannah Clark, Ash, 22:05.08; 28, Talissa Baldovino, Lak, 22:07.70; 29, Erika Hultz, Ash, 22:10.98; 30, Carrie Turner, YU, 22:12.50; 31, Samantha Abel, HV, 22:16.81; 32, Emily Ogden, PV, 22:17.21; 33, Victoria Mayfield, Ash, 22:17.92; 34, Krista Yardley, YU, 22:24.72; 35, Kelsey Robberson, YU, 22:27.16; 36, Michelle Lapierre, IV, 22:27.61; 37, Zhanna Tooler, Maz, 22:39.55; 38, Kelly Weber, SM22:40.88; 39, Julie Weber, YU, 22:41.32; 40, Chloe Rahmun, Cor, 22:56.21; 41, Jamie Richardson, HV, 22:57.70; 42, Amy Birdseye, Cor, 23:12.01; 43, Sarah Hudson, HV, 23:13.27; 44, Staheli Meyer, PV, 23:13.60; 45, Rachael Richardson, HV, 23:16.85; 46, Kathryn Bailey, Cor, 23:19.35; 47, Kelsey Knutson, Cor, 23:26.47; 48, Sara Louie, NM, 23:31.55; 49, Alisha Brown, SM, 23:32.39; 50, Rita Krantz, CG, 23:27.44. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail Pack mentality leads to North Medford victory ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s