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Dobson's burst too much in SOC meet By GREG STILES ASHLAND -- The pack made one loop and then a second trip past the Parks and Recreation cabin at Lithia Park. Where was Ian Dobson? The defending Class 4A state and Southern Oregon Conference champion from Klamath Union was lost in a sea of runners while South Medford senior Perry Custance set the early pace in Saturday's district meet. With a mile to go in the 5,000-meter race, Dobson streaked to the front and led the Pelicans, the overwhelming favorites, to a resounding victory. Klamath Union packed five runners in the top eight to run away with its third straight district championship with 22 points. South Medford emerged from a crowd to grab second place and a trip to next week's Class 4A state meet at Lane Community College in Eugene by putting three runners in the top 11. Dobson felt pain in his right quadricep early in the week and hadn't run since Monday. So Klamath coach Marnie Mason-Johnson told her star -- ranked second nationally by Harrier Magazine -- to take it easy prior to the race. "At this point of the season, with any little ache, you want to nip it in the bud," said Mason-Johnson, who had Dobson work out in the pool Tuesday. Dobson and fellow senior Evan Garich started near the back of the pack. "Evan has been nursing injuries, too," Dobson said. "Usually I start out near the front. But we let some of the other guys start in front today and took it easy the first half-mile. I didn't feel it at all." Meanwhile, Custance had told his teammates he intended to leave nothing on the course and was going all out. He started off fast and was a solid leader through the first two laps. But Dobson kicked it into gear and took the lead a mile-and-a-half into the race and hit the finish chute in 15 minutes, 52.2 seconds. "I feel bad for Perry," Dobson said. "I've rarely run an honest (flat-out) race against Perry. He's a great competitor, but I've had the same experience (being passed), and there's nothing you can really do about it. "If we both run an honest race, we'll both run faster." The Pelicans' average time of 16:29.9 was faster than any individual runner other than Custance. The surprise of the day might have been freshman Lauren Jespersen of Klamath Union, who finished second in 16:21.35, while Custance took third in 16:23.1. "I feel confident -- but not overconfident -- about next week, running against Erik Heinonen (of South Eugene) and Eric Logdson (of Canby) because both beat me in track," Dobson said. "But if everything goes as it should, I'll be healthy and will do very well next week." South Medford was second with 85 points, while Ashland had 97 and Roseburg 102. Custance and Robbie Nutter, a transfer from Eagle Point, provided South with a sufficient 1-2 punch to propel the Panthers back to the state meet after a one-year absence. "This is the most improved team I've had at South in track or cross country," said veteran coach Bill Rowan. "Perry told the guys, `I'm not running for second,' and he blew his socks off early. But Joel Sullivan came on really well for us. Obviously, Nutter ran well ... all the guys pitched in." Ashland suffered a setback early on when Nick Fikes, who was 10th in the predistrict meet, tripped at the start and wound up 19th. Fikes later fell on a bridge, sprained and cut his ankle, requiring stitches, and hobbled the final mile to the finish. "Our kids run that course every day and we're the ones that went down," Ashland coach Bob Julian said. "They went down the course like they normally do, taking the bridge at the same speed. The other teams were taking the bridges with caution. There were others that went down, but it really hit us hard and took us right out of it." Chris Roberts of Roseburg was the only other individual to qualify for the state meet. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.