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42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, April 14, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 31, 2004 South Medford long jumper Tyler King practices leaping over a hurdle to get more height in his jumps. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli King of the track Defending SOC champion Panthers anticipate another stiff challenge in ’04 By DON HUNT Mail Tribune More than anyone, Tyler King jump-started the South Medford High boys track team to the district championship last season. Penciled in for a fourth-place finish in the long jump, King soared to a lifetime best of 22 feet, one-half inch to win the event. As the meet drew to a close two days later on the Southern Oregon University track, the Panthers needed no worse than a third-place effort in the 4x400- meter relay to hold off upstart Crater for the team title. King was up for that challenge, too. He ran a lifetime-best split of 51.8 seconds as South Medford took third in the relay and clipped the Comets by a single point for the championship. King also ran a split on the Panthers’ triumphant 4x100 relay and added a fourth-place showing in the triple jump. Advertisement "My whole focus in the long jump was to go 22 feet because that was the state qualifying standard," recalls King, now a senior and one of South Medford’s team leaders. "I started out in the mid-21s and just kept improving every jump. "The adrenaline was really pumping that day." King and the Panthers are hoping for an encore in 2004. But to defend their SOC crown, the Panthers must once again claw their way past Crater, and that doesn’t figure to be easy. The Comets, who haven’t won a district title since 1984, boast the SOC’s top 1-2 punch in senior hurdler Jason James and junior middle distance phenom Greg Dallaire. James won both hurdle races, finished second in the 100 and ran a leg on the Comets’ winning 4x400 relay squad last year. Dallaire claimed track’s most grueling double — the 400 and 800 — and anchored the long relay. The dynamic duo personally accounted for 63 of Crater’s 123 points at the district meet. "Those are two special athletes," says Crater coach Hans Smith. "The main concern for us is to keep them fresh and not wear them out. "Each of them wants to run four events every single meet, but we’re not going to do that. We want them ready for the big meets at the end of the season." James, who finished third at the Class 4A state meet in the 110-meter high hurdles last season but fell during a qualifying round of the 300 hurdles, had a reputation for sloughing off in practice. But he turned out for cross country in the fall and has cranked up his work ethic this spring, Smith says. "I do think he’s working harder," says Smith. "He knows he’s got a chance to be a state champion. He wants to make the most of his senior year." Dallaire, meanwhile, is one of the toughest athletes Smith has coached. He insisted on running both the 400 and 800 at the district and state meets last season and has told Smith he’d like to add the 200 to his workload this spring — in addition to his anchor leg on the 4x400 relay. Dallaire, who placed eighth at state in the 400, has bests of 49.85 in that event and 1:59.21 in the 800. "We expect him to be quite a bit better than last year," says Smith. "He had a great off-season." The Comets boast two other big point-getters in senior Dan Lebel, who finished second in the high jump and third in the javelin at last year’s district meet, and senior Brandon Farey, who was third in the discus. Lebel has already cleared 6-3 in the high jump this spring, Smith says. Crater also anticipates getting a big lift from a distance crew that won the school’s first-ever district cross country title last fall. Isaac Stoutenberg, the individual district runner-up, leads the way. As for South Medford, it, too, has some talented returners to complement King and make another run at a title. They include senior javelin specialist Alan Phillips, who finished seventh at the state meet last season with a toss of 177-5; senior hurdler Ryan Neuenschwander, who was second to James in the 110 hurdles at district and third in the 300 hurdles; senior middle distance runner Noah Lewis, who ranks as the No. 2 returning 800-meter runner in the conference (2:02.38); and senior pole vaulter Travis Ringo, who already has cleared 13-3 this spring. South Medford also has a standout sprinter in sophomore Corey Conley, who took second in the 200 and third in the 100 at the district meet last season. Conley set freshman school records in both events, clocking 11.47 in the 100 and 23.08 in the 200. King, meanwhile, has goals of 23 feet in the long jump and 50 seconds flat in the 400, and he’s hoping to place at the state meet. Along with James, the SOC’s top threat to win a state title is Eagle Point’s Robbie Johnston, who soared to a district record of 16 feet in the pole vault last season and took second at the state meet. Johnston’s main competition at the state level — national record-holder Tommy Skipper of Sandy — has graduated. Skipper cleared a state- meet record of 17-7 and later soared to a national high school record of 18-3. "Robbie definitely has a goal of winning a state title," says Eagle Point coach Mike Johnston. "There are a million variables in the pole vault, but Robbie has the confidence and the experience to get it done." Another athlete to watch is North Medford’s David Faaeteete, who won district titles in the shot put and discus last season but fouled on all six of his qualifying throws at state. Faaeteete’s throw of 167-6 in the discus last season was among the state’s best. Three of Faaeteete’s Black Tornado teammates — senior Dan O’Brien, junior Steve Johnson and sophomore Johnny Vaigafa — could also be destined for big seasons in the throwing events. "David (Faaeteete) feels like he’s got some unfinished business to take care of," says North Medford coach Mark Hodges, referring to the state meet. "He’s pretty motivated to have a good season and finish it in style." The district meet is scheduled for May 20 and May 22 at Roseburg High. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! 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