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Zempel, Smith snag state titles By GREG STILES EUGENE � Jesse Smith and Sarah Zempel shared similar expectations, coveted state championships and weren�t to be denied. However, the Rogue River High seniors took decidedly different paths to their goals Saturday in the Class 3A state track and field meet at Hayward Field. Smith, who finished in the dust of the other 800-meter runners a year ago, fought from well back in the pack to win the boys 400 championship. Zempel doubled the pleasure of her final appearance in the state meet by adding a discus crown to the shot put title she won Friday. Neither could think of a better way to sign off their prep careers as Rogue River placed eighth in both boys and girls competitions. Cascade defended its boys crown and Henley rolled to the girls championship. Smith�s trek was definitely more adventurous. The Skyline Conference champion was the only runner to dip under 50 seconds during Friday�s qualifying and had Lane 4, just inside chief rival Jeremy Goff of Cascade. But after the first 200 meters, Smith was running sixth. Coming off the final curve, Smith was still no better than fourth or fifth. Still. "I had no doubts," said Smith. "Yesterday I had fresh legs, today it was a little more tiring. I was supposed to be ahead of the guy outside me (Goff) at 200, but I wasn�t and � wasn�t until the end." With 70 meters remaining, Smith picked off Matt Bates of Vale, Matt Kragness of Sweet Home, Cody Weeks of Siuslaw and David Worlitz of St. Helens. With 40 meters left, he was bearing down on Goff. Smith passed him in the final 20 meters to win in 49.70, while Goff was clocked in 49.79. "It�s more of a challenge to have someone in front of you," Smith said. "It was like chasing a rabbit." Smith credited volunteer sprint coach Ron Smith for his progress this season and draped his medal over the coach�s head after stepping off the victory stand. "Typically, we try to have Jesse go out between 23.3 and 23.7 seconds, and that�s going to keep him in contact with most of the competition and ahead of a lot of it," the coach said. "Rhythm is a very important thing in the 400. Once you�re defining that internal clock, you�re a lot more confident in the race." Nonetheless, he admitted his prize pupil had him worried. "Honestly, I thought he might be a little behind, a couple of ticks off the pace we hoped for," he said. But Jesse Smith successfully shifted gears at least twice in the final 200 meters to become the first Chieftain to win the event in a state meet since Jack Leroy in 1969. "Our relay team didn�t make it to the finals, and I was dedicating this race to the rest of the relay team and the others that didn�t make the finals," he said. "This was my last race, and I didn�t want to give anything up." Zempel had a similar mindset in the discus. She entered the meet with the best qualifying mark and was in front at the end of each round of throws. When Newport�s Emily Hutchinson took the lead with a 126-foot, 1-inch throw to start the finals, Zempel responded with a career best 140-7 effort. It was the third-best winning toss in the past 20 years. "I was having trouble after my final throw in the prelims," Zempel admitted. "K�Pree Ford-Harris (of North Valley) is a good friend of mine. When she didn�t make it to the finals, it shook me up. I had been telling her that we were going to go 1-2, and it really threw me off. "The last throw, I had problems. Her coach said �She�s through, you�ve got business to do.�" After heavy showers fell right up to the start of the running events at 1 o�clock, the sun emerged and pushed the temperature into the 60s. Bobbi Wright added a fourth for the Chieftains in the 800 (2:22.29), while Jennifer Bones scored Phoenix�s only points with a seventh place in the triple jump (33-11 �). Henley scored 62 points to outdistance runner-up The Dalles� 53 to win its first championship since capturing three straight from 1992-94. The title capped an undefeated season. The Hornets won just one event � the concluding 4 x 400 relay � as Tiffany Mack, Janell Spicer, Emily Mathis and Carie Knox turned in a 4:01.80 effort. Knox pulled a muscle in the 4 x 100 relay, but still earned points with a second in the 100 (12.45) and a fourth in the 200 (26.26). "That is a heck of a team and that was a heck of an effort today," said Henley coach Ron Smith. "Carie pulled her quad and then gutted up the rest of the day. We taped, we massaged and she just gutted up. She�s definitely the backbone of this team." In the boys competition, Cascade won its second title in three years and sixth in 14 years by topping defending champion Myrtle Point, 58-51. Mazama�s Landyn Trammell won the 100 (11.12) and was third in the 200 (22.25). Rogue River�s Tony Roberts finished third in the javelin with a 175-3 effort. That�s well off his best of 203-11 earlier this month in the Grants Pass Rotary meet. Footing was poor on the rain-slickened runway, but Roberts said his ailing back was more of a factor than the runway. "I couldn�t get a good plant," Roberts said. "I hurt it earlier this year and it just kept getting worse and worse. But I always expected that I could pull out of it. I still thought I could get over 200 feet, get the school record and win at state until the last throw." 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