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Zeliff nips Myers on final heave By DON HUNT EUGENE � North Medford High�s Scott Myers had a state discus championship seemingly in his grasp, but Grants Pass� Jake Zeliff snatched it away at the last moment. Zeliff launched a lifetime best throw of 172 feet, 3 inches to conclude the discus competition at the Class 4A state track meet Friday at Hayward Field and walk off with the individual title. Zeliff�s mammoth toss overcame the 170-10 effort registered by Myers during the first round of finals. The spirited duel between Southern Oregon Conference rivals was among Friday�s highlights that included state-meet record performances by Marshfield pole vaulter Trevor Woods and Canby distance star Eric Logsdon. Woods leaped 16-6 to better the old pole vault record of 16-2 by South Eugene�s Craig Brigham in 1972, while Logsdon stunned Klamath Union�s Ian Dobson in the 3,000 meters, crossing the finish line in 8:10.25. Logsdon�s time shattered the old state-meet record of 8:21.11 by Klamath Union�s Tracy Garrison in 1982 and came within 2 seconds of Steve Prefontaine�s all-time state mark of 8:08 established in 1969. "I knew that was the last throw of my high school career and I wanted to make it my best one," a smiling Zeliff said after winning the discus in dramatic fashion. "There was a little bit of wind blowing and that might have helped, but I knew it was a good throw when it left my hand." Myers, who lost the SOC discus competition a week earlier when Roseburg�s Joe Newton won it on his last throw, was gracious in defeat. "It�s a roll of the dice whenever us three get together and today it was Jake�s turn to win," Myers said. "I�m happy for him. He�s a good guy and it�s his senior year." Zeliff unloaded a throw of 169-9 that propelled him into the lead during the preliminary round, but Myers, who was fourth at that juncture, launched his big throw in the second round of finals to establish control. "As long as he (Zeliff) had another throw I knew nothing was in the bag," Myers said. "But I had a good series and a PR. "Any frustrations I have I�ll take out in (today�s) shot put." Newton wound up fifth at 166-7. Meanwhile, the much anticipated duel between Logsdon and Dobson turned into a one-sided affair. Dobson had stated before the meet that he thought he and Logsdon could break Prefontaine�s 31-year- old record. And for the first four laps it looked like it was going to be a classic battle between two of the best high school distance runners in the country. But Logsdon started to pull away on the fourth lap and the gap quickly grew to 25 meters, then 40, and then 50. Dobson finished in 8:23.5, more than five seconds off his best time. "The first two laps I felt great but then I started to fall off a little," Dobson said. "Then at the fifth lap he made a hard surge and I couldn�t keep up. I wanted to go with him and finish strong but I just didn�t have the energy today." With a crowd of 6,300 clapping in rhythmic fashion, Logsdon needed to register a pair of 64- second laps over the final 800 meters to wipe away Prefontaine�s all-time state record, which is the oldest one in the books. He maintained the brisk pace until the final lap, when he faded. "I knew I had to work the middle part of the race really hard, and that�s what I did," said Logsdon, who signed a letter of intent earlier this spring to run for Oregon. "The crowd was great and I gave it everything I had." South Medford�s lone two entrants in the boys competition � Ethan Wallenberg and Perry Custance � both had good says. Wallenberg finished third in the high jump with a leap of 6-7, tying his lifetime-best effort from the district meet, while Custance breezed through his preliminary heat in the 800 in 1:55.36, the fastest time of the day. Wallenberg barely missed 6-8 on his third and final attempt, knocking the bar off with his heel after the rest of his body had gotten over it. North Medford�s Nick Dunn ran a 49.2 anchor split to rally the Tornado into the finals of the 4 x 400 relay. But Dunn missed by 1/100th of a second in his bid to qualify for the 400 finals and also failed to make the finals of the 300 intermediate hurdles. Bend took the opening-day lead with 16 points. Canby, Glencoe, Tigard, Grants Pass and Marshfield are tied for second with 10 points each. The meet picks up at 10 a.m. today. The first running event � the 4 x 100 relay, begins at 1 p.m. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA