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Once around the park Photos by Bob Pennell Perry Custance of South Medford did run fast Thursday in the all-Southern Oregon Conference cross country meet at Lithia Park in Ashland, but not so fast that he was a blur to everybody, just our photographer. Custance placed second in the boys 5,000-meter race with a time of a 16 minutes, 30.4 seconds. He was the lone non-Klamath Union runner in the top five. Paris Edwards of Ashland easily won the girls 5,000 in a blistering time of 18:22.4. Edwards leads talented Ashland girls ASHLAND -- Take one of the best in the West, add a former district champion, toss in a couple of sterling youngsters and a pair of transfers and what do you have? A loaded Ashland Grizzlies girls cross country team with designs on their first Southern Oregon Conference championship since the last of their five straight titles in 1994. "This is the best crew we've had for a while," said veteran Ashland coach Bob Julian, whose team cruised to a decisive victory in the SOC Pre-District Meet Thursday at Lithia Park. "I thought that it was really impressive that we had four runners in the top six." Paris Edwards Junior Paris Edwards, second in the Class 4A state meet two years ago and third last year, zipped over the 5,000-meter course in 18 minutes, 22.4 seconds -- more than 90 seconds ahead of runner-up Liz Lindgren of Klamath Union. Former SOC champ Anita Sindelar of Ashland was fourth, with sophomore Kelly Bishop and junior Jessica Stowell, a transfer from Grants Pass, in close pursuit. Drew Larson, a junior transfer from the Seattle area, clinched Ashland's victory with a ninth-place finish. "When you've got Paris Edwards setting the tone, it kind of fires everyone up," Julian said. "Overall, it was a great team effort. Last year we were running pretty strong and faltered at the district meet. They're determined not to let that happen this year." Defending state champion Ian Dobson of Klamath Union was an easy victor in the boys race as the Pelicans swarmed ahead of the pack. Dobson hit the chute in 15:58.5, while South Medford's Perry Custance was second in 16:30.4. Klamath's Jimmy Addison, Evan Garich and Lauren Jespersen took the next three spots as the Pels won with 20 points. Ashland was a distant second with 84, while Grants Pass was third with 88. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.