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CLOUDY Temp: 56 °F Wind: WNW at 8 mph Saturday, June 21, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend May 25, 2003 Pacas helps rally South boys to district crown By DON HUNT Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Alando Pacas didn’t win an event at the Southern Oregon Conference district track meet Saturday. In fact, Pacas could fare no better than third. And yet the South Medford High sprinter played an indispensable role in helping the Panthers win their first district championship in five years. Feeling sicker than a dog with a stomach full of rotten meat, Pacas bounced back from a bad showing in the 400-meters to take third in the 200 behind teammates Jonathan Klenke and Corey Conley. Advertisement And then, with the district title on the line, Pacas anchored South Medford’s 4x400 relay team to third place — just enough impetus to keep the Panthers one point in front of Crater. South Medford finished with 123 points while Crater, which was trying to win its first district crown since 1984, scored 122. Grants Pass was third with 98 points, followed by North Medford (93), Klamath Union (68), Roseburg (62), Eagle Point (49) and Ashland (41). "Alando came from death’s door to help us win a district meet," said South Medford coach Bill Rowan, who watched his Panthers rally from 19 points down over the final three events to steal the title from the Comets. "He showed everyone in this stadium what he’s made of." Pacas was leading the 400 more than halfway through that race but incurred oxygen debt and faded like a crippled horse over the final 100, wobbling across the finish line in seventh place. "I lost it on the (final) corner," Pacas said. "I couldn’t breathe." Pacas suffered a restless night Friday, waking up several times in a cold sweat. The slender senior then suffered three or four bloody noses Saturday morning before the meet, and after his calamitous 400, his coaches and teammates wondered if he had any energy left for the 200 or the relay. "I went with (assistant) coach (Jason) Baurer to 7-11 and bought some water and a Snicker’s bar," Pacas said. "That definitely helped." With Jonathan Klenke, freshman standout Corey Conley and Pacas going 1-2-3 in the 200, South Medford went from trailing Crater 98-79 to leading the Comets 103-102 with just two events remaining — the 300 hurdles and the 4x400 relay. Crater’s Jason James edged South’s Jason Matthews in a classic hurdles duel, James running a lifetime best of 39.18 and Matthews clocking a lifetime best and school-record time of 39.24. The kicker in that race was the Panthers’ Ryan Neuenschwander, who finished third in 40.6. Now South Medford was leading 117-112, meaning that if Crater won the 4x400 relay, which it did, the Panthers would have to finish no worse than third, which they did. Tyler King, Matthews and Neuenschwander ran the first three legs of the relay for the Panthers and had them in third place when Pacas took the baton for the final lap. The championship was extra satisfying for the Panthers after they lost out to Klamath Union by a single point in 2002. "I doped out this meet and had Crater beating us by one point," Rowan said. "I’m glad I was off by a little bit." Klenke got South Medford off to a good start early Saturday when he ran a blistering anchor leg on the 4x100 relay. The Panthers clocked a season’s best time of 43.54 to edge North Medford by 1/100th of a second. Klenke also won the 100 in 11.16, and Alan Phillips chipped in a second-place showing in the javelin with a lifetime best throw of 172-11. Crater’s 1-2 punch of Greg Dallaire and James wasn’t quite enough to put the Comets in the driver’s seat, but the two underclassmen put on quite a show nevertheless. Along with his victories in the 300 hurdles and the 4x400 relay, James, a junior, won the 110 hurdles (15.1) and was second in the 100 (11.4). Dallaire was just as impressive. The sophomore sensation won the 400 in 49.85 and stormed from fourth place to second over the final 50 meters of the 800, where he was timed in 2:00.62. Dallaire also ran a leg on Crater’s 4x400 relay in successfully completing the most arduous workload of anyone at the meet. "Our kids competed really hard today," Crater coach Hans Smith said. "Are we disappointed? Yes, we are. But we have nothing to be ashamed about." In other boys events Saturday, Klamath Union’s Lauren Jespersen — who missed most of the season with tendinitis in his left knee — won the 1,500 in 4:00.94; North Medford’s David Faaeteete set a lifetime best of 53-8½ to win the shot put; and the Tornado’s Alex Grigas hit a big personal record in the triple jump with a mark of 44-11½ to upset Grants Pass’ Kory Mahr. Grigas’ winning effort came on his last jump as he surpassed Mahr and Zach Tucker to punch his ticket to the state meet. "I just tried to be aggressive — I had nothing to lose," said Grigas, whose previous best mark was 43-7. "The other big thing for me today was that I was able to keep my chin down on the third phase of my jump. That allowed me to sweep through and get more distance." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times