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South's Klenke is far out The Panther junior has blossomed into one of the better sprinters in the state By DON HUNT Mail Tribune With his shoulder-length hair and full beard, South Medford High sprinter Jonathan Klenke has taken a lot of ribbing from his teammates this spring. He's been called Jesus, Moses and a hippie, among other things. Klenke's easygoing, carefree personality and fondness for rock bands from the 1960s - Led Zeppelin is his favorite - only adds to the image. But don't be fooled by Klenke's kicked-back disposition when it comes to running. Once he's in the starting blocks for the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the jet-like junior is all business. Klenke hopes to culminate what thus far has been a record-setting season when he heads to the Class 4A state meet in Eugene this weekend. The two-day meet, which also includes Class 3A competitors, kicks off at 10:30 a.m. Friday and picks up at 10 a.m. Saturday at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. Klenke isn't expected to challenge for state titles in either the 100 or 200 - Churchill star Jordan Kent has a virtual lock on both races - not to mention the 400 and long jump. But with school-record times of 10.94 in the 100 and 22.3 in the 200 in the books this season, Klenke has blossomed into one of the better high school sprinters in Oregon. "Jonathan has kind of put our sprint corps on his shoulders this spring," South Medford sprint coach Jason Bowers says. "He's been our main guy." Based on what happened last year, that wasn't supposed to be the case. Klenke routinely ran behind teammates Andres Reed and Justin Baldoni in 2001, and with all three coming back this season, there was no reason to think the pecking order would be any different. But with Baldoni missing virtually the entire season with a pulled hamstring, and with Reed being sidelined for nearly a month with injury and academic woes, Klenke found himself at the forefront of the South Medford sprint brigade. It's a place he rather enjoys. "Being our No. 1 sprinter has really helped my confidence and motivation," Klenke says. "I got kind of discouraged last year, especially when I ran the 200. It got to where I developed a mental block every time I ran it." Klenke shattered his personal record in the 200 by 2/10ths of a second last Saturday at the Southern Oregon Conference district meet when he clocked 22.3, and added a 10.98 clocking in the 100. The only time he's lost either race this season was at the Grants Pass Rotary meet on May 4. Interestingly, Klenke will find himself alongside Kent in the preliminary rounds of the 100 and 200 Friday morning at the state meet. Kent ran the 100 in 10.54 and the 200 in 21.45 at the Midwestern League district meet last Friday. With only the top two finishers in each of the three heats automatically qualifying for the finals - the other two berths are determined by the next two fastest times - Klenke is hoping that Kent will pull him to PRs and into the finals of both races. "I think it'll be to my advantage being in his heat," says Klenke, who will line up in lane 3 with Kent being in lane 4 in both races. "I need to stay relaxed and run my own race, but a guy like that can definitely pull you along." Running relaxed might be Klenke's biggest forte. "It's a tough thing to teach, but Jonathan is a very smooth runner," Bowers says. "You don't see him tie up or clinch his teeth or anything like that. He's just very relaxed as a runner." Reed will join Klenke in the 100 and 200 at the state meet. Both sprinters will also run on the Panthers' 4x100 relay that also includes Kelly King and Dan Hilgendorf. The relay clocked 43.03 at the district meet, which is the third-fastest time in the state this year. Last season, it went into the state meet with the fastest time only to collapse under the pressure of the big stage. "I think we'll make it to the finals this year and do a lot better job," Klenke says. "We had three sophomores and a junior on the relay last year, and we were scared out of our minds." Senior Shaun Olson could also score points for South Medford in the 800, where he has a best of 1:56.11, and the Panthers' 4x400 relay team of Olson, Hilgendorf, King and Alondo Pacas could also produce a top-eight showing. � Chris Vorgang gives North Medford its best hope for an individual title. His time of 39.2 in the 300 intermediate hurdles in the finals at district puts him as the No. 4 seed, behind Westview's Sam Hobbs (38.03), Roseburg's Brennan Garrelts (38.86) and Milwaukie's Travis Petchell (39.33). Vorgang ran even faster during the district prelims, clocking a school-record 38.74. North Medford could also earn points from long jumper Aaron Barlow (21 feet, 93/4 inches) and triple jumper Dustin Brooks (44-3). � Crater's Chris Dearmon will be a solid favorite in the shot put. His meet-record toss of 60-11 at district is more than 3 feet farther than anyone else threw last weekend. Dearmon had been in a minor slump the past month but went 59-0 in the meet leading up to district and had two throws over 60 feet last Saturday. Roseburg's Joe Newton will be a huge favorite in the discus, where his lifetime best throw of 193-8 is the fifth-best in state history, and Ashland's Cameron Voget comes in with the second-best throw in the javelin (198-0). Other local competitors to watch include Eagle Point pole-vaulter Robbie Johnston, who cleared a school-record 14-6 at the district meet, and Grants Pass triple jumper Kory Mahr, whose mark of 46-9 at district is the best in the state. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.