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SUNNY Temp: 41 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 28, 2002 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 October 6, 2002 Crater’s Nelson regains top form Andy Wright wins crown, leads Ashland to boys team title By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune ASHLAND — By all rights of progression, the 2002 cross country season was supposed to be Kendel Nelson’s to lead. As a freshman last year, the Crater runner placed third in the Southern Oregon Conference’s district meet. The top two finishers have since graduated, leaving Nelson an apparent run at supremacy for her sophomore go-round. That open road, however, became blocked with the transfer of 3A state champion Danielle Jordan to North Medford over the summer. Further clouding the matter for Nelson has been the steady improvements made by Klamath Union’s Katie Leary and Ashland’s Kendall Clark. All three finished considerably ahead of Nelson two weeks ago at the SOC pre-district meet. But with the season far from over, Nelson appears to be kicking it into high gear as the Comet heads down the final stretch. Nelson legged out a solid victory at the State of Jefferson Invitational Saturday afternoon at Lithia Park, posting only her third-ever time under 20 minutes. "I had no clue I would do this well, none whatsoever," said Nelson, who covered the 5,000-meter course in 19 minutes, 43 seconds. "But then I came in here and had one girl ahead of me, and I just knew I had to pass her. And when I did, I was just going all out to the finish." Nelson shadowed East Anchorage’s Leah Besh for most of the race, with Clark not far behind. Besh had surged to the lead early with a quick pace, and Nelson’s lack of familiarity with the Alaskan runner led her to believe she was destined for second place. "I figured she’d hold it the whole time," Nelson said of Besh. "I had the hardest time catching up to her, but once I did, it was all downhill from there. I wasn’t going to let her catch me ... no way, no how." Besh finished second at 19:54, with Clark third at 19:57, Rogue River’s Allegra Fety fourth at 20:05 and Ashland’s Hannah Clark fifth at 20:18. East Anchorage, which recently secured Alaska’s state cross country title, won the girls team competition with 35 points off five runners among the top 11 finishers. Ashland placed second with 63 points, with five runners in the top 20, followed by Corvallis (82), Roseburg (91), Crater (123) and Rogue River (123). "Our girls did really well," said Ashland coach Bob Julian Jr. "I know Kendall Clark would’ve liked to have won, but she really ran a solid race." Clark’s finish actually was more than 40 seconds better than her time last week on the same Lithia Park course. Ashland’s boys team picked up where the girls left off, winning the team and individual titles behind the lead running of Andy Wright and good grouping by the remaining Grizz runners. Wright stayed on the heels of Roseburg’s Adam Wadsworth through the first few loops around the course, then made a well-planned move with a couple quick bursts on the downhill portions of the hilly course for separation. "(Wadsworth’s) an 800-meter guy who was (eighth) in the state meet last year," said Wright, "so I knew he’d probably have a kick on me. My strategy was just to try to make him as tired as possible by making him keep up with me the whole race." That strategy paid off in the latter stretch of the meet, when Wright stormed through the grueling path from the lower loop to the finish line in remarkable fashion. "As soon as you turn that corner and come back up, you know pain is just waiting for you," said Wright. "You’ve just got to push through it." Wright’s winning time of 16:22 was 20 seconds better than his top time at Lithia last week, and proved to be 12 seconds better than Wadsworth 16:34. "When it comes state time, Andy’s a guy whose going to be one of the players in the individual race," said Julian. Crater’s Jeremy Firestone took third at 16:39, followed by South Medford’s Alando Pacas (16:42) and East Anchorage’s Nathaniel Grabmin (17:00). Helping the Grizzlies to the boys team title were Jeff Olsen (sixth place, 17:06) and David Richardson (eighth, 17:08). Ashland scored 45 points to edge Crater (56). Roseburg finished third at 77, followed by South Medford (81), South Eugene (107) and Rogue River (143). "The other guys really came out here to perform, and they just did awesome," said Wright. The State of Jefferson results were particularly pleasing for an Ashland squad that was disappointed with its third-place effort in the boys and girls pre-district race on Sept. 19. "At the pre-district, we really didn’t have a good race," said Julian. "But we have a lot of seniors and runners who have made a commitment to focus and get better. I’ve been really pleased with them. They’ve all had a great attitude about that." Mazama won the Division 2 girls team title behind the first-place effort of Jasmine Klauter (21:00). Corvallis took the Division 2 boys team title, while Billy Smith of Yreka, Calif., earned the individual crown at 17:14. Saturday’s Results DIVISION 1 GIRLS TEAM SCORES — East Anchorage 35, Ashland 63, Corvallis 82, Roseburg 91, Crater 123, Rogue River 123. Incomplete: Canyonville Christian, Yreka, Modoc, North Valley. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — 1, Kendel Nelson, Cra, 19:43; 2, Leah Besh, EA, 19:54; 3, Kendall Clark, Ash, 19:57; 4, Allegra Fety, RR, 20:05; 5, Hannah Clark, Ash, 20:18; 6, Katlyn Stearns, EA, 20:23; 7, Reyna Quiroz, CC, 20:35; 8, Jessica Allman, EA, 20:36; 9, Therese McCaffrey, Ash, 20:48; 10, Danielle Robberson, Yre, 20:49; 11, Hannah Krielcamb, EA, 20:52; 12, Kathern O’Neil, Ros, 20:56; 13, Elizabeth Quinley, EA, 20:58; 14, Julianna Houston, Cor, 21:13; 15, Kelsey Knutson, Cor, 21:14; 16, Sarah Gollup, EA, 21:18; 17, Jaclyn Engstrom, Ros, 21:19; 18, Heather Gegenhuber, Ros, 21:21; 19, Taylor Schefstrom, RR, 21:39; 20, Emily Allstat, Cor, 21:43; 21, Leslie Caster, Cor, 21:52; 22, Johanna Robinson, Cor, 21:56; 23, Sharon Kent, Cra, 21:59; 24, Mariah Mayfield, Ash, 22:08; 25, Mary Young, Yre, 22:13. 26, Kayla Harness, Mod, 22:15; 27, Caroline Bee, Cor, 22:20; 28, Sara Morehouse, NV, 22:22; 29, Emily Wilson, Ros, 22:23; 30, Bri Lescher, Ash, 22:26; 31, Susie Talbert, Ros, 22:27; 32, Nikkie Wood, Yre, 22:35; 33, Beth Hoover, Cor, 22:37; 34, Claire Chavez, Ash, 22:42; 35, Courtney Pedersen, Ros, 22:56; 36, Racheal Amaral, Yre, 23:04; 37, Kelly Coufer, Cra, 23:16; 38, Lacy Spark, RR, 23:30; 39, Amanda Amstutz, Ash, 23:41; 40, Korissa Mecham, Ros, 23:47; 41, Amanda Selanders, RR, 24:04; 42, Jessica Ferguson, Cra, 24:18; 43, Michelle Moberly, Cra, 24:33; 44, Ashley Marriott, RR, 25:12; 45, Becca Poillon, Cra, 25:16; 46, Nina Griffin, Cra, 26:48; 47, Elyse Wallace, RR, 29:17. DIVISION 1 BOYS TEAM SCORES — Ashland 45, Crater 56, Roseburg 77, South Medford 81, South Eugene 107, Rogue River 143. Incomplete: East Anchorage, Modoc, Glendale, Etna. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS — 1, Andy Wright, Ash, 16:22; 2, Adam Wadsworth, Ros, 16:34; 3, Jeremy Firestone, Cra, 16:39; 4, Alando Pacas, SM, 16:42; 5, Nathaniel Grabmin, EA, 17:00; 6, Gavin Weaver, Ros, 17:03; 7, Jeff Olsen, Ash, 17:06; 8, Isaac Stoutenburgh, Cra, 17:07; 9, David Richardson, Ash, 17:08; 10, Chase Maloney, Cra, 17:10; 11, Mark Haner, Ros, 17:12; 12, Dustin Moore, SE, 17:22; 13, Chris McLean, SM, 17:25; 14, Kyle Novak, Ash, 17:28; 15, Scott Joyce, Mod, 17:30; 16, Zach Harris, SM, 17:31; 17, Nathan Geith, Glen, 17:40; 18, Andrew Barella, 17:42; 19, Sam Jacobson, Cra, 17:55; 20, Andrew Pierce, Etna, 18:00; 21, David Morgan, Ash, 18:02; 22, Sean Kovensky, SE, 18:06; 23, Andrew Kahl, SE, 18:07; 24, Kevin Spears, Ash, 18:08; 25, Geoff Donaldson, Cra, 18:09. 26, Roman Newell, RR, 18:12; 27, Justin Faudree, Ash, 18:19; 28, Greg Dallarre, Cra, 18:20; 29, Bill Brooks, EA, 18:21; 30, Nathan Kobinsky, SM, 18:24; 31, Jason Artner, SM, 18:28; 32, Andrew Maldanado, Ros, 18:33; 33, Craig Emmis, SE, 18:34; 34, Nathan Fieguth, RR, 18:36; 35, Joe Arnold, SM, 18:43; 36, Ryan Harvey, SE, 18:44; 37, Aaron Pitt, EA, 18:45; 38, Kiley Faubian, Cra, 18:50; 39, Sam Crawford, Ros, 18:51; 40, Konrad Wojcik, SE, 18:54; 41, Jon Terzenbach, SE, 18:55; 42, Nathan Humphrey, Ros, 19:07; 43, Jake Wilton, Ros, 19:20; 44, Nick Coulter, RR, 19:32; 45, Stuart Fety, RR, 19:33; 46, Tyler Belarde, Mod, 19:51; 47, Nate Atkinson, SM, 20:09. DIVISION 2 GIRLS TEAM SCORES — Mazama 54, Henley 64, Brighton Academy 68, South Medford 73, South Albany 82. Incomplete: South Umpqua, New Hope Christian, Eagle Point, North Valley, Canyonville Christian, Etna. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 25) — 1, Jasmine Klauter, Maz, 21:00; 2, Emily Bradford, BA, 21:55; 3, Michelle Jordan, BA, 21:56; 4, Anastasia Gorskaya, BA, 22:02; 5, Brooks Belcastro, SA, 22:07; 6, Kylie Fleck, SU, 22:10; 7, Amy Finney, SM, 22:13; 8, Emily Morehouse, NHC, 22:27; 9, Sandra Fontana, Hen, 22:33; 10, Bailie Barker, Maz, 22:39; 11, Jenna Bilden, EP, 22:40; 12, Danielle Hunter, Hen, 22:46; 13, Janae Poersch, Maz, 22:56; 14, Kristina Bateman, EP, 22:58; 15, Teri Silva, SM, 22:59; 16, Cam Belikoff, SA, 23:03; 17, Madeliene Hottman, Hen, 23:18; 18, Candice Cordova, SM, 23:28; 19, Stacy Travis, Maz, 23:36; 20, Megan Sutfin, Hen, 23:42; 21, Benton Renee, SM, 23:44; 22, Lindsay Davies, SU, 23:50; 23, Carolena Porter, NV, 23:52; 24, Charity Woodrum, CC, 23:53; 25, Molly Sprague, SA, 24:13. DIVISION 2 BOYS TEAM SCORES — Corvallis 40, South Albany 81, Yreka 86, Mazama 118, New Hope Christian 155, Crater 158, Canyonville Christian 168, Henley 170, Brighton Academy 196, Hosanna Christian 214, North Valley 255, Eagle Point 268. Incomplete: Triad, South Umpqua. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 25) — 1, Billy Smith, Yre, 17:14; 2, Ben Miller, Yre, 17:18; 3, Brad Markle, Cor, 17:44; 4, Alex Jayne, Triad, 17:51; 5, Nick Lederer, Cor, 17:58; 6, Josh Parrett, CC, 18:16; 7, Jame Matts, Yre, 18:18; 8, Kyle Wood, Cor, 18:21; 9, Tyler Olsen, SA, 18:23; 10, Cody Martin, Maz, 18:25; 11, Dan Martin, Hen, 18:33; 12, Peters, Yre, 18:34; 13, Brookman Holmes, Cor, 18:42; 14, Joseph Johnson, CC, 18:43; 15, Phillip Bozardreher, Cor, 18:45; 16, Michael Scanlan, BA, 18:54; 17, Sean Magee, SA, 18:56; 18, Ben Gurezynsk, SA, 19:00; 19, Josh Lockman, SU, 19:06; 20, Dylan Tucker, SU, 19:07; 21, S. Ishenin, SA, 19:13; 22, Jacob Seck, Maz, 19:14; 23, Daniel Bowdon, NHC, 19:15; 24, Brandon Reavis, Cra, 19:21; 25, Thomas Vandoren, SA, 19:24. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S