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Grant wins district long jump title for third straight year South Medford senior surpasses 17 feet to hold off Roseburg's Lint and North Medford's Medina By DON HUNT What is it about big events that brings out the best in Whitney Grant? Whether it's soccer, basketball or track, Grant seems to save her best for the biggest moments. It happened again Thursday at the Southern Oregon Conference district track meet when Grant won the long jump for the third straight year. Grant sailed to a season-best mark of 17 feet, one-half inch at sunbaked Bowerman Field to hold off longtime rival Jennifer Lint of Roseburg and walk off with the blue ribbon. Roseburg emerged as the first-day leader in team scoring with 48 points, followed by North Medford with 31 and South Medford with 25. Grant was hoping to improve on her lifetime best and school-record jump of 17-4 that she achieved at last year's district meet, and figured it would take a leap of at least 17-6 to win at Bowerman's jump-friendly pit. But Lint and North Medford's Rosana Medina, who had both been over 17 feet this season, managed only 16-10 and 16-93/4, respectively, and Grant was home free. "I'm not sure what the reasons are, but I always seem to perform well in pressure situations," shrugged Grant, who led South Medford to the Class 4A state tournament in basketball last winter and finished as the school's all-time leader in points, steals and assists. "I guess once you do it one time, you expect to do it the next." Grant said winning a third straight long jump title was more important to her than her records in basketball. "I'm still going to be playing basketball in the future (at the University of Portland) but this is it in track," she said. "I want to finish strong." That includes next week's Class 4A state meet, the one big event that Grant has never fared well in. "Doing well up there would really top things off," she said. Although South Medford trails Roseburg in the team scoring, the Panthers had a brilliant day Thursday and set themselves up for a strong showing Saturday. For starters, Natasha Wright and Teri Silva supplemented Grant in the long jump with fifth- and sixth-place showings, giving the Panthers a surprisingly high 17 points in the event. The Panthers also picked up five points in the discus, two points in the 3,000 and one in the javelin, but more importantly, their runners performed superbly during the qualifying rounds, setting several personal records. Lifetime-best efforts came from Heidi Meador, who posted the fastest time of the day in the 800 at 2:23.12; from Heather Frigaard, who clocked 46.21 in the 300 hurdles; from Kaylyn Knutson, who clocked 25.86 in the 200; and from freshman Kelley Whitten, who clocked 1:02.34 to reach the finals of the 400. The Panthers also received an encouraging qualifying run in the 800 from Noi Hilgendorf, who clocked 2:23.60 after spending much of the season on the injured list. Hilgendorf won the 800 at district last year and finished fourth at the state meet. "The girls had a great day - they really blossomed," South Medford coach Bill Rowan said. "It's what you always hope happens at the district meet, but I didn't really have a gut feeling we were this far along. "It's a great sign for Saturday." As expected, North Medford's Brittany Hodges cruised into the finals of the 200 and 400, Emily Dunn did likewise in the 100 and 200 and Medina posted the fastest time of the day in 300 hurdles at 46.07. In other final events Thursday: Roseburg's Melis Garner cruised to victory in the 3,000, breaking away from the pack early in the race and clocking 10:40.89. Crater freshman Kendel Nelson made a strong charge over the final two laps and took second in 10:52.12 to capture the other state berth. Roseburg's Carly Morris-Picknell outdueled Eagle Point's Alisa Lee in the discus with a throw of 123-2. Lee, who had the leading throw coming in at 131-11, managed 118-6 to punch her ticket to the state meet. In a battle of evenly matched javelin throwers, Roseburg's Taylor Jones threw 119-7 to edge Grants Pass' Patina Taylor, who reached 119-0. "We figured Roseburg would score heavily in the field events today and they did," Rowan said. "I still think they're the favorite, but we're certainly in the hunt." The meet resumes Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. with finals in the boys shot put, girls triple jump and girls pole vault. The first running event - the girls 4x100 relay - begins at 1 p.m. TEAM SCORES - Roseburg 48, North Medford 31, South Medford 25, Eagle Point 15, Klamath Union 14, Crater 11, Grants Pass 9, Ashland 3. DISCUS - 1, Carly Morris-Picknell, R, 123-2; 2, Alisa Lee, EP, 118-6; 3, Taylor Jones, R, 111-11; 4, Rachel Munyon, NM, 108-6; 5, Crystal Worthington, NM, 106-9; 6, Hope Berkey, SM, 100-4; 7, Karen Kralik, SM, 96-2; 8, Katrina Anderson, EP, 95-6. JAVELIN - 1, Taylor Jones, R, 119-7; 2, Patina Taylor, GP, 119-00; 3, Salina Sychla, EP, 114-3; 4, Briana Gentry, NM, 113-4; 5, Val Groshong, R, 110-10; 6, Nichollette LeBel, C, 107-10; 7, Brandy Bocchi, KU, 107-6; 8, Katie Singler, SM, 100-1. LONG JUMP - 1, Whitney Grant, SM, 17-01/2; 2, Jennifer Lint, R, 16-10; 3, Rosana Medina, NM, 16-93/4; 4, Jenna Siebenlist, NM, 16-61/4; 5, Natasha Wright, SM, 16-53/4; 6, Teri Silva, SM, 16-21/2; 7, Claire Edwards, KU, 16-03/4; 8, Twanie Taylor, KU, 15-4. 3,000 METERS - 1, Melis Garner, R, 10:40.89; 2, Kendel Nelson, C, 10:52.12; 3, Briane Hwang, NM, 11:09.74; 4, Adrienne Cesena, KU, 11:24.63; 5, Katie Leary, KU, 11:30.30; 6, Therese McCaffrey, A, 11:32.37; 7, Amy Finney, SM, 11:35.99; 8, Brittany Hodgson, GP, 11:40.20. 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.